Tell Me What You See (book)
Tell Me What You See is Terena Elizabeth Bell’s debut collection of short fiction, written in English. It was published on December 8, 2022, by Whiskey Tit, a Brooklyn-based literary press, and runs 143 pages across ten stories that cover multiple genres.
The title story won the 2021 New York Foundation for the Arts City Artist Corps and was the first piece of fiction published about the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Other stories in the collection explore climate change, the early COVID-19 pandemics in New York City and Kentucky, and other events from 2020–2021. The works are largely experimental in nature.
Many stories incorporate news photographs and original drawings from the pandemic era and Capitol events. Others use features like footnotes, multiple languages, hypnotic or unusual syntax, and a technique known as erasure.
Critics have praised Bell for her bold voice and innovative approach. The collection is described as timely and challenging, yet also rewarding and sometimes therapeutic. The Bookseller included the book in its December 2022 Discover preview. In September 2024, the New York Society Library listed Tell Me What You See among the best books of the 21st century so far.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:50 (CET).