Tackle Jess Williard __________ When he said he could believe in something closer to what she believes in, and because of her, he meant because. Not for. And in the breath after that truth there the both of them are on a turf field in August. It’s sweltering, the the…
Read MoreHash Marked Jordan Escobar __________ Toothless and hungry, he wakes in the back of his truck. The sky remains broken on grimy windows, as he rubs sensation back into his stubbled jaw. This day and this day again. The pops and aches of his discarded body remembering its own vulnerabilities.…
Read MoreThe Last Frozen Tundra Brian Chander Wiora __________ On December 20, 2010, the Minnesota Vikings played their first outdoor home game since 1981 at TCF Bank Stadium, their last outdoor home game ever. The Vikings play tonight behind a discontinuous curtain of snow, a lethargic, everlasting precipitation settles into each…
Read MoreChristmas Eve, 2016 Joshua Nguyen __________ & on this day the Cincinnati Bengals miss the game-winning field goal & the Houston Texans clinch a playoff spot. & the living room erupts & we stay drunk till midnight. There is a hidden box of Cognac my father finds in the cupboard.…
Read MoreThe Unexpected Dryness of a Lemon Poppy Scone Jacob Ginsberg __________ Eight pages into Arundhati Roy’s God of Small Things, after being stunned to find I’ve somehow plagiarized a book I’ve never opened, I linger over the text on Sophie Mol’s tombstone: A SUNBEAM LENT TO US TOO BRIEFLY; I…
Read MoreLetter from the Editor Chris Lowe __________ The launch of this Boudin mini-issue focusing on football was supposed to coincide with the start of football season. That was the plan when I conceived of the mini-issue at last year’s AWP conference in San Antonio (way back in the early days…
Read MoreAt Toomer’s Corner, the Morning After the Iron Bowl (2019) In memory of Pat Sullivan Raye Hendrix __________ An autumn sun, expected, rises;steals darkness from between the stars to illuminate the streets and avenues—College and Magnolia brilliant white with billowing paper, a southern substitutefor snow: live oaks cloaked from trunk…
Read MoreThe Diehards Matthew Kenerly __________ San Jose State Spartans (3-8, 2-5 Mountain West) vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (1-10, 0-7 MW) November 26, 2016—Bulldog Stadium (41,031)—Fresno, California—12:30 PM PT Nothing lasts forever, not even unparalleled humiliation. That such embarrassments on occasion come to an end under the threat of a late…
Read MoreConsider the Pass Rusher Terry Horstman __________ 2007 NFL Season—Week One—Atlanta at Minnesota—Vikings lead 24-3—Falcons have the ball, 1st & 10 at the Vikings’ 23 with one second left in the 4th quarter Consider the pass rusher. A pass rusher’s prowess is determined almost entirely by the one number that…
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