When I read a good poem, I want to jam out each line and hot glue fragments to my bare-chested nipples, to truly embody the poem. I want to hustle on the corner for eight hours a day as a performance art piece called My Nipples Burn For Truth. It would bring grown men to […]
“On The Experience of Reading Poetry (& Other Things)” by Joseph Cassara
August 31, 2011 by 1 Comment
Two poems by Tyler Gobble
August 31, 2011 by 3 Comments
Tell Me You’ve Got Good News About My Head The stroke, a few years, a decade ago even, the doctor said, and my death could never come fast enough because the tears inside my children’s faces are wishing wells, Hoping for me to sober up, but this week’s religion lesson tells speaking in tongues is […]
“Light as a Feather” by Christina Murphy
August 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I have known Lydia for years and am visiting her in St. Louis to celebrate the opening of her second store. She sells futons. I didn’t know you could make a living selling futons, but apparently you can, and a good one at that. Lydia has named her store Light as a Feather and it […]
“Barney” by Chloe Caldwell
August 25, 2011 by 6 Comments
I wanted to be on Barney. I wanted to be famous. I thought if I got on Barney then I would be famous. Jesus. That’s weird. That I wanted that. I just wanted to be one of those kids. They were happy. I was happy too. They could sing. So could I. I think I […]
UFR Presents: The Life of the Heart: A Conversation with Heather Fowler
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Heather Fowler received her M.A. in English and Creative Writing from Hollins University. She has taught composition, literature, and writing-related courses at UCSD, California State University at Stanislaus, and Modesto Junior College. Her fabulist fiction has been published online and in print in the US, England, Australia, and India, as well as recently nominated for […]
“From The String Town Chronicles” by Joe Kapitan
August 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
What We Wove The first time we tried using string, I was barely able to understand such things, but the older people in town said it would be good for us to visualize our loves, acknowledge our desires, so it began with wives tying strings to their husbands, parents to their children, children to their […]
Two poems by Corey Mesler
August 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Hide and Seek for my sister, Sue We played hide and seek in our house where all the places to hide were known. Still I would slide under the sewing table, parting its curtains as if they were the skirt of a saint. Inside it was dark like birth. My heart beat fast. I never […]
Review: If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This
August 19, 2011 by 5 Comments
The Reviewed: If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black The Reviewer: Judy Clement Wall *** I read Robin Black’s short story collection If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, in part, because it was recommended to me by someone who doesn’t like short stories. She says short stories tend to […]
“Naked” by Matthew Zanoni Müller
August 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
At Christmas I was brushing my teeth with my brother. We were supposed to get ready for bed but instead we ran around the house and hid from my mother. She yelled in a way that made us want to help her. We got undressed. “Grandpa’s coming over,” I heard my brother yell down the […]
UFR Presents: I Learn As I Go: A Conversation with Kevin Sampsell
August 16, 2011 by 1 Comment
Photo credit: B. Frayn Masters Kevin Sampsell is an editor (Portland Noir and other books), publisher (Future Tense Press), bookstore employee (Powell’s Books), and author. His latest book is A Common Pornography. He lives in Portland, Oregon. http://www.kevinsampsell.com *** M Thompson first met Kevin through his publishing imprint, Future Tense Press. He had just moved […]
