Matthew McEver The Man Who Sold His Name He was the only son of Nathaniel Hawthorne and he wrote for a living. He wrote true crime, mystery, potboilers, children’s stories, bodice rippers, science fiction, and travel narratives. He…
Anni Liu Lives Unlived In a century rife with political upheaval, the literature of China’s expats largely reflects the times. Yiyun Li’s new novel Kinder Than Solitude is no exception. Yet, at its core, Li’s work probes the…
Brit Graham We follow, unaware of the things born to us, luck, comets, pocket lint. We wash our straw-stick hair and note we’ve not shed as enthusiastically of late and white sheets remain white. A glass sits atop the…
Kelly Matthews English Let me teach you how to lie. Each night locks turned we sing: I’m not afraid to die. Deep in sleep we meet a heavier freight; face the stone space inside the mind. You…
Kelly Matthews English Last night crows paused on their way to roost in the sycamore outside our window and we watched them bat and banter like any group of creatures in a small space. They have the…
Sara Kuhl A brilliant writer is able to capture the essence of a life in a few carefully selected words. Some writers work a lifetime to just once achieve that moment of clarity. For others, their short stories and…
Kevin Welch In 1987, army veteran Scott Ely published his debut, Starlight, a novel that amidst the traffic of fiction failed to break even the longest of top lists for the year. It is still not recognized by search…
Phil Morris I remember this one day most specifically when fishing Beulah Bay with Daddy and Dr. Belue. Once Dr. Belue ran over a log full speed, while we were hollering at him, and knocking the outboard up into…
Julie Marie Wade In 2001, I was heading to graduate school to pursue a Master’s degree in creative writing. My Aunt Linda had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was moving home to live with her mother. We seemed…
Mark Hitz Along the shore lay stretches of perfect unmarked road, unreal road. The asphalt was deep-black, halved by a severe double line, and it cut along the mountain like an incision. We had nothing to say to each…