The Stretch Mehreen Ahmed __________ Even if I were to bark up the wrong tree, so be it as long as I am barking something. I don’t know how to climb a tree. Wrongs can’t be right until a climb has ensued. I slide many times before I correct my…
Read MoreRubus Sara Gonzales-Rothi __________ Each drupelet an August delight. Borne of leaf litter, restored in frosty slumber, blossoming through the thaw, ripened in sun-bake. Betwixt pointer and thumb, then palate and tongue: delectable revelry. The morn stretches left. The eve, right. We find ourselves. Every need satisfied, here in the…
Read MoreFall Feasts: Nov. ’24 Editor: Vallie Lynn Watson Managing Editor: Karris Rae Associate Editor: Taryn White Assistant Editors: Robbie Hess, Leah Joseph, Jade Turner, Meilyn Woods Crystal White, “Enough to Go Around,” photograph Letter from the Editor by Vallie Lynn Watson Letter from the Guest Editor by Taryn White Prose…
Read MoreEditor: Vallie Lynn Watson Managing Editor: Karris Rae Guest Editor: Abbie Skinner Assistant Editors: Taryn White, Meilyn Woods Deborah Elam, “Witch’s Brew,” graphic design Letter from the Editor by Vallie Lynn Watson Letter from the Guest Editor by Abbie Skinner Skinner Prize Winner “Monsters,” “Child’s Play,” & “Bring the Nightmares…
Read MoreEmails I Can’t Send McNeese’s Undergraduate Fiction Workshop, Fall 2024 __________ TO: ███████ FROM: ███████ SUBJECT: Your Ignorance Dear Inadequate Coworker, I hope this email finds you well so that your day can be ruined. I just wanted to make you aware that your recent actions are unnecessary and unprofessional.…
Read MoreSlingshot Factory Andrew Zornoza __________ ASPX-PIM begins to warm up! ASPX-PIM is the name of our whirring plastic injection machine. Deep inside its belly, manifold heaters let electrical current puddle into heat with measured control. It’s very important for everything ASPX-PIM does to be measured. Excess heat, excess plastic, excess…
Read MoreAs Per Usual Susan Isla Tepper __________ In the bodega I ordered four cups of black coffee. After I paid, the register girl put the four cups into a small cardboard tray with cup grooves. I carried it over to the little counter with the sugar and non-sweetener packets and the thumbnail…
Read MoreDelSanto’s Beach Joe Kapitan __________ Remy, the foreman in Weighing/Sorting, says I should never have been hired in the first place (Human Resources needs to start giving attitude tests, not aptitude tests, he says). Feldman has taken to sitting at another lunch table, the same Feldman who used to ask…
Read MoreThe Company Man James Gianetti __________ My father was the kind of person who tried finding the symbolism in everything. One time a small pheasant soared right into our kitchen window at breakfast time. My brother and I counted the feathers as they floated on the milk in our cereal…
Read MoreUndercover Boss Carly Diaz __________ I’ve been secretly hoping the new IT guy is our Undercover Boss. Brian is about 5 ’10, chubby, and has a very sad-looking mustache, like I bet if he stood still for long enough I could count all the hairs. He wears black plastic glasses,…
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