Sticky post
Satire

The Opiate Books Presents Lindsay Lohan Stole My Life: A Satire of the 00s

The book that was too hot to handle in Hollywood and all other mainstream locales (basically just leaving Italy, where scandal is sacrosanct and nobody reads anyway). Find out the truth about the 00s and the butterfly effect of Lindsay Lohan not only on our current Kardashian-Jenner driven culture, but on ex-socialite and underdog Tate Carmichael. Buy a tangible copy online at Bookshop.org here. Or … Continue reading The Opiate Books Presents Lindsay Lohan Stole My Life: A Satire of the 00s

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Criticism

2012 and Alcoholism Survivor Support Group: Megan Nolan’s Acts of Desperation

Like her main character, Megan Nolan feels bad. Bad that she couldn’t have offered a “cheerier” book, perhaps, to the masses–but most especially bad for those in her hometown of Waterford, Ireland, which also cameos in what, for some, might be an all too recognizable tale. Aptly called Acts of Desperation. A title, in fact, that makes one marvel at how no author ever thought … Continue reading 2012 and Alcoholism Survivor Support Group: Megan Nolan’s Acts of Desperation

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Poetry

Revolution by Susie Gharib

[A reading of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities] The word reeks with the ravings of mankind,the spilling of blood that is redder than wine,the chopping of heads like chickens’ at the slaughterhouse,the barbarous pillage of every temple of God,the perpetuation of the legacy of original but now genetic crime.And amid the stench of persecuted blooda man sought the guillotine to part with his … Continue reading Revolution by Susie Gharib

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Poetry

The Heart Cries Eternally by Ron Kolm

We had terrible fights, with littlepeace between the conflagrations.When we finally split up, I tossedmy wedding band down a sewer gratehoping I’d broken the circleof never-ending pain. Recently,after too many White Russians,I told a friend what I’d done years ago.“Damn,” he said, “You should have sold itto a jewelry store in the Diamond District.”“Nope,” I confessed. “Every time I wentto 47th Street, it was to spend money.I would … Continue reading The Heart Cries Eternally by Ron Kolm

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Essay

Lourdes Leon Reading bell hooks Has Some Weighty Implications

Among other casual bombshells in Lourdes Leon’s first Vanity Fair feature, one included, of all things, her reading list. For starters, it wasn’t necessarily imagined she would be “basic” enough to fuck with Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility. For another, bell hooks being name-dropped (specifically 2000’s All About Love: New Visions) seems, in many respects, vaguely traitorous to her own mother, who was the subject of … Continue reading Lourdes Leon Reading bell hooks Has Some Weighty Implications

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Poetry

The Dance by Snata Basu

My biggest dream is to not be lonely,among other things, of course.Such a big portion of me struggles to reason the outcome,the past and future all seem a blind torch,where am I now? a giant theatre.Now begins the lovely show.Oh so lovely, the dance of recovery,nauseating, and awfully slowSo compelling is the rhythm and the music,sick and revolting,so incredibly alone.I must dance, here and now,The … Continue reading The Dance by Snata Basu

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Poetry

Killshot by Xavier Jones

I’m packing every day. Don’t make me pull it outI’ve got you in my sights, but I’m not a sniperI’m staring you in the face. Let’s go cowboyWho’s the quickest on the draw?Someone’s life might end before this standoff is overYou better not miss, because I won’tYou’ve clearly never saw La HaineWell this is the last sceneI’m Hubert, and this is for Vinz and AbdelNo … Continue reading Killshot by Xavier Jones

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Poetry

The Hinterland by Thomas Wells

Democracy devolves into tyranny, Plato cautioned.Flooded by the frigid torrent of factionalism,will we certify his prediction? Blinded by the prevarication of public discourse.Numbed by the inundation of disinformation.Crippled by the conspiracy of doubt.The real deep state festers in our cortex,a place where the charlatans of fallacyinvade,a dwelling where terrorists of mindtake control. But the terrain before us is vast.The dense forest and effulgent meadows ahead … Continue reading The Hinterland by Thomas Wells

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Poetry

Life-Sparing Water by Xavier Jones

As the smoke rose their hypocrisy again fellDisguised as water that only further fueledAn inferno of consciousness and contemptFor clouds blown in on the winds of opportunismPassing to pretend for a rare momentTo be part of the collective effortTo support our fragile motherWhose love for her children and strangers alikeIs truly abundant and unconditionalGracious enough is she to overlook their faultsAs she was raised to … Continue reading Life-Sparing Water by Xavier Jones

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Poetry

Vending Machine by Steve Denehan

It’s been one of those daysso, I decide to end itwith something from the vending machine wrappers and packetsprimary colorsso many, all good I settle on a Mars Barput the coins in the slotpress E4 the metal coil rotatesthe bar is pushed forwardonly to fall and rest against the glass I should have expected thatJesusI shake the machine, nope then, lightning strikesI put the last … Continue reading Vending Machine by Steve Denehan

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