Month: September 2020

Criticism

The Abandonment of California by Joan Didion: A Comparative Glance at Run River and Where I Was From

In an alternate universe, perhaps Joan Didion herself might have become some version of Lily Knight, the dissatisfied, cuckolding Sacramento girl who couldn’t seem to fathom how to be a good wife to the man who loved her. Without her writing talent as a ticket out of town, Didion could have easily become just another Golden State tragedy, damned to a lifetime of complacence and … Continue reading The Abandonment of California by Joan Didion: A Comparative Glance at Run River and Where I Was From

Genna Rivieccio2 Comments
Poetry

Untitled by Noémie Zumer

And when he comes From the beatThat I touched To stand by meIt’s a new time A new periodLike bloodExperiencing itselfDown my thighsOh, beautiful thighs!If no one else can properly love you, Then I surely will Rightfully. I should. I shall. I am. I rebel against a man’s handIndustryA man who is angry At the weight he is carrying A man who is righteous A man who is infinitely entitled.Then war, I declare.  War I will conductAll on … Continue reading Untitled by Noémie Zumer

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Fiction

The Former King of Sparta by Zeke Greenwald

Demaratos began to feel remorse as he approached Sardis on foot. He was traveling with his slave. The last king of Lydia before the Persian conquest was called Croesus. He had made the city fantastic. The gates were carved with reliefs of men enacting different parts of their city’s history, which Demaratos didn’t know, so he couldn’t understand the carvings. That was a little later … Continue reading The Former King of Sparta by Zeke Greenwald

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Criticism

I’m Thinking of Ending Things Is the Unvarnished Exploration of What It Means to Be Alone, And The Inherent Meaninglessness of Life When You Are

Thinking about it now, there was probably no one else in the world besides Charlie Kaufman who could have adapted Iain Reid’s surreal 2016 novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. No one with the same outlook on life or ability to manifest the psychological with such aesthetic deftness. With renewed interest in the source material thanks to the recent release of its film version, it … Continue reading I’m Thinking of Ending Things Is the Unvarnished Exploration of What It Means to Be Alone, And The Inherent Meaninglessness of Life When You Are

Genna Rivieccio1 Comment
Poetry

Weeping Teeth by Isabel Marie

Claws weep as they crack the fleshtrembling ivorypalms pushing the dagger deepIt is so      much      harder       to kick a fallen soldier,Your hollow aching carcasspours gangrene through my feetknocked back by iron anklesto waste hopeless at my kneesIt is so      much      harder       to cut an infant leech,Withered, the child stands sobbinggrasping with blackened armsthey … Continue reading Weeping Teeth by Isabel Marie

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Essay

Moi les hommes, je les déteste: A Confluence of Misogyny-Based Censorship in France

While France prides itself on being a nation of liberté, the unspoken caveat is that one usually needs to be a man to enjoy such liberté. The feelings of “retro-ness” that women in the country have long felt, whether about gender or racial discrimination (see: Virginie Despentes’ recent comment on the discrepancy between those affected by COVID-19), has reached such a fever pitch that they’ve … Continue reading Moi les hommes, je les déteste: A Confluence of Misogyny-Based Censorship in France

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Poetry

What’s Left? by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko

They hand you a handout…a look     a number…a label a social identity that passes for you They call you they and them—   Black people   poor people gay people   other people  They add on ‘’people’’ to distinguish you  from White Western male majority  They can’ t help being like that     They were born that way  Do unto others before they do unto you Go ahead make duplicates  only I’ll keep the original  I anonymously yours am at a loss  Coiled in my shell—a cheap hotel  or is it … Continue reading What’s Left? by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko

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