James Lang has been making art since the early 80’s. His main interest is in sculpture and he specialised in bronze and ceramics early on. (He did an MFA art program at Pratt University under Licio Isolani.) Lang has combined his studies in literature with his art and enjoys writing witty vignettes about the sculpture that he personifies. Find more of James’ work at jlangart.com The Country is in a Crouch (Title taken from an article by Maureen Dowd.) The country is in a crouch It could be that I’m slouching on my couch Masking and unmasking myself Inflating and … Continue reading James Lang

Of Indian origin, Sultana Raza is an independent scholar, and has presented papers on Romanticism (Keats) and Fantasy (Tolkien) in international conferences in Europe and the US. Her non-fiction features, entitled, ‘Keats and the Coronavirus’ was published in The Society of Classical Poetry, ‘Social Isolation – What’s the Alternative?’ was published on The Beautiful Space – A Journal of Mind, Art, and Poetry, and ‘Making Silence Sing’ was published in LitroNY. Her poems have appeared in 50+ Journals, including Gramma, Columbia Journal, and The New Verse News. Her fantastical/surreal poems have appeared in The Society of Classical Poetry, Bewildering Stories, spillwords, Enclave, and The Peacock Journal. She has read her fiction/poems in India, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, England, Ireland, and the US. Her fiction has received an Honorable … Continue reading Sultana Raza

I don’t write for therapeutic reasons, or as a means of catharsis. My dad had  a  Toyota Catharsis  and it was a terrible ride, so I write for the simple reason that writing is easy, writing is a bumpless road paved with good inflections… once you don’t concern yourself with quality… or critique… or self-awareness… manage that, and writing is easy, honestly, so simple that even I can do it. Plays are hard though, as in technically, as in remembering who said what and to whom, that sort of thing, and poems, poems are hard, not just the rhyming, but … Continue reading Robbie Taylor

Anne Marie Byrne has recently retired from working as a student advisor in Dublin City University. She has attended Tanya Farrelly’s creative writing workshops at Purple House in Bray, Co Wicklow where this piece of flash fiction was developed.  Her research interests include criminology, incarceration, education and the role of drama in prisons.  Her M.Phil thesis (Trinity College, Dublin) focused on the Theatre Project in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin and her Ph.D  (Dublin City University) explored  education for juvenile offenders in Ireland. Her leisure interests include theatre, photography, reading, travel, cookery, swimming and enjoying nature, especially in her native county Wicklow. … Continue reading Anne Marie Byrne

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Transcend, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming in Blueline, Hawaii Pacific Review and Clade Song. RECOGNITION I’m back in Brisbane for a brief visit, paying a call on the old neighborhood, when I see her.   I’m thinking this woman walking toward me is a girl I went to high school with. That’s why I slow down. And I can tell she’s looking at me as if there’s something familiar about my face.   We’re both about to speak but, despite passing so close our breaths meet, neither … Continue reading John Grey

Maeve McKenna is from Dublin and now lives in Sligo. In 2018, her work was shortlisted for the Red Line and highly commended in the iYeats International Poetry Competitions. In 2019, she was highly commended in the Frances Ledwidge and longlisted in the Over The Edge Poetry competitions.  She was joint runner-up in the Trim Poetry Competition, 2020. Her work has been published in The Galway Review, The Cormorant, Sonder Magazine and Fly On The Wall. Her poems have appeared online in The Bangor Literary Journal, Bonnies Crew, The Ink Pods, I Am Not A Silent Poet, Poetry 24, Anti-Chic Heroin, … Continue reading Maeve McKenna

Finola Scott’s work can be found on posters, tapestries and postcards. She is widely published with poems in Ink, Sweat and Tears, The Fenland Reed, Lighthouse, New Writing Scotland. She won the Uist Poetry, Dundee Law, The Blue Nib Chapbook competitions and was runner up in the Coast to Coast pamphlet competition. Stanza Festival commissioned a poem for a multi-media installation. Red Squirrel published her debut pamphlet in October. You can read more on FB Finola Scott Poems. Matryoshka Dolls We sit book ended on the sofa cooried close my daughter and I   Feel Mum, swollen she turns towards … Continue reading Finola Scott

Paul Resnick is an American poet, living in suburban Connecticut. He was published in his high school’s literary arts magazine 30 years ago, but took a long break from writing after college to focus on his graphic design career. Over the last couple years, he’s again found his love of the written word.  The Love of God The sun bustin’ through the hole in my mamma’s old shade, turning a spotlight on that same bowing, bent nail, (Mr. Mornin’ Nail) that I wouldn’t let no one pound down. He’d whisper, “You betta git up, boy, ‘fore I git you up,” thinking eggs just … Continue reading Paul Resnick

Anne Walsh Donnelly lives in the west of Ireland.  Her work has appeared in many publications including Hennessy New Irish Writing in The Irish Times. She was nominated for the Hennessy Literary Award for emerging poetry and selected for Poetry Ireland Introductions in 2019. Her poetry chapbook, “The Woman With An Owl Tattoo” was published in May 2019 by Fly On The Wall Poetry Press. Her debut short story collection, “Demise of the Undertaker’s Wife” was published by Blue Nib in September 2019. To find out more about Anne and to order her books go to her website: annewalshdonnelly.com Days Like These* 1 Childhood Days I … Continue reading Anne Walsh Donnelly

I am an adjunct lecturer in the English department at the University of Missouri – St. Louis.  This is also where I earned my M.F.A. My short stories explore journeys toward autonomy and the boundaries placed on the individual by society, family, and self.  I have published short stories in several journals including Connotation Press, Blacktop Passages, Halfway Down the Stairs, The Writing Disorder, Crack the Spine, and more. Learn about my published fiction at LeahHolbrookSackett.com. What Lovers Leave Behind The door was locked. Jason dug the key out of his member’s only jacket pocket, and he handed it to … Continue reading Leah Holbrook Sackett