At this moment I am choosing to see because I know that even if I choose not to, even if I close my eyes or look away, everything will still be there, and if I miss ugliness then I’ll miss beauty, too.… more
Author Archives: Ben Drevlow
Salina
CREATIVE NONFICTION by Kent QuaneyDad had rarely spoken of Salina. Said they’d been poor, and that was that. But once, he told us that his mother, long dead from a drunk driving accident, had been considered the most beautiful woman in Kansas.… more
Stranded
FICTION by Rekha ValliappanThe mammoth carcass that had washed up from the sea was pearly gray and larger than anything I had ever seen. Not even my school bus would compare. A glimmer of sun glistened over it like the sea’s shedding skin, leaving what remained bound to the beach, wet, bloated, damaged and stranded.… more
Spirals
FICTION by John M. FredericksI’ve got a small .38 snub nose with a slick oak handle and a silver barrel holstered nice and tight underneath my jeans. I’m going to rob Danny Boy.… more
The Righteous Shall Be Called to Dance
FICTION by Joey HedgerHarold leaned back into a floating position, his arms outreached to either side. He stared upward at it all. Sunlight. Birds. Clouds. The arc of the universe moving in a torquish progression from one horizon to the other. It calmed him.… more
Bum Dog
FLASH FICTION by Nadim SilvermanLook here, they seemed to be saying. The man took my balls. I am the last of my line. I am the conclusion.… more
Cheeseburger Man
FICTION by D.M. Chávez-SolisBecause Joe’s refraining from guzzling but is nursing his first, icy, Friday night beer but longs for a serious chug… because he understands that his independent third-grader, soon to be in fourth grade, is eager to impress her old dad… Joe has promised to wait and watch from the Falcon until everything is ready for pickup.… more
Pariah
FLASH FICTION by Jamy BondWhen I was in my 20s I’d think: I can do anything for a year. A year is nothing. I can snort coke every day; I can date a psychotic nymphomaniac. In my 30s I’d think: I can survive on unemployment; I can live without health insurance. I can sleep in my car. Now, a year feels like darkness where there will never be light.… more
Art School
FICTION by Alex MillerJoan looked different in the dark. Her shadow-self manifested savagery and lust. Neal imagined her as queen of the demon army, feeding off the dark energy generated by the adoration of her legions.… more
