by J. Paul Ross UNNATURAL OCCURRENCE ON KLONDIKE STREET [From the Weekly Standard Gazette, September 15, 2019] In all my years covering the important goings on in our fair city, never before has this reporter witnessed a tale like the one I am about to describe. It is so amazing, so unbelievable that it may
by Francine Witte One day, Elm Street turns purple. Amethyst, lilac, and mauve. Everything, everywhere licked with it. Mr. Jones, from what used to be the yellow house, steps out on his mulberry lawn. This is the work of hoodlums, he says. He drives away to find the police, his car leaving deep orchid fumes.
by Sue Brennan Aaron figured out which waitress was the one in the story. He’d come here before midday because in the story Eva complained about having to get ready for work while trying not to disturb her sleeping boyfriend, Geoff. Aaron varied his visits between 7am and midday over a week. There were three
by Shoshauna Shy She met her true soulmate under a beach umbrella on Nantucket Island, felt like she dodged a bullet, but eventually Soulmate returned to his wife. He took up with a Finnish bricklayer who already had custody of a couple of kids, and neither of them ever came around to liking him. She
by David Hallock Sanders A thin crescent moon hung low above the other apartments. The bright arc cradled the moon’s faint, red shadow. The new moon in the old moon’s arms, he thought. That’s what his father used to call it. Terry’s head throbbed. His 60-year-old body ached. He hadn’t taught a yoga class in
by Alan Swyer Some of our greatest music was created in strange ways. A Ray Charles classic came to life when the manager of a theater feared that the audience would tear out the seats if Ray, who’d run out of material, didn’t take the stage again. Instructing his band to follow his lead, Ray
by Kimmo Rosenthal Everything comes alive when contradictions accumulate. —Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space …no such combination of scenery exists as the painter of genius may produce. —Edgar Allan Poe, The Domain of Arnheim René Magritte’s Domain of Arnheim René Magritte’s genius lies in his ability to transcend and subvert artistic convention in order
by Cari Oleskewicz Cora’s kayak is balanced on top of Andy’s compact car. From my seat on the passenger side, I watch its pointy yellow tip, imagining it flying off the roof like a javelin. This kayak has been a fixture at Andy’s house for the entire three-and-a-half years of our relationship. It is faded
Summer 2021 Dedicated to Nicholas Johnson and Maureen Holm, co-founders of BigCityLit Red by Nicholas Johnson Poetry Fiction Nonfiction Reviews