In February 2012, just more than a year after the publication of my first collection of short stories, I broke my back. That is the easiest way to say it. Except that the break wasn’t a fracture. Instead, the bilateral rupture of my sacroiliac joints was due to adenomyosis, a gynecological condition that goes undiagnosedContinue reading “WCLJ. Spring 2023. Letter from the Editor”
Author Archives: darcie friesen hossack
The Fig Tree. fiction by Ivy Ngeow
The Fig Tree I step onto the balcony. The first time today, although it’s getting late. I want to step outside at least once a day. Otherwise, I feel like a trapped man. It was your idea for us to move here. I’m getting used to it. I light my cigarette. The view is all figContinue reading “The Fig Tree. fiction by Ivy Ngeow”
The Bell War. fiction by D-L Nelson
THE BELL WAR TWO SCREECHING CATS slice the late morning silence. They circle each other, backs hunched. Chickens scatter to safer pecking grounds. A priest approaches. Sunlight on his black robe bastes his body. His sandaled feet kick up dust as he rushes past the beige stucco house with faded blue wooden shutters. They open.Continue reading “The Bell War. fiction by D-L Nelson”
The Last First Friday. fiction by William Baker
The Last First Friday Brandt Colson watches his frenetic daughter as she flits around the room in her usual style. She is talking about ten different things at once, fussing over details and generally majoring in the minor. Brandt notices the bored and frowning, mostly grown grandson as he leans against the wall at theContinue reading “The Last First Friday. fiction by William Baker”
The Chair. fiction by Rick Gillis
The Chair Farley Creighton had been working far too hard. Tax accounting could be a real bitch in April. While most people welcome spring with open arms and a certain sense of renewal, not so with Farley. It was the time of year when he could expect clients like Mike Marashenko, who ran his ownContinue reading “The Chair. fiction by Rick Gillis”
Two Readings, Three Authors: On the Pleasures of Listening to Women Talking. by Olga Stein
Two Readings, Three Authors: On the Pleasures of Listening to Women Talking I haven’t attended a lecture or author reading since COVID. The pandemic was reason enough not to go anywhere crowded, and since — well, since then I’ve had to overcome certain habits of mind, as well as a tendency to prioritize tasks thatContinue reading “Two Readings, Three Authors: On the Pleasures of Listening to Women Talking. by Olga Stein”
Risking Life to Earn Crust. non-fiction by Diary Marif
Risking Life to Earn Crust On the last day of my final exams in the third grade, I excitedly anticipated joining my father, a courier and a Kulbar (porter). This is someone who takes items across the Iran-Iraq border, thereby putting themselves at great risk. Kulbars have little means of survival other than depending entirelyContinue reading “Risking Life to Earn Crust. non-fiction by Diary Marif”
Literary Spotlight with Sue Burge: Poet Roy McFarlane Leads Us through Troubled Waters
Sue Burge: I’m very excited to be interviewing Roy McFarlane for this issue of WordCity Literary Journal. Roy is primarily a poet, although he turns his considerable talents to other genres too. He is a spellbinding performer of his poetry and uses his wordsmithery to explore the big issues of our time to great effect.Continue reading “Literary Spotlight with Sue Burge: Poet Roy McFarlane Leads Us through Troubled Waters”
Kirstie Millar’s The Strange Egg. a review by Sue Burge
The Strange Egg – Kirstie MillarIllustrations by Hannah Mumby(The Emma Press 2023)Paperback ISBN: 9781915628022 £10 “’Doctor, I had a terrible dream. In my dream I saw my own body, and I saw what you will do to it.‘ A woman is faced, month after month, with the birth of a strange egg. Her doctor asksContinue reading “Kirstie Millar’s The Strange Egg. a review by Sue Burge”
Eva Tihanyi’s Circle Tour. a review by Anne Sorbie
Circle Tour is a like a reflection in lake water; something so beautiful that you wish you could hold on to it, mercurial as it may be. On these pages Eva Tihanyi offers a bounteous continuation of the language and imagery of the Romantics; and hers is a potent lyrical poetry. At the same time,Continue reading “Eva Tihanyi’s Circle Tour. a review by Anne Sorbie”
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