A Literary Magazine Sponsored by The University of Maine at Farmington
Hello readers! Welcome to my first ever blog post as a River editor! In case you have not read my bio, allow me to introduce myself once more. My name … Continue Reading Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!: An Introduction
by Jonathan Sload Admit that you’re stuck in the chimney. Stop using the phrases “sliding down” and “squeezing through.” You stopped doing those ten minutes ago. Stop … Continue Reading A User’s Guide to Escaping the Chimney
by Willy Doehring, River co-editor The “Writer’s Workshop” blog posts are meant to be a collage of writer’s tips, tricks, and strategies, including the first steps to publishing, writing prompts, strategies … Continue Reading Voice: What Keeps us Reading
A new season is here, and with it comes a new wave of submissions along with the introduction of the Spring 2018 editors. We’re both looking forward to publishing new … Continue Reading The New Editors of Spring 2018
As UMF’s Fall 2017 semester ends, so does our River editors’ term.
Adios. Au revoir. Sayonara. Adéu. Vaarwel. Hüvastu. Paalam. Hyvästi. Oant sjen. Auf wiedersehen. Orevwa. Aloha. Ban kwana. Viszontlátásra. Selamat tinggal. Slán. Addio. Pamit. Adjö. Hwyl fawr.
By Thomas L. Winters
You know nothing
about the snowfall
the coming blackness, or
the silver rain bolts spying
By Richard Southard I’ve been thinking for a long while about what sort of “farewell” post I should make. What constitutes that kind of post? A few inspirational words? Some … Continue Reading A “Farewell” Post
By Tom Larsen
It was always autumn when Charlie Sikes emptied the machines at North Shore. He could still recall that first year driving the lake road through flaming trees, listening to the World Series on the radio, the sun warm on his left arm and Drysdale setting them down in order. Some men would envy him, he remembered thinking.
By Meagan Jones
You know how in my disclaimer above I mention writing prompts? Well, whatever happened to those, huh? Here’s the short answer: I didn’t really do them. I’ve given some suggestions on how to write, but no honest-to-god prompts.
by Richard Southard Since December has arrived, I thought I would go ahead and share my personal favorites of this year. Yes, I know that the year isn’t actually over … Continue Reading Musical Fridays: Albums of the Year
By Griff Foxley
A lonely heart invited me over and was elated I’d seen the scroll in the bottle,
And had responded of all things, yes. Of all things, yes.
So I ventured. But frittered away on dirty stoops and dim, private alleys along the way,
Lost my way a time maybe two maybe two hundred. But here I stand at the scroll’s address.
By Meagan Jones
The notes dance around my ears, filling the room. I don’t usually like to put my music on speakers, but my ears have been hurting from having headphones on all the time. In my tiny dorm room, the sound echoes. The volume is only at a measly amount, yet the music seems to be twice that magnitude, bouncing off all corners.
By Jen Rouse
You trap the sun
in endless Ball jars,
line them up like
tiny souls on
the window sill.
by Richard Southard
So in these past weeks, I’ve always tried to include one (maybe two) outlandish suggestion in each category. Sometimes, their stranger aspects have been more subtle (such as some of the electronic albums). At other moments, I’ve suggested albums that I know will likely be a turn-off to many people (such as Swans’ To Be Kind). Last week, doing the post about genres has inspired me to further down the rabbit hole and suggest some of the most unusual (but still good) albums I’ve come across.
By Mark Belair
I was maybe 20
in this taut dream, not
looking back to that age or
knowing I’d returned to it, but simply