December 1, 2020 | Poetry
Self-Portrait as Mermaid or Dead Girl
Gaia Rajan
for M
i.
In the beginning there was only the girl
and the ocean. Someone was telling a story;
in the story a girl’s friend died, an accident,
so she walked into the sea, breathed
December 1, 2020 | Nonfiction
Why Look for Animals?
Alexandria Peary
In this dappled language, like a woods painted by Neil Welliver, in and out of our attention, animals wander in the camouflage. They are highlighted by our attention: each stands in a yellow bar of
November 30, 2020 | Nonfiction
The Self-hating Negro
Allen M. Price
I grew up in the predominantly all-white neighborhood of Warwick, Rhode Island; I was one of only two Black kids in my elementary, junior high, and high schools. I dressed well, presented myself well, got good grades.
November 29, 2020 | fucked up modern love essays
for E
Olivia Braley
My friends and I would see you on the streets and say you looked like a villain. Slicked back black hair, tall and thin, distrusting gaze, but handsome. All sinister swagger.
Dream Seafood Restaurant
Matt E. Lewis
The seafood restaurant in my dreams closed down last night.
Significant Tornadoes
Carmen E Brady
Many days I realize my dreams are fiction half way through.
Dry-Humping Andrea Schwartz
Eric Rosenblum
Margot and I had humped once, too, when I stopped by and Andrea wasn’t home.
after seeing a dead bear on the highway
RaJon Staunton
its stagnant swollen limbs...
Fifteen Minutes
Nicolo Gentile
1985: the year of “high-risk” and Careless Whispers. His appearance was brief —lasting all of ten second— but there he was, following an interview between Debbie Harry and Nick Rhodes on the Palladium.
Mothers
Zoë Ballering
When I heard the name, I was sure it held a deeper meaning. No, she said, laughing... She explained that the knot combines the features of a reef knot, a thief knot, and a granny knot. It’s a portmanteau, not a metaphor. Grief has no meaning, she said.
Altitude Sickness
Cherie Nelson
You turn to face me, apologize for the mountain, for not drinking enough water, for not letting me turn back to make sure you were safe at a lower elevation. For not realizing what this would do to me.
Four Poems
Mike Topp
"Strange," "Rare Books," "New Suit," and "The Killer"
Rocky Lives in My Head Rent Free
Julia Do
in this one you’re a six foot / two hundred pound prize
A Problem Set
Lauren D. Woods
Why did Train A leave while Train B was still getting ready?
Love Letter in 2020
Cory Liang
Last Christmas, you asked for my latest address and sent a postcard all the way from Paris. There was a close-up shot of Hemingway’s face on the front. On the back, you wrote: “You deserve all the good in the world.” I took a picture of it but never sent anything back.
Today on Dagobah, Ep. 6: "Routine"
Josh Sippie
As Yoda sat on a tree stump, perfectly force-carved to complement his bony exterior and knobby joints, he realized that it had been five days in a row now that he had sat on this tree stump.
Riverfront Aria
Kathryn Haemmerle
Most people prefer the Vulcan statue...
The Bulldagger
Andrea Routley
I like sex in fiction to be full of ambivalence—undeniable lust mixed with doubt or disgust. I have done things with lovers I don’t want to tell anyone.
Words Fail, Chapter 1c: Fighting the Fog
Angus Woodward
Previously on...
Chapter 1a: Converging
Chapter 1b: Crisis
My First Mosh Pit
Kara Vernor
I started high school miserable. By my sophomore year, I was looping Sinead O’Connor on my headphones, the album with “Nothing Compares to You” and “I am Stretched on your Grave,” and trying not to