Ambulance, Take Me Away by Elina Sventsytska

Ambulance, take me away.You, who helps all the sick.For so long, long, so longthe river of pain drags…Ambulance, take me away. That sinister voice of yours,the voice of a hunted beast.The bitter air carries it like smokethrough the eternal town.Grief marches through dull life,its paths worn-out,while a star, heavy and dead,falls rapidly to your feet. Ambulance, take me away.Take me anywhere you can,into any tiny gap,that there … Continue reading Ambulance, Take Me Away by Elina Sventsytska

Genna RivieccioMarch 31, 2023Leave a comment

Poetry

Better Off Friends by Rich McFarlin

Verse:A fairy-tale romanceStars in our eyesLives all entangledHearts all entwined We knew that our loveWas destined to beMy heart for youAnd your heart for me But life has a wayOf bursting balloonsReal life is realAnd not some cartoon Chorus:The long road you travelOften comes to an endAnd lovers they findsometimesThat they’re just better off friends Verse:Packing up boxesFilled with regretsTryin’ to find outIf there’s hope … Continue reading Better Off Friends by Rich McFarlin

Genna RivieccioMarch 24, 2023March 24, 2023Leave a comment

Poetry

Philip Roth by Ron Kolm

I first met Philip Roth many years ago when I was working at Coliseum Books, on the corner of 57th Street and Broadway. Coliseum was one of the largest bookstores in Manhattan at the time and was the place to go if you were a serious lover of books. Coliseum was also at the top of the list of places to make an appearance for … Continue reading Philip Roth by Ron Kolm

Genna RivieccioMarch 19, 20232 Comments

Fiction

Adam and Eve by David Sheskin

A thirty-six-year-old, seven-foot-two-inch magician named Adam pulls an angry, obese, buck-toothed, black-and-white spotted, one-eyed rabbit out of a gray velour hat at a birthday party for a five-year-old child attended by fourteen children. Before Adam can restrain the rabbit, it attacks and maims three of the children. The next day, two police officers arrest Adam, who is assigned a court-appointed lawyer that has him evaluated … Continue reading Adam and Eve by David Sheskin

Genna RivieccioMarch 18, 2023Leave a comment

Fiction

Those Damn Singing Competitions by Kate Maxwell

She had no idea she could move that fast. She wasn’t exactly unfit, but she wasn’t exactly sporty either. Maybe third place in a running race at school once, and somewhat adept in a couple of half-hearted volleyball games, but nobody would ever describe her as athletic. Ro, on the other hand, had always been sprint champion and, even now, was still blitzing it in … Continue reading Those Damn Singing Competitions by Kate Maxwell

Genna RivieccioMarch 16, 2023March 16, 2023Leave a comment

Essay

There’s Being A Literary Snob And There’s Being A Cunt (Or Rather, A Scrotum)

It’s accurate to say that we don’t live in the most literate of times (no, #BookTok doesn’t count). Any expectation on someone to know what can reasonably be viewed as an “esoteric” reference outside of 2004, when Reese Witherspoon starred in the Mira Nair-directed adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, isn’t exactly realistic. But to a quintessential British/literary snob like Hugh Grant, it ostensibly … Continue reading There’s Being A Literary Snob And There’s Being A Cunt (Or Rather, A Scrotum)

Genna RivieccioMarch 14, 2023March 14, 2023Leave a comment

Poetry

The Striped Marlin We Set Free by Cynthia Good

Looking for dorados in the gulf we trolled fastFrom harbor toward Chileno Bay, and landedA baby striped marlin under fifty pounds,Her satin skin a negligee of streaming indigo,Yellow and green, her elegant bill, sharpAs a sword but useless in the struggle. SheFlailed hard, drumming the hallowed fiberglass,Heaving her slim self into a corner, torso arching,Hammering with all she had. Imagine her surpriseAs ocean flooded her … Continue reading The Striped Marlin We Set Free by Cynthia Good

Genna RivieccioMarch 11, 2023Leave a comment

Fiction

It’s the Principle by Kate Maxwell

The cycle had begun and there was no stopping it now. Bruce was still leaning into the fridge and complaining when I came back from the photocopier. Apparently, there’d been three Sicilian pizza pieces leftover from yesterday’s lunch meeting which Bruce had wrapped in paper towels and stored in the fridge. And apparently, everyone knew he intended to eat them for lunch today as nobody … Continue reading It’s the Principle by Kate Maxwell

Genna RivieccioMarch 9, 2023Leave a comment

Poetry

Briefly Rapturous by Dale Champlin

I admit I love beauty—is there anything more splendidthan an open casket? See how the corpse is laid out in finery—all pink satin and serenity. Noticethe carefully applied makeup, ladylike— unlike anything that went before.The departed soul might flit—moth-delicate in candlelight. Bouquets burgeon down either sideof the aisle—trumpet-shaped vasesgleam lustered, golden and glossy at the end of each pew—a dusting of roses, lilies and baby’s-breaththe … Continue reading Briefly Rapturous by Dale Champlin

Genna RivieccioMarch 2, 2023March 2, 2023Leave a comment