Grimaldi’s Thanksgiving Antoinette Carone __________ Grimaldi knew something was afoot. His nap was disturbed by a noisy hustle and bustlecoming from downstairs. He pricked up his ears. Someone might be coming to chase him off the bed. Then he remembered that he now lived with Anna and Salvatore and was…
Read MoreBlack History Month, Feb ’25 Editor: 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 Malina Catlett, “Untitled” Letter from the Editor by Vallie Lynn Watson Letter from the Guest Editor by Meilyn…
Read MoreTrip 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 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 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 MoreThe Year of the Cauliflower Lucy Duggan __________ The worst Thanksgiving dish I ever tasted was a lemon and lavender cauliflower cheese baked by my Aunt Bristol. She was an excellent cook. People always said so. In fact, they said: “Whatever else they say about your Aunt Bristol, she’s certainly…
Read MoreA Finch Breakfast Erik Peters __________ The air was already sweaty with summer heat. Early morning rays beat fiercely on the curtains. The living room was stifling, but if I could get a through-draft, it might be bearable by evening. I shuffled to the sliding door, rubbing sleep out of…
Read MoreThe 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…
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