in defense of unicorns
part I I like to buy vintage books on eBay – books on any topic, really – medicine, electronics, etc. But recently, someone was offering...
sowing seeds in unexpected ways
Mr. and Ms. Doctor by Julie Iromuanya Coffee House Press ($16.95) Julie Iromuanya’s new book opens with a scene that's both violent and...
disorder reigns
1 I return to New Orleans during the summer termite swarm and open the door to my apartment. Detached wings glint up from the floor—it’s...
standard operating procedure
Sand Opera By Philip Metres Alice James Books ($16.95) A poet is a doctor of the broken word. Philip Metres’ most recent collection of...
an unobstructed view
a town with no voicemail When a forest fire threatens your home, there's no time to stage a fight. One minute, you and your family are...
street poetry
Most of his poems end up crumpled in the street, soaked and melting in sloppy puddles. In cloudy sewer water, scribbled on old receipts,...
belgrave
I fixed Marcus Belgrave’s trumpet today. When I was done, he stuck around and told me a bunch of stories, like the time he was playing a...
when the roundtable is a rhombus
A writing group serial in monologues. This Month: Ken Talks Independence They all answered an ad posted in a café. A Xeroxed sheet of...
dikathapon
From Jack Main, a work in progress The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well. —William Shakespeare part III I’m sitting...
the prepared chaos of it all
Every Kiss a War by Leesa Cross-Smith Mojave River Press ($16.95) Leesa Cross-Smith’s short story collection Every Kiss A War is like the...