A Literary Magazine Sponsored by The University of Maine at Farmington
The River is a representation of the Sandy River itself, which runs alongside the university and what inspired the name of the journal. It is a constantly flowing, ebbing and surging, body of content filled with contemporary work. To submit to The River please visit our Submissions page to the left or e mail TheRiverEditors@gmail.com directly.
By Michael T. Young I Ask How long is it to the next season, the next doorstep, our arrival at the threshold of another embrace, the curtain of intimacies in … Continue Reading “I Ask”, “The Promise of Flight”, and “The Benefit of Common Words”
By Dominik Slusarczyk Speech You say something. They laugh at you. You decide to Stay silent for the rest of your wretched life. Your wife immediately objects but You ignore … Continue Reading “Speech”
By Karen Regen Tuero My Hairdresser Wears Combat Boots The first thing I noticed about my new hairdresser was not the stylish joggers, but the combat boots. They gave me … Continue Reading “MY HAIRDRESSER WEARS COMBAT BOOTS”
By Huina Zheng Tiger Auntie’s Dinner Under a moonlit night, my brother and I, jolted awake by fierce knocks, tiptoed to our door. Isolated in our forest home, with Ba’s … Continue Reading “Tiger Auntie’s Dinner” and “Lost Youth”
By Casey Killingsworth Just a bad day So– You’re on your way to your daughter’s fresh from the phone call that she and her husband might be calling it quits, … Continue Reading “Just a bad day” and “A road blessing for my granddaughter’s (probably ex) boyfriend”
By Hyun Woo Kim Richard haunts me after all these years when my husband falls asleep. I had every right to turn down his crush on me; looking back, it … Continue Reading “Redemption”
By Anna Heneise From its origins as a single film released in 1977, titled simply Star Wars, George Lucas’ world and story has grown into a dozen films, half a … Continue Reading “Like Poetry:” The Story vs. the Franchise
Skink By Wilson Krause Did you know that lizards of the family Scincidae have developed a process during reproduction that is analogous to the mammalian placenta? Not for a live … Continue Reading CONTEST HONORABLE MENTION: “Skink” by Wilson Krause
Spinning By Rowan Fitzgerald A sudden release of tension discomposed his very soul. He began spinning at a dizzying rate. Each rotation gave him a contrasting but fleeting view of … Continue Reading CONTEST WINNER: “Spinning” by Rowan Fitzgerald
Zone of Interest ends with a man walking down stairs. An S.S Officer. It is presented simply but the area is so bare. So specifically made. The black and white … Continue Reading Zone of Interest, a film essay by Sean Miguel Maher
It’s interesting the way people can’t imagine people. My mom watches and talks to me about killers she watches in documentary television shows. Much of the killing and their details … Continue Reading The Way People Can’t Imagine People, a film essay by Sean Maher
By Anna Heneise Star Wars is a story built with parallels and inversions and especially symbolism. Characters are not simply characters, they represent change in the larger political and social … Continue Reading Parallels in Hope: Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Solo
Perfect Days is a film directed by Wim Wenders about a Japanese man who lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. There is a subtlety to the film, in how unsubtle … Continue Reading Trying, a film essay by Sean Maher.
By Robert Rebsch Composer for adult theater, children’s theater, jingles and audiobooks. Theater productions include: Minimum Wage, Captain Courage, You + Me = We, as well as a series of … Continue Reading “T.V. Bob” – A podcast
By Mark Bennion Foregoing Drama I’d like to think of act threewithout lions roaring on a rampart,without the grand chorus lineor the ax coming down on my back.I … Continue Reading “Foregoing Drama” and “Glimpse”
By Gwen Lombard A Tulip And The Switchblade An arm wrapped around her waist, and a sinking feeling grew in the pits of her stomach. Evelyn bit back a … Continue Reading “A Tulip And The Switchblade”