Kim Addonizio Confined
Kim Addonizio tells writers to "imagine a sentence as a hall with a series of doors," in her book Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within. We asked Addonizio about the tiny rooms that some of those doors open upon to find out what drama, what lyricism, what life can reside in the small spaces of life.
Man of Sorrows
By Kim AddonizioNot enough to get crucified. You’ve got to be covered with red spots like an anti-vaxxer’s kid’s measles. Blood everywhere.
Mysteries of Sex
By Kim AddonizioThings were going well, so I risked slipping my hand down my pants. I seemed into it, so I continued on.
The Crayfish Seller
By Richard BerryA woman walks past my stall every afternoon in this spot at 4:15. Never 4:10 and never 4:20.
A Clean Sweep
By Donald RanardShe was bending over the dining room table taking a close-up of a vase. The table was covered with vases and bowls.“What’s going on?” he said.
Why I Got Written Up by...
By Kathryn KulpaSmother me in redneck kisses. Pour that smoky Bar-B-Q down my neck and lick it off, no rush.
Of spiderwebs and broom...
By Sandra ArnoldI took down the get-well cards on my daughter’s wallboard. A scrap of paper under a silver horseshoe with a date in her handwriting.
The Devil’s in the Deta...
By Pamela PainterA priest and a rabbi come out of a bar. No one saw them go in. No one saw where they sat, what they were drinking or what they said to each other.
Photo Story: Rain City
By Lucie BernheimBen gets up to wash the dishes. I down the glass of wine I was drinking and pour myself another. My arm cast almost knocks the bottle over, but he saves it.
15 Days Till Day Care
By Roberta BearyWe arrive at 7 a.m., starving. Their note says, "Help Yourself." We finish an open bag of pistachios. Baby wakes, crying while frozen breast milk thaws.
Vertical Travel
By Ron NyrenThe summer of no breeze, six men carried an enormous fan up the stairs of my grandmother’s four-story townhouse and installed it in the roof.
A State of Great Fullne...
By Ciera BurchWhen she was little, she thought being full meant being filled, head to toe, with food.
Attachment
By Joshua Michael Johnson“How’d my hair even get in here?” she asks, scrubbing inside the fridge. “The same way it gets everywhere,” replies the man who’s found her hair where it could not be ...
