#101: Nonfiction by William Tang
THE OMEN Lu Buwei, Lord Wen Xin, ex-prime minister of the realm, and birthfather of the king rested on a large silk cushion in the ornate pavilion. His eyes glanced unseeing over his surroundings. The pavilion sat on the small island in the middle of a large gourd-shaped lily pond. His chosen site afforded a […]
#100: Fiction by Kay McSpadden
TWICE-TOLD TALE “It is annoying to have to tell the same tale twice.” -Homer, The Odyssey *** Nell liked to say that she and Grant married each other two times, but that wasn’t technically true. They’d met when they played the leads in their high school production of Our Town, Grant as George […]
#99: Fiction by Nam Tran
CARBON DATING After an ex-lover left him emotionally paralyzed for the better part of ten years, my uncle John decided at 53 to give relationships another go. Had someone asked him before what qualities were desirable in a woman, he would’ve listed any number of things. Now, older and wiser from the sting of heartbreak, […]
#98: Fiction by P.J. Powell
GENEROUS FEMALE VILLAINS GIVE FREELY IN THEIR “BUY NOTHING” GROUP Cersei Lannister – Admin says Congratulations! Your request to join this Buy Nothing Facebook group has been approved. While other Buy Nothing groups welcome all local neighbors, our group is limited to approved villains who identify as female. In this group, feel free to post: […]
#97: Fiction by Linda Briskin
MODEST SABOTAGE At St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, I was hoping for a multitude of Christs on crosses, pale anemic skin, blood dripping from hands, loins diaper-wrapped, bodies hanging limply. I had plans. Christ with a delicately painted pink triangle on his loincloth, spangles in his beard, a lizard tattoo on his chest, stylish blond […]
#96: Nonfiction by Cynthia Yancey
ALMA Back at my grandmother Mimi’s house, after my mother’s terribly premature death, my brother, Ashbel, and I whiled away the hours, months, and years until a giant-spirited young woman met my father one fine fall day when I was four years old. Alma, my soul, came in the full vibrancy of her eighteen years. […]
#95: Nonfiction by Barbara Thompson
SITTING WITH MY BOYS “Where did you get that tan?” “In a cemetery.” The question is commonplace after returning from the tropics; the answer was anything but. I threw life’s caution to the trade winds and flew to Oahu to conduct research for my current work in progress, an historical epic entitled AIR, of six […]
#94: Fiction by Joanna Galbraith
PIRATE X Barry Becker’s decision to become a pirate was mostly his father’s doing, with a further inopportune nudge from a career guidance counselor when the lad was just shy of sixteen. It all began as an innocent game devised by Barry’s father which had involved nothing more than drawing an X on a town […]
#93: Nonfiction by Andy Betz
THE SINGLE HAZARD OF TEACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL I can confidently say, I am as fully prepared for any hazard associated with the rigors of teaching. Until last Thursday. Either I was caught off guard (that would be a lie) or I mistook the ingenuity of those in close proximity to me (much nearer to the truth). Last […]
#92: Nonfiction by Valarie Anderson
SHROUDED It’s been weeks and we’ve been shrouded in smoke from the Oregon fires. Silenced—caught perpetually in a clouded sunset. Sounds have diminished and the world has turned gray. Weeks ago, I watched the Greenridge fire from my front porch; apprehensive as I spotted bright flares of newly ignited trees go up in smoke. The smoke roiled […]