"A Miniature Castle Surrounds My Brain" & "Subject Line Mercy" by Paul Rousseau
A Miniature Castle Surrounds My Brain Think: 2lbs of hamburger meat plopped and nestled in a shoebox. Think: a drawbridge, moat, archers...
top of page
Jan 8, 20234 min read
"The South Dakota Kid" by Burke De Boer
CW: ableist slur He came to town as a first round pick, expected to only be making a minor league pit stop before getting called up by...
Jan 8, 20232 min read
"Flying Solo" by Mary Anne Mc Enery
Connor sat on the park bench beside Ann’s wheelchair, watching the ducks on the lake. They looked peaceful; their lives simple. “If they...
Dec 26, 20224 min read
"Working from Home" by Nathan Pettigrew
My wife and I were imprisoned long before I thought of us as criminals, and these days I commit petty crimes in pajamas while working...
Dec 26, 20224 min read
“Wakefield” by Grove Koger
“There was a full moon that night,” Smith said, “so we didn’t go outside.” # # # By the time Jake had finished with his photographs and...
Dec 11, 20224 min read
" 'Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome' by The Mountain Goats" by C. M. Green
I mostly just want to talk about this one Mountain Goats song. It came out pretty recently, but I’ve listened to it a hundred times...
Dec 11, 20223 min read
“Memory Lanes” by James Callan
Bowling is like anything else; when you get a little drunk you become much better at it. The rule of thumb is you go with a bowling ball...
Nov 27, 20222 min read
“Questions on the Reading” by Kate Deimling
1) Discuss the theme of butterflies. What do they represent? 2) What does this story tell us about the role soup/gender/usury plays in...
Nov 27, 20223 min read
“Small Town Life in the News" by Nolcha Fox
*** Illegal Activity on Mayberry Street Last Tuesday, Mrs. Frobisher and her alleged lady friends broke up an illegal parade of wild...
Nov 27, 20221 min read
"Cancer" by Robert Allen
We saw each other at the grocery store – then a few hours later, at the same cafe. Riding the bus home, there she was again. She sat next...
Nov 27, 20222 min read
"In Walks a Van Gogh Salesman" by Francine Witte
In walks a Van Gogh salesman, and not the sunflower kind. “No starry nights neither,” he winks at Jen and me as we sit there. Like...
Nov 27, 20223 min read
"Suburban Horticulture" by Nina Miller
It was no surprise to Dharti that the pedicure would go awry. Being made of solid earth created a habit of clogging drains. Ankle deep in...
Nov 27, 20222 min read
"No one cares at the fairground" by Marie-Louise McGuinness
It will be dead soon. Poached slowly in sun warmed plastic, steam droplets suspended inches above the waterline, like chandelier pendants...
Nov 13, 20222 min read
"Measuring the Density of Air" by Denise Bayes
“The air’s so thick tonight.” The taxi driver shouts, head twisted towards her, turning the steering wheel with one hand, veering out...
Nov 13, 20224 min read
“Baptized” by Dan Crawley
Elijah is next to climb into the baptistry tank, the kind of tank you would see at a carnival that dunks your obnoxious sister, or dorky...
Nov 13, 20222 min read
"Fries" by C.E. Hoffman
We’re stuck in the drive-thru screaming at each other. Your window’s down ready to order while I fail to hide my wet-sob face from the...
Nov 13, 20224 min read
"Rage" by Lorraine Murphy
It wasn’t the venom he spit through his contorted lips that shocked me the most. No, it was the speed at which it all happened. At first,...
Oct 30, 20222 min read
“Small Things” by Maria Thomas
“Help me Jesus” Lone whispers from the outhouse where he hides amongst the doodlebugs, the cobwebs and the glucose tracks of slugs. He...
Oct 30, 20222 min read
“Embers and Ashes” by Delphine Gauthier-Georgakopoulos
She had a Nose; it was her inherited gift, her genetic curse; scents made their way through her nostrils, to her palate, tongue, throat....
Oct 30, 20224 min read
"Pre-Teen Pyromaniac" by Chester Holden
My older brother and I were brought up in constant intoxication-fueled chaos. And as siblings with traumatic upbringings often do, we...
bottom of page