A Literary Journal
Click for PROSE | POETRY | DRAMA
Cover art: Jane Crowley, Flying Fish Fantasy
In this Issue
Parent–child relationships, or the lack thereof, feature prominently in the prose we are presenting in our Summer issue. They are central to Other People’s Pain, Silence Is All I Dread, and Praying Mantis, and provide significant background to both Dirt and Catire, where parental absence propels the narratives. In Territorial Claims, a child’s near-drowning binds family members together. In our play, which is a ballet in verse, we track a young girl and her grieving mother as the girl transitions from death through the stages of the afterlife.
The poets in this issue are concerned about survival and certain about connection. Some herald seasonal expectations, fruitful or subverted, that remind us of the transitory nature of existence. We have a sestina and four sonnets, as well as two poems referencing the poet James Wright. We visit a chick condo in Martin’s Ferry, the cobbled streets of Berlin, the Italian Renaissance, a nature preserve, a music rehearsal room, Route 49, and the Mark Twain National Forest. We appreciate the imagination of the poets who wonder what would have happened if Socrates learned a new song before his execution, how the Messiah must long for a passed love, and whether listening to a Joni Mitchell song is enough time for a sewist to complete a zippered pouch.
To enhance your experience of the work in this issue, we are presenting, for the first time, audio accompaniment by our contributors, as they read from their stories, poems, and play. We hope you enjoy this newest addition to our website.