SALAAM MY MOTHERLAND AFRICA Last night I dreamed of arm stretched Africa Last night I dreamed of borderless Africa Last night I dreamed of brothers and sisters living in harmony I dreamed of thriving vitenge industries in Africa Salaam, Salaam my mother land Africa, Salaam Last night in Kenya I saw spears and arrowsContinue reading “Poetry by Jerusha Kananu Marte”
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The Beggar’s Dance. Fiction by Farida Somjee
Three excerpts from The Beggar’s Dance, a novel (CreateSpace 2015) Chapter One. Africa 1977. Age 11. I drift away and start dreaming of such a life. Mama yangu, my mother, frowns at me, squinting with intense effort. “Stop dreaming, you maskini boy.” The anger in her voice reminds me that I am a maskini,Continue reading “The Beggar’s Dance. Fiction by Farida Somjee”
Working Class. Non-fiction by Alta Ifland
Working Class It is 1994, and after my first year in the MA program in French at one of Florida’s public universities, my English is good enough for me to attend classes in the English department. I had been eyeing classes in this department with envy because many of them include books and authors weContinue reading “Working Class. Non-fiction by Alta Ifland”
From “Three Samizdat Winters”. Non-Fiction by Katia Kopovich
From “Three Samizdat Winters” by Katia Kapovich, an autobiographical account in the style of a Künstlerroman of Kapovich’s youth in Russia’s former Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic I entered the bedroom I that shared with Larissa, lay down on the plaid-covered low bed, and began to scrutinize the ceiling. As I did this, I asked myselfContinue reading “From “Three Samizdat Winters”. Non-Fiction by Katia Kopovich”
On Justice Ginsburg’s Passing, and Why I’m Seeing Red. Non-fiction by Olga Stein
On Justice Ginsburg’s Passing, and Why I’m Seeing Red As I started to write this, I kept an eye on the live broadcast of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Lying in State ceremony. Justice Ginsburg, who died on September 18, is only the 35th individual to be granted this honour since 1852. Holding the ceremony inContinue reading “On Justice Ginsburg’s Passing, and Why I’m Seeing Red. Non-fiction by Olga Stein”
Watershed. Novel Excerpt by Doreen Vanderstoop
Watershed (a novel excerpt) Written by Doreen Vanderstoop and reprinted with permission from Freehand Books The faint hiss of airbrakes sounded above the wind. Willa Van Bruggen looked eastward and shielded her eyes against the May morning light. The sun lay low in the sky—a beautiful, terrible, celestial raspberry coloured by dust and by smokeContinue reading “Watershed. Novel Excerpt by Doreen Vanderstoop”
Poetry by Nina Kossman
Poem Written During Australian Bushfires Treasure of the world, little animal boy, you and you and you, lone survivors, wombats and kangaroos, my love for you is so huge, let it revive you, let it give you rain, let it give you green leaves, thriving eucalyptus trees galore! Singed koalas and wallabies; although I rarelyContinue reading “Poetry by Nina Kossman”
Poetry by Sharmila Pokharel
Up Until Then I hated my mother for being unwise, Uneducated, and under his thumb I compared her with my father Disliked more for not knowing Anything about my grades My mother said she was by herself In one corner of a dark room When she gave birth to me No midwife, no sterile knifeContinue reading “Poetry by Sharmila Pokharel”
Coat Hangers and Knitting Needles. By D-L Nelson
Coat Hangers and Knitting Needles from Darcie Friesen Hossack, Managing Editor, WordCity Monthly: On my desk is a copy of D-L Nelson’s coat hangers & knitting needles, Tragedies of Abortion in America Before Roe v. Wade. The book is heavy for its size—not for the weight of its bindings—and has been accompanying me from roomContinue reading “Coat Hangers and Knitting Needles. By D-L Nelson”
Poetry by Norman Cristofoli
I Am Afrika I am the deep abyss of the dark continent the loneliness of the shifting Saharan sands the birth of the Nile and the pounding rhythm of the jungle I am the quiet heart of the elephant’s graveyard and the desperate thunder of vast grasslands I am the goldenContinue reading “Poetry by Norman Cristofoli”
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