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Stories No. 85 – Mario Duarte

“Monkeys, time to go!” Papi yells in his firm but gravelly voice. I lag behind at the end of the K-Mart checkout counter, eyeing the Mars candy bars. Aleta, my younger sister, kicks my heels. I trudge forward almost bumping into a white woman pushing a cart who suddenly stops after hearing Papi. Her lips stretch into a worldwide oval, ruby red lipstick smeared on her cigarette-stained teeth.  Continue reading Stories No. 85 – Mario Duarte

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Patrice Sullivan, Artist Spotlight No. 36

ARTIST STATEMENT The figure is the embodiment of the human experience. It is the site of courage, joy, and love, of compassion, fear, and pain, of struggle, loneliness, and frustration, of sorrow, of loss. As a narrative, figurative painter, I use the figure to depict these universal emotions. A narrative is time captured in a moment. The synthesis of the photographic and the painted image, … Continue reading Patrice Sullivan, Artist Spotlight No. 36

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Heather Marie Scholl, Artist Spotlight No. 35

ARTIST STATEMENT Through the intimate lens of my own life I examine issues of race and whiteness, gender and sexuality, trauma and abuse. I have been transfixed with how to create a visceral understanding of experience through objects. Creating objects and environments that conjure connections to the past from family histories, colonial legacies to religious traditions. Using the materiality of craft as a mode of … Continue reading Heather Marie Scholl, Artist Spotlight No. 35

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Adeet Deshmukh, Artist Spotlight No. 34

ARTIST STATEMENT Adeet Deshmukh images capture the interplay between light/shadow and emotion/composition—in the streets of Manhattan and Mumbai, in the faces of family and strangers, and in the fields of Iceland and the Midwest. Works by © Adeet Deshmukh Adeet Deshmukh is a New York City based photo editor, photographer, and designer. He has had shows in Chicago and New York, and his work has … Continue reading Adeet Deshmukh, Artist Spotlight No. 34

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Van Lanigh, Artist Spotlight No. 33

ARTIST STATEMENT The Project “Chasing Rainbows” is about the perception of the world of feelings. No one fell the exactly one emotion at the time, it’s always the crazy waterfall with undertones of sensations. And this rainbow of feelings Van Lanigh interprets in her works by running away from the real world of colors to the imaginary universe of impressions. Works by © Van Lanigh … Continue reading Van Lanigh, Artist Spotlight No. 33

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June Lin, Artist Spotlight No. 32

ARTIST STATEMENT The submitted pieces are part of a nine-piece collection called ‘Our World,’ where each piece presents a metaphor inspired by the 2020 quarantine. Their surreal imagery may allude to heavy grief, unyielding desperation, social outcasts, or to those who have suddenly realized that they’ve lost their way (to name a few). These narratives are familiar to each of us. We have experienced them … Continue reading June Lin, Artist Spotlight No. 32

Community No. 52

DAWN CORRIGAN Dawn Corrigan has published poems and prose in a number of journals and anthologies, and her debut novel, an environmental mystery, was published in 2014. She works in the affordable housing industry and lives in Myrtle Grove, Florida. Title: The Mystery of Titian Hair First Line(s): If there’s one thing I knew growing up, it’s that I was working class. Or lower middle … Continue reading Community No. 52

Community No. 51

PETRULA LAUDATO Petrula Laudato’s fiction has appeared in Haunted Waters Press, Panoplyzine, The Magnitizdat Literary, The Ocotillo Review, and Crack The Spine. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Title: The October I Am Sixteen First Line(s): The October I am sixteen I tiptoe out of my mom’s small pink kitchen and meet a smiling, middle-aged man in a park, only a broken swing and some crushed … Continue reading Community No. 51

Community No. 50

RC DEWINTER RC deWinter’s poetry is anthologized in New York City Haiku (NY Times, 2017), Uno: A Poetry Anthology (Verian Thomas, 2002), in print in 2River View, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, Pink Panther Magazine, Down in the Dirt, Scarlet Leaf Review, Genre Urban Arts and in numerous online literary journals. Title: Being a Bishop First Line(s): yesterday having discovered late in the game i am no queen only a … Continue reading Community No. 50

Community No. 49

JAMAL ANTHONIE MICHEL Jamal Anthonie Michel is an English Literature teacher in Durham. His work has appeared in Lunch Ticket, Apogee Journal, and Linden Avenue Literary Journal, to name a few. His future plans include pursuing an MFA in creative writing for film and television. Title: Nino’s First Line(s): “Just picking up,” I say to the woman at the counter, smiling. She’s got flour on her … Continue reading Community No. 49

