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BATH TIME | Fiction by V.J. Hamilton
Change is in the air, a secret, indefinable scent. Mr. Smith is back home, and he is singing away, his number one song, Oh! Susanna. His warble falls flat in some places, and he mangles some words, but the song is recognizable by all. Mrs. Smith is sick of Oh! Susanna, so very sick of…
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THE FRACTURED MIRROR: Craft it Loud
By Edward Karshner When someone asks me what I do, I fight the urge to say “cowboy.” I usually say, “I teach.” I never lead with “I’m a writer.” I never feel comfortable with that particular job. It’s my favorite. Not my favorite to talk about. Eventually, I confess, and the next question is, “what…
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THE KINGS OF GHOST CITY | Fiction by C.W. Blackwell
“Get out here, boy,” said Mama. She was holding the front door open with a drink in her hand, letting all the cool air out. “You’re about to meet your father.” It was the end of August—two weeks before seventh grade—and my first major growth spurt had taken a toll on my old clothes. Holes…
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ARS POETICA | Creative Nonfiction by Grace Ann Elinski
I believe any activity done with love and presence is a spiritual practice. I believe Love and Connectedness is the God of my world. I believe in hand-rolled cigarettes for espresso shot emergencies. I believe in the Body remembering, immersed in the funk ridden Ross Barnett, suicidal pull of The Atlantic, The Gulf and its…
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CALL ME MR. BLACK | Fiction by Mike McHone
“Mister Black?” A block of ice formed in his stomach. Every nerve in his body told him it was a setup, a sting, and this…, this—what? —eight, nine-year-old kid was the bait. “I’m Nathan.” He scanned the park. Empty swing set. Old lady walking a golden retriever. Mother pushing a stroller. Group of people doing…
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THE NITTY GRITTY | Interview with Katy Goforth
By Charlotte Hamrick Katy Goforth is one of my favorite fiction writers. Since I discovered her, about three years ago, I’ve felt a sisterhood with her through her stories, most of which are grounded in the rural South. She writes about Southern culture as good as any celebrated Southern writer I’ve read with a deep…
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HEALTHY HABITS: What I Need
By Valerie Peralta April marked one year in my position as the coordinator of a college writing center. In the past 12 months I’ve become adept at using Microsoft Teams, developed an attitude of tolerance toward AI as a tool, and gained the trust of my team of tutors as well as several students and…
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AUGUST | Fiction by Patricia Q. Bidar
When my father left us to live with my fifth-grade teacher over in Navy Housing, my mother’s hands changed. They’d always been rough and dry, bare nails cut straight square. Now that she’d begun working, she visited a salon every two weeks. A pink bottle of Rose Milk lotion stayed on her bedside table. She…
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MORGAN TURNS DOWN THE HEAT | Fiction by Kurt Engstrom
Morgan stops to look out the kitchen window at the farmyard. The wind-scoured hardpan rimes a week-old skiff of snow with blow dirt that eddies across the ground like a nest of mice swarming a bad dream. The sun is bright, and the sky is an awful blue. The thermometer on the windowsill outside the…
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BURNING AND DROWNING | Creative Nonfiction by Megan Hanlon
The house was so dark during those long winter evenings without electricity. You and I did our homework by the light of a hurricane lamp and the weak beams of setting sun that managed to crawl through the dining room window. The kitchen, with no windows except one over the sink that inexplicably opened into…