Finding Home: Immigration and Displacement, May ’25

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Editor: Vallie Lynn Watson

Guest Editor: Leah Joseph

Managing Editor: Karris Rae

Associate Editor: Taryn White

Assistant Editors: Robbie Hess, Jade Turner, Meilyn Woods

Interns: Ta’Mya Davis, Elaine Schroeder

Donna Turan, “Liberty’s Lament,” Acrylic, marker, and pen on canvas

Letter from the Editor by Vallie Lynn Watson

Letter from the Guest Editor by Leah Jiazi Joseph

Fiction

“Fly Away” by Maryah Converse

“How 아빠 Learned English” by Gina Kotinek

“No Place to Belong” by Mohamed Morshed

“Trim the Cauliflower” by Rhys Ramsay

“Cumulonimbus” by Kathryn Silver-Hajo

Poetry

“Cabin Fever***” by Edward Baranosky

“Foods of All Nations” by Shalmi Barman

“Logical Preposition” by AJ Bermudez

“Exiles” by A Foreman

“Below Deck” by Steve Gerson

“A Ballad for Those Playing Dead” & “Star Light, Star Bright“ by Isra Hassan

“Ajnabia” & “Margins” by Mary McColley

“Road Song” by Jed Myers

“In the Strawberry Mountains” by Sam Olson

“Even the Rocks Turn Away When We Look at Them” by R Rice

“Killing the Ingénu” by Valerie Tirado

Creative Nonfiction

“A Big Red Island” by Christine H. Chen

“Like Bursting Jellyfish Across the Neon Sea” by Alexandra McAnarney

Art Gallery

“Ginsberg’s Transient Domicile” by Jay Daughtery

Donna Renee Turan is a mixed-media painter, mental health advocate, and survivor-led voice for victim rights. A former court assistant with a background in philosophy, she began pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming an artist just three years ago, in her mid-forties. Her work blends emotional honesty with intuitive creation — often using texture and symbolism to explore trauma, identity, and resilience. Through her studio, Lady Reborn Art, Donna creates expressive, deeply personal pieces that confront injustice while celebrating transformation. You can view more of her work at www.LadyReborn.art.

Artist’s Note: “’Liberty’s Lament’ began as a spontaneous act. I smooshed paint on canvas and like a Rorschach test, the shapes that emerged told me what they wanted to become. As I followed them, the figure of Lady Liberty appeared — her face contorted by human arms tearing her from within, the tablet she clutches consumed by a roaring inferno. The painting became a reflection of how the promises of freedom and justice can collapse from within, especially for those excluded, displaced, or sacrificed. It’s both a protest and a mirror — a question about who is protected and who is left to burn.”

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To learn more about submitting your work to Boudin or applying to McNeese State University’s Creative Writing MFA program, please visit Submissions for details.