Fiction Commons^™

Doughnuts At Night, Michael Martone

Manuscripts

Open, it says, all night.
the tacky lights talk
flicking around the yawning O
and the open hole of the doughnut.
a planet peers through.

Indian Summer, Noel Wyatt

Manuscripts

As the blood red sun began to sink, a silhouette broke the painted scene. It approached the Apache Reservation roaring like the Father Wind on a winter day. The beast seemed to shout its name above its own voice; across its shiny hood "Lincoln" defied any opponent.

A Fourtwothreelegs Poem, Ed Shacklee

Manuscripts

The first grade teacher greeted
with simplicity the coming of the Day

Untitled, Alice Monds

Manuscripts

He took an old Barlow knife from his pocket and eased into the cane bottom chair, tipping it back on two legs against the low stone fence. Methodically, he drew the gleaming blade across a fragrant block of red and yellow cedar. His gnarled, weathered hands moved deftly. He worked intently for some time, honing the block to a soft roundness and piling thin light curls of cedar around his feet. He peered at his companion from singular eyes set below incredibly unmanageable gray brows.

Of Sap And Tears, Diane Hale

Manuscripts

I sit in the woods
and watch the stream
admiring the trees as they ripple and flow
Waves sweep us in,
lulled into dream-sleep,
carrying us away--
content to settle beneath the gentle caress
certain to end as we began

Battle, Bob Sullivan

Manuscripts

Wet from the cold March rain, the white paint glistens fresh. It is almost as if the barn has been swept by a snowstorm of Elmer's Glue. In contrast to the radiant purity of this barn, the soil of the farm is a tiring alternation of milky gray and soggy brown. Tattered stubs of once-green corn cling to the ground in haggard remnants of narrow rows. Like the littered aftermath of Gettysburg, this land is hallowed--Mother Earth. The farmer sees himself as the victor. He has tamed the cycle with civilized plastic machinery.

Avatar, Mary Harter

Manuscripts

You see her in the supermarket every day. She wears size 14, stretch pants (that advertise plainly why she needs the stretch) and a matching print blouse. She wears them with tennis shoes.

A Child's Viewpoint, Alice Monds

Manuscripts

She beckoned to me, and with much apprehension I entered the door of the shabby unpainted house. Inside, the room was small and dark and almost the entire space was taken up by a big metal-framed bed which stuck out into the middle of the room. A ragged upholstered chair in one corner and a small pot-bellied stove in the other completed the furnishings. The windows, uncurtained, were filthy and one was covered with pieces of a cardboard box where the pane had been broken out.

The Surrender, Diane Hale

Manuscripts

Light revolves
patterning grey age faces
in flashing momentary brilliance--
exposing shadow dreams
of victorious kingdoms
built in bottle caps
the shrapnel of hope's treachery--
to be swept away with
debris of belief

The Hairy Arms Poem Or The Love Song Of J. Alfred Poofrock, Mary Harter

Manuscripts

I have encountered "The Love Song of J. Alfred Poofrock" in three different college English classes taught by three different teachers. They all agree that T. S. Eliot wrote the poem. On everything else they disagree.

Heat Lightning At Night, Michael Martone

Manuscripts

mute mimic,
the splashing spark

The Fine Art Of Ineptitude, Sue Winemiller

Manuscripts

Each of us knows at least one of them. They are perched before easels duplicating the spring's emerald meadows and the autumn's turbulent skies. Clad in leotards, they pirouette and pas de buerre their souls into the "Nutcracker Suite," while their colleagues entrance the audience with skill in the orchestra pit. Not content with a monopoly of the fine arts, their type is found fashioning Christmas angels from empty toilet paper rolls, making doll houses out of old cereal boxes, and whipping together gourmet dinners from cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. I speak of my personal nemesis, the artist--one …

Definition Of Poetry, Lynn Z. Bloom

Manuscripts

Once
I took a course in aesthetics:
Three hours credit
If I could learn
What a poem was.

Untitled, Carol Thornton

Manuscripts

The ugly, hairless, pink snout was arched skyward, head trembling in weak defiance. Rivulets of creamy, yellow mucous flowed thickly from the unseeing eyes.

An Initiation (There Are No More Somedays...), Mike Swarzman

Manuscripts

"Come on son, today's the day we find the perfect piece of wood, strong, yet easy to carve--come on."

Scott refocused his eyes on his father who stood over his bed.

"Come on son, let's go."

The brown haired blur moved again, and Scott, full of expectation, dressed quickly and hurried to the door.

Front Matter

Manuscripts

Front matter includes: front cover, table of contents, and masthead.

Santa Clara Review, Vol. 102, No. 1, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Review

No abstract provided.

The Molloy Student Literary Magazine Volume 12, Damian Hey Ph.D., Cassandra Palmer, Helen Daly, Mary Akt Gallagher, Vincent Rocco, Roger Smith, Jordanna Fenton, Julie Montalbano, Angie Elkaray, Christina Karnavar, Joseph Ostapiuk

The Molloy Student Literary Magazine

The Molloy Student Literary Magazine, sponsored by Molloy College’s Office of Student Affairs, is devoted to publishing the best previously unpublished works of prose, poetry, drama, literary review, criticism, and other literary genres, that the Molloy student community has to offer. The journal welcomes submissions, for possible publication, from currently enrolled Molloy students at all levels. All submitted work will undergo a review process initiated by the Managing Editor prior to a decision being made regarding publication of said work. Given sufficient content, The Molloy Student Literary Magazine is published twice annually in Spring and Fall. Interested contributors from the …

