Permission by Mark Clemens

Out at the barbecue, Abel puts everything he has into commandeering tri-tips around the grill, flipping one steak, sliding to the next, elbows akimbo, spatula flashing, trying to lose himself in the sizzle and burn. Then the heat sears too close and he pulls back, squeezing his watering eyes shut. He can’t shut out what he just learned, though, one…

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wormholing by Jason Baltazar

the game got played on heart-gazing nights dreaming this body transposed  among las estrellas otras  & how much brighter they sound in that disinherited cosmos still  looking ever up,  seeking constellation  coordinates where this vessel might collapse distances built between each tip  of an asking tongue: when can i say   encontré mi lugar cosmica? cuantos sueños will it take? Jason…

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Not Exactly John Wayne by Kerry Muir

Kerry Muir’s prose has appeared in Kenyon Review, Crazyhorse, Fourth Genre and elsewhere. Her essay “The Bridge” was named as a notable in Best American Essays 2016, edited by Edwidge Danticat, as was her essay “Blur” in Best American Essays 2018, edited by Hilton Als. Her plays have received awards and honors from Nantucket Short Play Festival & Competition, Gibraltar International Drama Festival, The…

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