Tag Archives: United States

CRAIG KIRCHNER: No Need For Papers

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

We are evolving in America, ears getting smaller, feet bigger, but we are losing our little toes. Josh was born today with a red, white and blue label at the base of his neck: “Made in USA – White, no bleach.” No one in the delivery room could read it.

Craig loves storytelling. He has been nominated for the Pushcart three times, and has a book of poetry, Roomful of Navels. He’s been published in Chiron Review, The Main Street Rag, One Art, Glacial Hill Review and about eight dozen other journals.

GRAHAM ROBERT SCOTT: Nostalgia Porn

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Night cracks. Night pops. Night strobes with unnatural hues.

As I light another, I hear the dog inside whine and thump her head trying to squeeze under the couch.

My son says with everything going on in the world, this feels premature.

“Shut up,” I growl, “and let me celebrate.”

Graham Robert Scott’s stories have appeared in Barrelhouse, Nature, and Pulp Literature.

GWENDOLYN JOYCE MINTZ: Sugoi

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , , , , , ,

Abroad, learning the language, culture, history. At the memorial, it’s hard to breathe. They couldn’t either.

A tower of names. Clocks. It is 11:02 forever.

Sugoi is Japanese—something amazing or awful.

Where are you from? They know their own.

I’m American, but those words, here, are hard to say.

Gwendolyn Joyce Mintz is a writer and photographer. She is the author of two fiction chapbooks, “Mother Love” and “Where I’ll Be If I’m Not There.” She reads, gardens, and sews teddy bears for fun. See more at wwwonewriter.blogspot.com.

SUSAN RUKEYSER: America, 2016

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

We lock eyes at the supermarket exit: White kid; nineteen, maybe twenty; camo and boots in this heat.

I look for the AR-15 but all he carries is a box of Twinkies.

Someone yells, “Hey!” but the kid is fast, already on his moped. Gone, Twinkies crushed between his knees.

Susan Rukeyser loves America but has concerns. She wrote a novel, Not On Fire, Only Dying (Twisted Road Publications, 2015). Find more at her website, susanrukeyser.com.