Laurus: After Dark. Fall 2014, Daley Eldorado, Sarah Benal, Emily Burns, Kirsten Clawson, Eric Holt, Sam Greenfield, Sean Stewart, Lori Nevole, Kayla Punt, Alexa Horn, Nicole Mosby, Abie Rohde, Michael Page, Dizzy Roberson, Samuel Lee, Emily Tran, Leonardo Casabella, Scott Sampson, Katie Cooley, Alec Kaus, Hannah Eads, Madeline Cass, Nicholas Wilkinson, Haley Heesacker, Mina Holmes, Evan Pillle

Laurus: Undergraduate Literature Journal of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Contents

Dizzy Roberson
“The Devil Is Just Left of the Spleen”...6

Samuel Lee
“Sonnet - To Punk”.....9
“Sonnet, Again”......26
“Sea of Trees”......42

Emily Tran
“Bloody Eyeballs”.....10

Leonardo Casabella
“The Broken Frame”.....11

Scott Sampson
“Packed”.......18

Katie Cooley
“Shades”.......19

Alec Kaus
“Warrant”......20
“Waiting”......25
“When the Night”.....44

Hannah Eads
“Blessed Be!”......21

Madeline Cass
“Scrimshaw”......23

Nicholas Wilkinson
“The Hunt”......27

Haley Heesacker
“The Lonely Pink Flower”.....35

Mina Holmes
“Sugar and Spice”.....36

Evan Pille
“To the Desk of Edgar L. Brandbum”...45

Contributor Bios......59

Editor Bios......62

The Story Of My Art: A Study In Fiction Writing, Victoria J. Steelman

Senior Honors Theses

This creative thesis examines the several aspects of the author’s study and experience on the path to become a fiction writer. The author’s writing theory is addressed, utilizing research from a variety of authorities on the subject and focusing primarily on the nonexistence of rules for crafting fiction, the role of education in the life of the writer, and the importance of the practice of writing itself. The second section details the writer’s personal method of crafting fiction, focusing on the key elements of character, plot, and setting. The third section contains a full marketing plan for the author’s intended …

Westview: Vol. 30, Iss. 2 (Summer 2014)

Westview

No abstract provided.

Brigid's Peace: An Examination Of The Influences Of The Catholic Intellectual Tradition On One Writer's Creative Work, Marie A. Hulme

Presidential Seminar on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

The genesis of my novel, Brigid’s Peace, which I began in the spring of 2013 coinciding with my studies in the Presidential Seminar, was an interest in examining the need for luminosity, for transcendence, for beauty in the face of dark despair and evil. My work centers on the story of an Irish Catholic family living in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the time of sectarian conflict known as “the troubles,” but more specifically on the impact of events related to that time on one young woman, Brigid Donegan, an artist and one of seven sisters. Through a close, third person …

Cataluyna, William Connor Mcandrew

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

No abstract provided.

How To Be A Bridesmaid, Emily Hancock

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

No abstract provided.

8:01 Pm, Jake Hjelmtveit

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Jake Hjelmtveit's short story 8:01 PM was written as part of a creative writing group using the theme of Moving On. For our group, Moving On represented the emotional weight in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Moving On implies change, and all good prose and verse possess change. As creative writers, we explored this theme through subjects ranging from the death of a loved one to loss of one’s faith. By focusing on our theme, we examined our own lives and improved our creative writing skills. We attained our goals through observation, discussion, information gathering, writing, and revision of creative work. …

For The Love Of God, Marissa Hansen

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Marissa Hansen's short story For the Love of God was written as part of a creative writing group using the theme of Moving On. For our group, Moving On represented the emotional weight in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Moving On implies change, and all good prose and verse possess change. As creative writers, we explored this theme through subjects ranging from the death of a loved one to loss of one’s faith. By focusing on our theme, we examined our own lives and improved our creative writing skills. We attained our goals through observation, discussion, information gathering, writing, and revision …

Small Town Changes, Excerpt, Marissa Hansen

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Marissa Hansen's short story Small Town Changes, excerpt was written as part of a creative writing group using the theme of Where we Live. For our project, group members explored the theme Where We Live in its varied interpretations through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. For my project, the theme Where We Live was addressed through creative nonfiction. I wanted to explore my own value as a writer, to myself and to my peers. The piece I wrote was influenced by my vision of personal events in my own life as well as the objective view of my narrator and her …

Things To Ponder, Mandi Bingham

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Mandi Bingham's short story Things to Ponder was written as part of a creative writing group using the theme of Where we Live. For our project, group members explored the theme Where We Live in its varied interpretations through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. For my project, the theme Where We Live was addressed through creative nonfiction. I wanted to explore my own value as a writer, to myself and to my peers. The piece I wrote was influenced by my vision of personal events in my own life as well as the objective view of my narrator and her interpretation …

Dreaming In Steps, Kelly Biers

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Kelly Biers' short story Dreaming in Steps was written as part of a creative writing group using the theme of Where we Live. For our project, group members explored the theme Where We Live in its varied interpretations through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. For my project, the theme Where We Live was addressed through creative nonfiction. I wanted to explore my own value as a writer, to myself and to my peers. The piece I wrote was influenced by my vision of personal events in my own life as well as the objective view of my narrator and her interpretation …

Lucca, Lynne Sharon Schwartz

Ontario Review

LYNNE SHARON SCHWARTZ is a free-lance writer who also teaches English at the City University of New York. Her work has appeared in a number of magazines, including The New Republic, and she is just completing a novel. She has published two children's plays, has been a magazine editor, a translator, and publicity writer.