Today’s post is written by Christopher Woods. His series of photography “In Transit” appears in our Spring 2016 issue. If I do not move, my heart is still beating. Blood courses through arteries and veins through my body. The engine goes, but where? I stand up. I am in a room. I cross the room. I cross […]
The Story Behind “The Call of Birds” by P. Kearney Byrne
January 4, 2016
Today’s post is written by P. Kearney Byrne, whose short story “The Call Birds” appears in our Fall 2015 issue. In 2013, I saw a UK short story competition with a prize of £7,500; a lot of money at a time when I was indulging in daily fantasies of winning my way into the black in […]
The Story Behind “Puzzle Pieces” by Bernard Grant
December 10, 2015
Today’s post is written by Bernard Grant. A piece of his creative nonfiction—”Puzzle Pieces“—appears in our Fall 2015 issue. Sometimes an image causes words to sound in my head, looping like a catchy jingle. The only way to lose it is to write. “Puzzle Pieces” was an attempt to rid myself of one such sound: “The woman […]
The Story Behind “Two Poems” by Jenna Kilic-Somers
November 30, 2015
Today’s post is written by Jenna Kilic-Somers. Her poems “My Father Recites a Story in Low Voice” and “Language” appear in our Fall 2015 issue. On the day before learning that my father had passed away, I dashed off the first draft of “My Father Recites a Story in Low Voice” for a workshop I had the next […]
The Story Behind “Two Poems” by Deborah Bacharach
November 16, 2015
Today’s post is written by Deborah Bacharach. Two of her poems appear in our Fall 2015 issue. Twenty years ago, I was lying on the grass at Green Lake reading my mom’s college copy of Whitman and writing what I saw, what I felt. It was a slim green volume with her name carefully lettered on the frontispiece […]
The Story Behind “The Basque Shepherd” by Richard LeBlond
November 2, 2015
Today’s post is written by Richard LeBlond, whose essay “The Basque Shepherd” appears in our Fall 2015 issue. At first I was reluctant to write about the circumstances leading to “The Basque Shepherd.” The essay had already crawled inside itself, becoming part of the story. I didn’t think it could support a third perspective. But when I […]
The Story Behind “Raro” by José Angel Araguz
October 26, 2015
Today’s post is written by José Angel Araguz. “Raro,” a piece of his short fiction, appears in our Fall 2015 issue. “Raro” is part of a forthcoming collection, Everything We Think We Hear (Floricanto Press), whose pieces deal primarily with what it meant for me to grow up in and out of South Texas. While growing […]
The Story Behind “Summoning Dylan” by Dan Alter
August 19, 2015
Today’s post is written by Dan Alter. We published his poem “Summoning Dylan” in our Spring 2015 issue. In one sense, although this poem is framed as a summoning, it is a work of exorcism. The poem is a séance to exorcise Dylan, who has haunted me for more than thirty years: his power, his unswerving full […]
The Story Behind “Benny’s Bed” by Kate Wisel
August 10, 2015
Today’s post is written by Kate Wisel. We published her short story “Benny’s Bed” in our Spring 2015 issue. “Benny’s Bed” was born out of a story a friend told at 3 a.m. as we were falling asleep in my college living room. In short, when she was in high school, her friend’s boyfriend died of a […]
The Story Behind “On Plotting the Dime Novel,” by Kathleen Glassburn
July 28, 2015
Today’s post is written by Kathleen Glassburn. We published her conversation with Laura Madeline Wiseman—“On Plotting the Dime Novel“ —in our Spring 2015 issue. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by all the options. I’m talking about the deluge of email invitations and announcements. I often wonder: Should I do this? Should I sign up for this? Should I stop everything and re-write a story […]
