Her mother had become a vegan. She rhymed it with “pagan,” like it was a religion. Which, the daughter thought—she shook the limp herbs dry—it was. They were making panzanella. Her mother tore the bread apart with little carnivorous … Read More
Shortly after college, I bought The Visible Woman for fifteen dollars from a little yellow antique store in my hometown. I’ve carried her with me for years. The name alone, The Visible Woman, had intrigued me, but also what’s … Read More
The baby was stealing my sleep. “Only three days old, and already a thief,” I said. “Don’t be silly. This precious angel?” My mother took her from me, making cooing noises into her face. Joel gripped my elbows. “It’s … Read More
Winner Nicole Simonsen, “Lucky, Lucky, Lucky” Nicole Simonsen’s short stories have appeared in Booth, Tin House Online, Washington Square Review, and elsewhere. She teaches at a high school in Sacramento, CA. Second Place Justina Elias, … Read More
Minus One by Doris Iarovici (The University of Wisconsin Press, 2020). Moments of regret permeate the stories in Doris Iarovici’s new book, Minus One, a collection of studies in grief, resilience, and the games we play with ourselves … Read More
Breathing Technique by Marija Knežević (Zephyr Press, 2021). In a selection of excerpts from “The River’s Name,” the standout poem of Breathing Technique (Zephyr Press, 2021), Serbian writer Marija Knežević explores the protean nature of borders, agency and … Read More
Funeral Diva by Pamela Sneed (City Lights Books, 2020). In an interview on the Ezra Klein Show, the two-term American poet laureate Tracy K. Smith describes poetry as “insisting on a different logic…trying to pull out a different … Read More
An Incomplete List of Names by Michael Torres (Beacon Press, 2020). Michael Torres’s powerful debut, An Incomplete List of Names, opens with an act of loyalty—the kind that rides shotgun in an ’87 Mustang and doesn’t ask questions … Read More
“The dead are having a party without us. They’ve left our worries behind . . .” —Kathleen Aguero, from “Send Off” Kerry was using again the last time I saw him. He was sweating anxious with icicles … Read More