Tag: nonfiction
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“The Him Sim” by Aarron Sholar
But there’s no need for him now because that him is me, and I am more like him than I was before.
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“Soul Blister” by K Anand Gall
Soul Blister Even though it has been swelling to a throbbing tightness, you decide not to pop the blister, the artifact of a day at the amusement park. You wore sandals, Keens, the ones composed of two cords and a sole. They weren’t new; you’d had them for years. They moved you between the entrance […]
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“Water Works” by Dai Lin
Water works By 10 a.m., the African sun has baked me into the ground at 97 degrees. Like an overgrown, overripe mango, my body drops, collapses, puddles. The Ghanaian women around me are fasting from dawn ‘til dusk, without water, for Ramadan. At the dugout, they dunk and fill their water vessels with a blurring […]
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“On Zumba” by Meg Petersen
My Zumba instructor is excited because Halloween falls on one of our class days, and even though this is more than a month away, she tells us to “Get your costumes ready, ladies!” and goes on to gush about every costume she’s ever worn in the who-knows-how-many years she has been teaching Zumba. She is, […]
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Career Development Assessment by Dan Morey
Career Development Assessment SAID ABOUT SUBJECT: “Seems sort of contrarian.” “Fun to hang out with.” “Not really a team player.” “A bit on the eccentric side.” CHILDHOOD INCIDENTS: Dinner at subject’s father’s club. Subject, younger brother slip away from table. Discover box of coffee creamers in back room. Declare war. Battle rages until man (old, […]
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Rocket Worship by Devin Thomas O’Shea
The drones over Yemen sound like lawnmowers in the sky. They are impossible to ignore, and algorithms determine strike targets based on unknown criteria and so the people beneath must wake every day and ask themselves if their behavior is suspiciously terroristic in the eyes of the power overhead. Would entering my cousin’s house be […]
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More than a Bookstore by Alina Gonzalez
Despite boasting a population well over 70,000, Flagstaff seems to pride itself on the small town charm epitomized by its historic downtown district. There, you can find many local and sometimes quirky businesses. One of my favorite places to visit is Bright Side Bookshop, which holds the unofficial title of Flagstaff’s only independent book store. […]
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Exploring Cli-Fi: Can Fiction Change Your Mind? by Tianna Jordening
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” — The Lorax A couple years ago, I was speaking with a writer friend about fiction’s ability to change peoples’ minds. We were both taking an environmental fiction class, and she voiced her frustrations with this premise. She said […]
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In Memoriam by Miram Ben-Yoseph
My mother died on her birthday 40 years ago. She died in Israel. I light the memorial candle in my kitchen in Evanston and recite the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead. I drag the box with the “fragile, handle with care” sign on it from the basement and put it on the chair […]
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PREPARING FOR WAR by Kirby Michael Wright
The rise of Papohaku Beach fills with builders. Worms of shaved wood curl off stone chisels. The breeze carries the scent of koa. They are hollowing out the logs brought down by Moloka’i men from the forest at Kualapu’u. Women braid luahala that will become sails. Girls sing of my triumph, weaving their spell into […]
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