Off a Greek Isle
By Kent Neal inside my chest I make a space then fill this cavity with salted breeze before I plunge into the waves and twist then spin as bubbles leave … Continue Reading Off a Greek Isle
Courtyard Elegy
By Kent Neal The curved arm and inclined head of a ballerina. Gunshots from a video game on the ground floor startle me. From the couch, we admire the ripped torso of … Continue Reading Courtyard Elegy
Almost Island
By Kent Neal June 21st, Music Day in Lyon. Hand in hand, man and man wander from band to band, listening to jazz, to rock, to rap, to pop. Beer … Continue Reading Almost Island
Preteens on the Brink
By Kent Neal Alder leaves rustle around us. I nudge my sister, daring her toward the edge. She extends a foot in the direction of the river, holds it in … Continue Reading Preteens on the Brink
the quiet aftertaste
By Heather Emmanuel The dinner hums on. Stainless steel, pans of hand-hammered copper. A row of knives neither dull nor sharp. Black marble gleams in rehearsal. Salmon overseasoned, carrots drenched … Continue Reading the quiet aftertaste
On Completion
by Kylee Walton To start, this will be the final post for this blog. I find myself struggling to grapple with this because I’ve really enjoyed writing these posts, exploring … Continue Reading On Completion
Mrs Rosie and the Priest (final review!)
Review by Katie Lipoma *Spoilers ahead & content warning for murder, rape, and abuse* My final Booked & Busy read was Mrs Rosie and the Priest by Giovanni Boccaccio, one … Continue Reading Mrs Rosie and the Priest (final review!)
Red Lipstick
by Callie Nadeau It is common knowledge that the second most powerful article a woman can have on her person is red lipstick. The first is pepper spray. Nothing grabs … Continue Reading Red Lipstick
Viziman Champion
by Robert Beveridge One step from the doorway and mud under my feet says “home”, the stink of stray dog, the forge, the sewer grate just down the stairs across … Continue Reading Viziman Champion
Watercolor, The Lightness of New Beginnings, & The Turning
by Corbin Buff Watercolor The image is brewed in cold water: a few tepid brush strokes the central form divined from its background, details intuited from their absence… until a … Continue Reading Watercolor, The Lightness of New Beginnings, & The Turning
Nostalgic Things
by Lilah Thomas The sound of an old clock ticking as one wakes from a mid-day nap, the soft yellow glow of sunlight seeping through thin fabric curtains. Blowing the … Continue Reading Nostalgic Things
Ode to My Hands
by Lilah Thomas Here are my hands. Like my mother’s, but with my father’s fingernails. The ones that grow over the edges when they aren’t clipped regularly. Though, his are … Continue Reading Ode to My Hands
I Call Them the Unicycle Twins—
by Evangeline Sanders matching men on matching heaps of metal churning silver pedals every morning at 10:00am— two scrawny bodies, all veins and kneecaps, soft hair swiped across a balding … Continue Reading I Call Them the Unicycle Twins—
The First Year of Marriage is Always the Most Psychotic
by Alex Carrigan Celebrate the first anniversaryby throwing a sink through a windowand eating the glass shards with theslice of wedding cake you put inthe back of the freezer. Tear … Continue Reading The First Year of Marriage is Always the Most Psychotic
Illness Interlude
Dear Booked & Busy Readers, It seems that the winter weather has gotten the best of me as I’m sick. Therefore, there is no review this week, but stay tuned … Continue Reading Illness Interlude
Newsfeed
by Gus Peterson Every time you cut me, I lose a piece of myself. Every time I thought I could read you, I slapped myself awake. So hard the ears ring. … Continue Reading Newsfeed