The 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…
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 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 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 MoreWorkplace: Wounds and Woes ’24 Editor: Vallie Lynn Watson Managing Editor: Karris Rae Assistant Editors: Taryn White, Meilyn Woods Esther Courville, “Life Sentence,” photograph Letter from the Editor by Vallie Lynn Watson Letter from the Guest Editor by Karris Rae Prose “Undercover Boss” by Carly Diaz “The Company Man” by…
Read MoreMoo Speaks Robert Hamblin __________ There used to be three of us, but one left and didn’t come back. Now there are just we two. I miss her, I know he does. I can tell when he sits quietly on the couch where they often sat together. He just sits…
Read MoreThe Bigger the Cage the Larger the Lizard Will Get Tiff Holland __________ 1. She comes home to find the cop running his new jean jacket through the gravel and oil in the driveway. He is trying to make it look weathered. He has already sewn Harley Davidson patches on…
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