By Marisa Crane There we are drinking Chardonnay out of chipped coffee mugs and intermittently making out on our red Ikea couch for lack of anything better to do. We seem to find ourselves in this scenario a lot. Every night feels like a pass-fail test administered by a voyeuristic universe intent on laughing at our follies and writing a big fat bloody F across … Continue reading Fill Me Up

By Aimee Parkison I once dated an anthropologist.  He committed suicide three days after my twenty-fifth birthday.  He wrote one massive book on the history of humor in parenting practices of early hominids and primates, as well as peoples of post-colonial times, including the use of jokes, especially practical, to teach children to overcome fear of death.  His mother, who outlived him by more than … Continue reading Joe and Irish

By Stephen Briseño –After Simone Muench He is a cock leading his bantam chest into the conference room, primed to crack the dawn with his crow and stamp the earth with the talons of his expertise. On weekends, he sheds his feathers in favor of knee length khakis, leather boat shoes, a turquoise Vineyard Vines tee with a canary merino sweater limped over the shoulders … Continue reading The Oxford English Dictionary Adds Mansplaining

By Salvatore Difalco Lorenzo and his red-cheeked dummy Bruno were making quite the name for themselves on the novelty-act circuit. Audiences across the province delighted in their witty repartee, manic antics, and dazzling acts of voice-throwing. Among other astonishments, Lorenzo would pull a black prophylactic glove over his head and fill it with air until it burst into pieces, while Bruno continued blathering without interruption. … Continue reading Magic Act

By Adrian Ernesto Cepeda Speaking with lenguas why do my red hat vecino neighbors not understand me, am I señora? woman? Hablo con mi boca not with my skin, because they picture me a different shade, caminado in shadows accenting borders, come from the land, mi voz speaks la tierra, hablo con sueños demostrar la pasión mi lengua, listen to mi Corazon, beating ritmos, sonriazs … Continue reading Invisible Tan

By Matt Duggan Seek pastures in olive beneath a bitter moon that twists the space between day and twilight; Realise with each passing decade we exist to dismember our own past; We look up the dress of Lady Liberty turquoise stockings glowing in sunlight – Searching for the fragments of  balance is like catching the departure of a disappearing shadow. We were happy enough to … Continue reading The Future Isn’t What We Expected

The Oxford English Dictionary Adds Mansplaining – Stephen Briseño Invisible Tan – Adrian Ernesto Cepeda Fill Me Up – Marisa Crane Magic Act – Salvatore Difalco The Future Isn’t What We Expected – Matt Duggan Joe and Irish – Aimee Parkison   Continue reading Issue One