Things really pick up after Ukezie transfers to West Boylston. Suddenly Coach is like RUN, and instead of half-assing around the bleachers, we RUN RUN RUN. Then Coach goes JUMP, and instead of hands-in-sweatpants, we JUMP JUMP JUMP, still a good ten feet behind Ukezie, who goes through every drill like buttering toast. The first […]
Contributors 78
Thomas March: Correspondence by Kathleen Graber
Saturnalia Books The poems in Kathleen Graber’s Correspondence advise a wise discomfort with finality and a suspicion of answers that come too easily. Graber’s meditations meander purposefully, as she yields to the free associative impulse while remaining aware that the first thing that comes to mind is not always the best thing to bear in […]
Susan Briante: Making Place: Betsy Andrews’ New Jersey and John Hennessy’s Bridge and Tunnel
Bearded prophet poets, working-class rock star heroes, and philosophizing mobsters—think of the most eloquent spokespersons for the American character and you’ll end up thinking about New Jersey. From Walt Whitman’s reflections on the Camden docks to Tony Soprano’s view from a car exiting the Holland Tunnel, New Jersey offers a glimpse into our working-class, immigrant, […]
Anne Opotowsky: Seven Trains
Piece removed as per the author’s request.
Jono Mischot: Life Coach, Dead Coach
When I heard the news, my fingers automatically dialed her number. I didn’t have time to think about it. If I had, I wouldn’t have called. “Yeah,” she said. She sounded tired. “Our Life Coach killed himself last night,” I said. “Who? Constantine?” “Yes, Constantine. How many life coaches do you know?” “A few actually. […]
Ted Kehoe: Hand Out
When her mother’s mind deteriorated, Martha began making things up. Her mother suffered from Stage Five Alzheimer’s. She was getting worse. Martha had gotten books. She talked with the doctor. Not much was known about the disease. She read the same information again and again. Facts came to her as she rode the bus or […]