Community No. 48

KRISTIN GARTH Kristin Garth is a poet from Pensacola and a sonnet stalker.  Her sonnets have stalked the pages of Anti-Heroin Chic, Moonchild Magazine, Occulum, Neologism Poetry, Rise Up Review, Faded Out, Paper and Ink Zine and many other publications.  Her chapbook Pink Plastic House is available through maverickduckpress.com.  Follow her sonnets and socks on Twitter: @lolaandjolie. Title: Sonnets First Line(s): Do you hear it — what … Continue reading Community No. 48

Stories No. 83 – Bobbi Steele

Xenophobia By Bobbi Steele I tried not to look at the mirror in front of me, but it was drawing me in. The tugging on my eyes pulled them further up from the sink, to the faucet and finally to the edge of the mirror. There were lint and dust covering the sink in the back, and I used my finger to slowly push it … Continue reading Stories No. 83 – Bobbi Steele

Stories No. 82 – Amber Baird

The Mattress By Amber Baird Samantha told him about the Russians. Her parents told her not to, of course, but she had to tell someone, and Charlie was her best friend. He sat beside her, under the tree in her backyard, and squinted at her through the sun filtering through the leaves. The remains from their picnic lunch were scattered around them — empty store-brand … Continue reading Stories No. 82 – Amber Baird

Stories No. 81 – Gary Singh

Voodoo By Gary Singh Slim occupies a vinyl bar stool, accompanied by a personalized chalice with hoppy German lager direct from the tanks downstairs. His name is carved onto the side of the mug. Camille’s alto voice, a younger, more dusty version of Edith Piaf, floats in like counterpoint to the chaos of sports on nine televisions. She emerges from the kitchen right when Slim … Continue reading Stories No. 81 – Gary Singh

Stories No. 80 – Victoria Giang

Ghost Voice By Victoria Giang They called it the ghost voice because of the way it crackled and warbled into a piercingly high register. It was a voice to captivate and bind the listener. Ros had it. “Once I fed a flower only music,” she confessed to Eung, her manager, confidante, and lover. Likewise, he slaked her thirst with a stream of abuse so endless … Continue reading Stories No. 80 – Victoria Giang

Stories No. 79 – Lee Matthew Goldberg

Join Us By Lee Matthew Goldberg Rockabilly music about the Holy Ghost pumps through the windows of the Salvation Gateway Fellowship Church, a small, red shack with a giant neon cross on the roof, its buzzy light flickering in the dawn. Nestled between two deflated hills in the Missouri Ozarks, this wonky, stitched-together building is the only beacon for miles. The surrounding landscape provides enough … Continue reading Stories No. 79 – Lee Matthew Goldberg

Stories No. 78 – William Lemon

Inconvenienced by Death By William Lemon The guests poured into the hotel pool dressed in robes, bathing suits underneath their fake, downy fur. The children did not bother with such pretense. They wore as little as possible, unafraid of cancer or the judging eyes of their peers. I joined the procession, tie still about my neck. Near the entrance to the pool, a cry from … Continue reading Stories No. 78 – William Lemon

Stories No. 77 – Paul Beckman

Smell You Later By Paul Beckman The Sunday of my sixth birthday I was waiting on the stoop for my father to pick me up. Usually he’d take both my older brother and me together on his monthly pickups but not on birthday months. He wanted those to be special and memorable. That Sunday turned out to be memorable but not special. I sat on … Continue reading Stories No. 77 – Paul Beckman

Stories No. 76 – Lucy Zhang

Orion By Lucy Zhang The first room to the left on the second floor was my brother’s room. Four pieces of tape held a poster of NGC 2024, the star-forming region—ribbons of cloud and smoke, specks of light that penetrated greys and blacks which, instead of obscured, conjured an inexplicable hope to where stars glimmered, mysticism to where they did not. Constellation Orion hung on … Continue reading Stories No. 76 – Lucy Zhang

Stories No. 75 – Kathryn Ordiway

Saturday Siren By Kathryn Ordiway ‘I mean, the hotter the weather, the more people murder,’ your husband says as he wades waist-deep in the murky water. ‘Serial killers and Kansas, you know?’ You have only your feet in the lake, legs stretched long from your place on a blanket because the color—the twinges of red and brown and earthy green—disgusts and concerns you. This is … Continue reading Stories No. 75 – Kathryn Ordiway

Stories No. 74 – M. DeVoe Talley

Reeled In By M. Devoe Talley I saw you then in the summer from the promenade of that county fair as you lay on your back in the near grass and I wandered with girlfriends I barely knew. The late low sun dazzled your tangle of blond hair, and a mustache made you look older, closer to twenty-eight—which was good. Demigods of a lesser mythology, … Continue reading Stories No. 74 – M. DeVoe Talley