The Douen King of the Mangrove by Phedra Deonarine
The sugar plantation on the island caused the air to smell of burning sap. The black ash from the plantation covered Parbati’s land. The sensitive plant in her garden didn’t like when the plantation was active. Its leaves closed tightly … Continue reading
Stories about Witches by Laurel Radzieski
I. Once there was a girl who walked on all fours – feet and hands. The only time she was allowed to stand on just two legs was when she … Continue reading
A Warning to Would-Be Runaway Wives by Eileen Malone
The story goes that that on moonless, starless nights, as if snapped loose from its moorings, an oil-black boat floats oar-less, sightless, in spite of eyes painted on both sides of the prow she was a runaway wife who fled … Continue reading
Excerpts From: A Defense Of James Upland-Stewart, An Honorable Librarian and Not a Traitor By Gordon Brown
I. “Our foes are in our midst and all about us. There is hardly a house but is divided against itself… We are mere figureheads upon a hulk, with livers in the place of hearts.” – A Plea For Captain … Continue reading
Sweet Potatoes by Helen Hofling
It was still during the early years of flooding when I began to develop phantom protuberances. What a disorienting time. Geography was changing so quickly, people reacted in unexpected ways. I heard of some who became addicted to taking baths, … Continue reading
Emma Goldman on Mars by Lorraine Schein
Emma Goldman has been reconstituted by the advanced science of anarchists of the future living on Mars from an ancient can of Manischewitz chicken soup. Her lover, Ben Reitman, King of the Space Hoboes, returns from the Astral Plane where … Continue reading
Queen Elizabeth as Fungus by Gregory Ariail
Queen Elizabeth still exists in the Appalachian Mountains. Old man Volney took me down to Devil’s Elbow where a cascade froths against a corner of the mountain. The river there is rapid, deep, and dangerous even for trout. “We gotta … Continue reading
Spoon by Brittany Pladek
I was the second object the princess touched when she gained the gift to enliven dead things, but she did not notice me between the clacking puppet and miaowing harpsichord. So I was left for the cook to clear as … Continue reading
My Grandmother, The Swan by Vanessa Wang
My mother and my grandmother have always lived together, from the time my mother was a suckling baby till now, sixty years later. Out of a need to support one another, these two women have always lived together. But to … Continue reading
Foment by Susannah Russell
The blow came unseen, an invisible fist shattering my jaw. I spat my teeth into the dusk. It swallowed those hot white fragments; then it retched, pelting the earth like a priestess casting bones. I sifted them from the dust … Continue reading