Field Notes Itto & Mekiya Outini __________ “I don’t think you is who you says you is,” is the first thing Everett says to me, his eyes like shards from broken bottles scattered under streetlamps, only there are no streetlamps here, just a sickly half-moon rising from a knot of…
Read MoreSkin Contact Zachary Bos __________ The deep ravine slashes through the Pennsylvania woods like a wet, stony wound. Halting her hike along the narrow streambed, Valeria Calderón tugs her bandana back into position. She squints to see where to step among the tumbled rocks and clumps of sedge and catbrier.…
Read MoreRosemount Manor Sacha Bissonnette __________ It was the first weekend of July when Sam, Josie, and Buddy met under the maple tree next to the battered shed in Sam’s backyard. They went over the juice-stained checklist Josie pulled out of her bag. Flashlights? Check. Snacks? Check. Three Walkie-Talkies? Check. They…
Read MoreThe Box on West 129th Street Stephen Kramer Avitabile __________ No one ever moved that dusty old box on West 129th Street. Everyone ignored it, hopingsomeone else would make it their problem. But there it sat, collecting dust, blocking everyone’sway as they traveled up and down the sidewalk, unable to…
Read More“Boo”din: The Ticking Clock, Oct ’25 Editor: Vallie Lynn Watson Managing Editor: Taryn White Associate Editor: Leah Joseph Assistant Editors: Robbie Hess and Jade Turner Intern: Margaret Brantley Laura Jacob, “The Ticking Clock” Letter from the Editor by Vallie Lynn Watson Letter from the Guest Editor by Abbie Skinner Skinner…
Read MoreLetter from the Guest Editor Taryn White __________ I’ve loved kaleidoscopes since I was young. They’ve inspired my writing and influenced my preferences in reading. I’ve heard from multiple sources that writing is often like a puzzle, that all of the pieces fall together as the plot is revealed. Don’t…
Read MoreLetter from the Editor Vallie Lynn Watson __________ The first full month of school has been quite the kaleidoscope! It has been a unique blur of challenges. I am fortunate that our new managing editor, Taryn White (one of our third year fiction writers), stepped in and took control of…
Read MoreFour Kaleidoscopes David Sheskin __________ Peaceable Kingdom Kaleidoscope 3a __________ Fish Kaleidoscope 65 __________ Fish Kaleidoscope 63 __________ Fish Kaleidoscope 37 __________ David Sheskin is an artist and writer whose work has appeared in numerous publicationsincluding Shenandoah, The Penn Review, DIAGRAM, Quarterly West, and The Vassar Review. __________ << Back…
Read MoreSeasonal Kaleidoscopes Anne Anthony __________ Autumn Leaving Scope __________ Summer Butterflies Scope __________ Anne Anthony is a writer and digital collage artist living in North Carolina. Her photograph, Lonesome, was nominated for 2025 Best of Net by phoebe lit journal. She’s been the featured artist in Neither Fish Nor Foul…
Read MoreEivind E. Olsen __________ Thin Leaf On a winter day, much like a day in fallexcept the trees are bare, I find a leafblown up from the yard, thin as a thumbprintand slightly larger than my own. Its brown skin is cracked and translucent:a ghost against a stone step;or a…
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