“Appetizers”
By Connie Woodring Appetizers We sat at a table facing the busy city street. We ordered appetizers (clams casino) and engaged in casual conversation. What would we get for … Continue Reading “Appetizers”
“Snow, An Emptied Platter.”
By Sophia Lee Snow, An Emptied Platter. your wrist is flipped open–palm sunny side up, and i can’t help noticinghow the light bangles the skin with a tenebrosityresembling snowmelt … Continue Reading “Snow, An Emptied Platter.”
“Paradise”, “The Pines”, “Ode to Firewood”, “Lightning in a Bottle” and “A Town of Many Roads – King Street”
By C. S. Crowe Paradise I found Paradise at the bottom of a bottle—An angel drinking Coors Light in a trailer park. He pawned his flaming sword to pay … Continue Reading “Paradise”, “The Pines”, “Ode to Firewood”, “Lightning in a Bottle” and “A Town of Many Roads – King Street”
“SEEING YOU AGAIN”, “NEXT STOP”, “RIDING” and “TY NEWYDD”
By Louis Faber SEEING YOU AGAIN I saw you again yesterday, as I haveso often recently and once again thoughtof approaching you for there is muchI would like to … Continue Reading “SEEING YOU AGAIN”, “NEXT STOP”, “RIDING” and “TY NEWYDD”
“Rebels”
By Laurence Lumsden Rebels Sprawled on the worn carpet in front of the telly, Bobby and I are best friends. We’re Starsky and Hutch, accents twanging, or we’re Bodie … Continue Reading “Rebels”
“Fear”
By Angela Patera Fear Sometimes, when I’m consumed by fear, devoured by anxiety, haunted by self-doubt, I like to picture my worry as a shiny glob of mercury breaking … Continue Reading “Fear”
“Winner Takes All”, “First Light, Last Cuppa”, “From Above”, “A Hot Iowa Afternoon”, and “Taking Himself for a Bit of Exercise”
By M. F. Charles Winner Takes All – a Haiku Racing and dodgingred fox and rabbit runeach one for life. First Light, Last Cuppa Its orange pekoe … Continue Reading “Winner Takes All”, “First Light, Last Cuppa”, “From Above”, “A Hot Iowa Afternoon”, and “Taking Himself for a Bit of Exercise”
“Date Night”
By Kelly Erin Gray Date Night Jamie was rolling a lone meatball around her plate when another couple was seated nearby. “What do you think?” Jack asked, pointing with … Continue Reading “Date Night”
“A Poet’s Home” and “What are you doing this evening?”
By Joan Mazza A Poet’s Home Oak floorboards speckled with leaf litter empty rooms echo with each step, wait for books, furniture, art. Walking on this wooded property, … Continue Reading “A Poet’s Home” and “What are you doing this evening?”
“When It Happens” and “Matriculating”
By Trapper Markelz When It Happens I watch for sharks,but it’s the swimming that could take them out beyond a double darewhere feet touch sand in flinching spray. … Continue Reading “When It Happens” and “Matriculating”
Framing Jango Fett: When A Backstory Is Not A Backstory
By Anna Heneise The 2002 comic series Jango Fett: Open Seasons contains everything a tragic backstory should— the murder of Jango’s family, his promising career as a child soldier, the … Continue Reading Framing Jango Fett: When A Backstory Is Not A Backstory
Find True North, a film essay by Sean Maher.
When I watched the Road Warrior it was 4 am and I was a teenager soon to be trapped in a wasteland. I liked The Dark Knight when I was … Continue Reading Find True North, a film essay by Sean Maher.
Spring 2024 Contest
We at The River are excited to announce an upcoming Flash Fiction contest! Genre fiction is near and dear to us, and so we want to take this opportunity to … Continue Reading Spring 2024 Contest
Order 66: Carefully Timed Destruction
By Anna Heneise Dedicated, with all honor, to Julius Caesar. One aspect of Order 66 I find fascinating is the timing. If the only thing Darth Sidious wanted was to … Continue Reading Order 66: Carefully Timed Destruction
Bleeding Red: The Grand Army of the Republic and Humanization Through Violence, Part IV
By Anna Heneise As established in Part I, in The Clone Wars, the clones are characterized through the tension between their understanding of their purpose as soldiers and their growing … Continue Reading Bleeding Red: The Grand Army of the Republic and Humanization Through Violence, Part IV
Bleeding Red: The Grand Army of the Republic and Humanization Through Violence, Part III
By Anna Heneise Violence is one of those deeply human things we like to pretend is not human. Our capacity for violence is something to be restrained, to be feared, … Continue Reading Bleeding Red: The Grand Army of the Republic and Humanization Through Violence, Part III