Why We Like It: “Here or Somewhere Else, or, The Grain Silo” by Sharon Kunde
We revisit Sharon Kunde’s haunting, wrecked landscape with its trains, silos, and blurring speed.
Why We Like It
Why We Like It: “Hotshot” by Jaclyn Dwyer
“Hotshot” closes with the realization that sometimes a fire gets too hot and high for anything else to stop it. These final lines can also serve as a metaphor for addiction—sometimes the fire of it can only be put out with more fire…
Why We Like It: Patch Kirschenbaum’s “For Future Reference: Notes on the 7-10 Split”
I could go on and on about Kirschenbaum’s striking (ha) images, characterization, and humor, but what really made this story stand out to me was its powerful use of second person point-of-view.
Why We Like It: “The Experiment” by Sarah Fawn Montgomery
Sarah Fawn Montgomery’s essay “The Experiment” shows how extensively the patriarchy has affected our education system and how these practices perpetuate sexual violence toward women.
Why We Like It: “Earth Shovel” by Dan Albergotti
Dan Albergotti’s poem “Earth Shovel” asks us to think deeply about the way we inhabit Earth in a time when oil is money, and drilling becomes commonplace despite its environmental costs.
Why We Like It: “Erase the Days” by Jason Ockert and “Recurring” by Lyndsey Reese
I’m resistant to making generalizations about genres. I’m of the general opinion that poetry and fiction use the same ingredients, just with wildly different doses.
Why We Like It: “Respair” by Craig van Rooyen and “Seven Facts” by Christina Olson
Poetry gives me the shivers in part because it carves out new spaces to inhabit, however briefly, and this allows readers to see the world as something new.
Why We Like It: “How to Retile Your Bathroom in 6 Easy Steps!” by Gwen E. Kirby
Gwen E. Kirby’s “How to Retile Your Bathroom in 6 Easy Steps!” utilizes the conventions of an instructional manual to uniquely represent the interiority of a woman experiencing disruption and loss.
Why We Like It: “Reverberation” by Nancy Chen Long
Nancy Chen Long’s poem “Reverberation” fights back against silence and erasure. The poem’s title points toward the resonance of sound, and this is exactly what Chen Long’s words do: even in stillness the music of her language ripples across the page.
Why We Like It: “Operation Rhododendron” by Samyak Shertok
In the opening lines of Samyak Shertok’s “Operation Rhododendron,” everyday objects transform into makeshift weapons for role-playing scenes of war.