STORY OF THE WEEK

The Beauty of the Night By Leo Tolstoy

The Beauty of
the Night

By Leo Tolstoy
All was hushed and stonily still. Prince Andrey dared not stir for fear of betraying his unintentional presence.

POEM OF THE WEEK

To the Grackle By Kirun Kapur

To the Grackle

By Kirun Kapur
I should call my loves while I can to listen to the grackles croak and clack in a nest built with half a ramen cup.

ENTER TODAY

ENTER TODAY

We’re looking for short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, and excerpts from long fiction and nonfiction.

Please see the Guidelines.

CALLING ALL POETS

CALLING ALL POETS
“Rare relief springs from poetry,” wrote C. D. Wright. We agree and are seeking poets and poems to celebrate with prizes and publication.

Please see the Guidelines.

Spring Issue

FICTION

FICTION

FEATURES

Spring Issue

FICTION

Big Mary By T. Coraghessan Boyle

Big Mary

By T. Coraghessan Boyle
What she did behind that microphone made everything I’d ever done and everybody I’d ever played with seem like filtered water.

FICTION

Commis By Don Lee

Commis

By Don Lee
“There are no other restaurants I want to work for, no other chefs,” I said. “There’s only this restaurant, and you.”

FEATURES

The Runaways By Elizabeth Spencer

The Runaways

By Elizabeth Spencer
Supper finished, she was about to shower and go to bed, legs aching from the effort of the afternoon, when she heard a knock at the windowpane.

NONFICTION

NARRATIVE 10

NONFICTION

Borderlines, Real and Imaginary: Elizabeth Spencer’s “The Runaways” By Ann Beattie

Borderlines, Real and Imaginary: Elizabeth Spencer’s “The Runaways”

By Ann Beattie
Little things—gestures, inhibitions, slipups, contradictions—reveal and betray us.

NARRATIVE 10

Narrative 10 By Monica Ali

Narrative 10

By Monica Ali
Q: A line that continues to inspire you?

A: “In the town there were two mutes, and they were always together.”

POETRY

POETRY

POETRY

POETRY

Return and Other Poems By Rachel Edelman

Return and
Other Poems

By Rachel Edelman
Descent jumps and jostles, nausea drops me back to the floodplain I fled. The taxi driver asks, Do you have some mixed blood?

POETRY

I Miss Somebody Still Alive and Other Poems By Loisa Fenichell

I Miss Somebody Still Alive and
Other Poems

By Loisa Fenichell
Time punctures the air like sounds from the old city. People leave.

POETRY

Grand Island, Nebraska By Matthew Gellman

Grand Island, Nebraska

By Matthew Gellman
There was a ladder planted dead center in a field of high, thin grass.

POETRY

POETRY

iPOEM

POETRY

Shadow in My Bed By Kiran Masroor

Shadow in My Bed

By Kiran Masroor
The human body can do more than breathe and bend. It can become heavy as a diving board or slick as rain.

POETRY

Shamisen and Straw By Amy Uyematsu

Shamisen and Straw

By Amy Uyematsu
Tsunami

Snow on blue roof tiles—
sleeping village
     awakened by waves

iPOEM

Why Are You Afraid? By Yasmine Ameli

Why Are You Afraid?

By Yasmine Ameli
I gulped water in a bar then assessed a man’s height and weight, how hard a fight I’d give.

SIX-WORD STORIES

CARTOONS

CARTOONS

SIX-WORD STORIES

I’m Hot By Laura Judge

I’m Hot

By Laura Judge
A story about midlife transitions and waning human desire—all in just six words.

CARTOONS

Cartoon Art Volume 2022-04 By Various Artists

Cartoon Art Volume 2022-04

By Various Artists
Surly shorebirds, Poe at the park, and more, from Pat Byrnes, Mary Lawton, Rina Piccolo, Mick Stevens, and P. C. Vey.

CARTOONS

Cartoon Art Volume 2022-03 By Various Artists

Cartoon Art Volume 2022-03

By Various Artists
Precocious young artists, canine overreactions, and more, by Pat Byrnes, Glen Le Lievre, Dan Misdea, Teresa Burns Parkhurst, and Mick Stevens.