Trip to Joshua Tree, Life Drawing, & Engagement Merridawn Duckler __________ Trip to Joshua Tree Rocks pile up like slabs of clay in a beginner pottery class. We cut them with a wire, my favoritepart. I didn’t care about vessels then. I just wanted to part clay. Humming the U2…
Read MoreLet’s Go For a Walk, Into the Cave, & You Do You Do Ashley Hudson __________ Let’s Go for a Walk Lately we are convincingour friends not to be so cruel to themselves. The magnoliasdropping their annoying empty cups. The tiny cactus giving overone invisible briar. We come to the…
Read MoreEntomology J.M.J. Brewer __________ Day 43. Nine Mansion Members remained in the game. Angie awoke atop a dead arm because it was difficult to sleep comfortably in a bed shaped like a banana peel. This season’s Island Mansion! theme was “Inspecting Insects,” and in turn the Destitute Room theme was…
Read MoreTwo Birds R.G. Mint __________ When we moved to Hillside Park, we were unaware it included an actual park. Within our neighborhood, in fact. Mr. Rollins and I hadn’t expected such an amenity on the street where we introduced our firstborn, but we thought it a godsend. Our son was…
Read MoreRuination Kent Quaney __________ We’re sitting out on the back deck in the Alabama spring heat, drinking iced tea, going over the plan for that evening’s reading, shouting over the savage barking of the neighbor’s dogs. Snarls and howls from the other side of the fence make it almost impossible…
Read MoreSweeter than Sugar Laila Amado __________ It begins when you turn sixteen. Two weeks after your birthday, mother signs you up for a beauty pageant. The cheap, polyester taffeta of that fishtail dress she bought for the event scroops and crumples, hiking up your hips with every step. Blue mascara…
Read MoreSex Education at the R&R Missy Nieveen Phegley __________ We moved to the R&R Motel a few weeks before the July 4th bicentennial. My parents were excited to start this new adventure because the R&R was the perfect blend of owning and running their own business while offering some semblance…
Read MoreEditor: Vallie Lynn Watson Managing Editor: Karris Rae Associate Editor: Taryn White Assistant Editors: Robbie Hess, Leah Joseph, Jade Turner, Meilyn Woods Interns: Ta’Mya Davis, Elaine Schroeder Natalie Popp, This Looks Like a Good Spot for a Nap, digital painting experimenting with lightings effects on mood Letter from the Editor…
Read MoreEuropa Haus Laurie Didesch __________ As she checks her order pad, he slidesa hand around her ass. I suspect whatgoes on after hours. Public knowledgewarns against using the john; but the foodrates 5-stars. He makes his dishes authenticwith thick sauces and dark beers: wienerschnitzel and sauerbraten. The place reeks of…
Read MoreGarbage Fish Lucy Zhang __________ We only eat catfish heads when our parents aren’t around to lecture us. Ving Hung Supermarket sells them for less than $2 per pound, and they make a pleasant, fishy, but not stinky (so long as you add a handful of ginger), soup. Our parents…
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