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Best of Issue #18

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Best of Issue #18 ·

POETRY

Best of the Best. Crème de la crème. Really good art.

MY DEAD GRANDMA AND DEADER CAT ARE FUSED AS A FURBODIED-AJJIFACED FARISHTA COMPLETE WITH GLITTER WINGS SIPPING FROZEN MANGO MARGARITAS FLOATING ACROSS AN AZURE ETERNITY LOOKING DOWN ON ME IN EQUAL PARTS JUDGMENT AND SYMPATHY AND I AM DECEASED

by Mekhala Chaubal

Mekhala Chaubal's poem is a poetic powerslide. An orchestra of words, cymbal-crashing its tenderness onto the page. Although every reader may not experience motherhood, Chaubal's poem confronts the multifractal nuances of life, connecting every experience with a single common thread, which could be from any point of the poem. There is a bitter hope, even after being wounded by the truth. The poem reminds the reader that we are a bricolage of beings. Life can be shit, but whether we like it or not, that is the miracle.

Carlos Quinteros III, MANAGING & POETRY EDITOR

FICTION

Black-Hole Baby

by Kelly Murashige

 "We have to accept whatever truth we are given, whether we want to or not."  

In "Black-Hole Baby", Kelly Murashige explores the intergenerational curse of expectation versus reality through the lense of an unborn child of Japanese-American descent. The unborn child watches as its mother comes to terms with this sudden pregnancy, and how it uproots everything she had come to known about herself, her family, and love and endurance in the face of tragedy. Murashige's protagonist grapples with what it means to love something for what it truly is versus loving something for what it represents.

With striking prose that challenges the very idea of assimilation, identity, and individuality, Murashige invites us to relinquish ourselves into the unknown with open arms; "Black-Hole Baby" showcases that Murashige is very well on her way - if not already there - to supernova status.

Santos Arteaga, FICTION EDITOR

Visual art

by Amor Roldan

This piece feels like a rapturous dream, tapping into the spirit of your inner child. I find myself wanting to step into Amor Roldan’s “Where the Tide Meets Growth.” The collage moves from Long Beach freeways and oceans to the embrace of your ancestors, creating a feeling that is both surreal and familiar—much like the experience of growing or watching time pass. 

London Pinkney, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Where the Tide Meets Growth

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Issue #18

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