The Infectious Disease Entitled “Writer’s Block”
I don’t know about you, but writer’s block is a phrase I hear all the time.
“I can’t think of ideas!”
“Nothing’s inspiring me.”
“Everything I write sounds awful.”
Tango Nuevo
By M.J. Iuppa
In sheer daylight, spider’s silk
trembles like a guitar string
plucked to the tune of swallows’
wings dipping in & out and over-
Musical Fridays: Jazz
by Richard Southard The River Editor My very first exposure to jazz came in the form of a Spongebob Squarepants episode, when I was about six years old. In the episode, Patrick … Continue Reading Musical Fridays: Jazz
New Canaan
Or does Her ghost in modern times
Roam on New England’s moorland snow;
Or is the Spirit of the Lord
“From sea to shining sea” bestow’d.
The First Steps to Publishing: A Complete Breakdown of Looking for the Most Eligible Bachelor(ette)
“So you want to publish,” the old woman’s gnarled hand beckons you forward. Her long nose is speckled with dark spots, and one of her olive green eyes drifts lazily to the left. Her silver hair is knotted into a bun, held together with pencils (as a true artist’s should). She sits on a rocking chair, covered in quilted blankets, directly in front of a crackling fire. It is boiling in there, yet you walk forward.
Dogs
By Mitchell Krockmalinik Grabois
Shove a juicy bone
into the mouth of the barking dog
He has no right to disturb my peace
but why be mad about it?
He’s just being what he is
an attenuated descendent
of a snarling wolf
My Musical Safari of 2017
by Richard Southard, The River Editor Over the summer, I worked a job where I patrolled dams throughout several Maine towns. Over the course of twelve hour shifts, I would drive … Continue Reading My Musical Safari of 2017
Cap’n, I Can
By Peter D’Antonio
Orn’s hands burnt as the weight of the anchor slid its chain hard against his calloused palms. He cleared his throat, letting out what could easily be misinterpreted as a grunt of pain.
“You’re sure you’ve got it under control?” came a voice from the other end of the vessel.
No answer.
“Orn?”
No answer.
The New Editors of Fall 2017
With the new season beginning, and new submissions already beginning to flow in, we thought we would begin the season with a formal introduction of the Fall 2017 editors. We’re … Continue Reading The New Editors of Fall 2017
Girlhood
By Hannah Calkin
During my teenage years I lost
My belief in Fairy Tales and pixie dust
But came to see myself as Persephone:
Legend of beauty, freedom, and imprisonment.
A dynamic dichotomy of all sorts.
Les Bises
by Zach Roberge
Au revoir Le Mans. Au revoir France. I pause a moment before leaning in slowly and kissing your left cheek followed by your right. We embrace then I leave out the door, waving goodbye.
A Nameless Bird
by Tyrel Kessinger
After my wife leaves for work, I round up my two daughters and we head to the backyard, an old raggedy quilt in hand. For a July morning in Kentucky it’s, quite surprisingly, a very pleasant one. Far too nice to not be taking advantage. My youngest daughter occupies the quilt with me under the shade of the one tree I can name, our Japanese Maple.
Forgetting
by Savannah Leigh
The two old men stood at the corner where Briar Avenue met Second Street. Bickering, they hovered over a phone, the faint glow of a maternity shop’s window display washing over them.
Doing Nothing, in French
Aujourd’hui, je me suis réveillé, me suis levé, m’a assis sur le canapé et j’ai passé une journée tranquille au Mans en train de ne rien faire.
Longfellow
Every second week in July, UMF staff and students work practically twenty-four hours a day to run a writing camp and workshop for high school students. Longfellow Young Writers’ Workshop … Continue Reading Longfellow
Postcards
by Michael Crane
My father left my mother today. He caught a taxi to the airport and boarded a plane to Mexico. This confused my mother as she didn’t believe he knew anyone there. I was my parent’s only child and close to my father as any daughter could be. I stayed with my mother for six weeks.