are these early bumblebees mating? no. they’re dyingof thirst I learn when I forget not to look anything upuntil this long year of universal hallucination is donewith us. ready with eggs these queens wake from winterwith the first flowers. they must find nectar and...

We're back to readings! If you're in Philly, check out the witchy launch of Christina Rosso's short story collection CREOLE CONJURE (Maudlin House). Featuring readings by Nick Gregorio, Rachel O-Hanlon-Rodriguez, & Galileo Press author Tara Stillions Whitehead....

It's the sky above me in the branches,the suspending, run-on branches,holding the moment still.There is no face, only breath and fog.I look up. It's almost morning.There are no sounds except the sounds of the city waking--car doors, engines, a distant dog.Two mornings...

We are tickled to announce the cover for Issue 14 of Free State Review, now available for pre-order! The featured art, "A Song for My Dog," is by artist and writer Saraiya Kanning. You can check out more of Saraiya's art at her website. Artist Bio Saraiya received her...

The earth tallies our losses: abacusof ancient bone emerges out of rock, layers of snow compress deep in glacial lakes:blank blue ledger, millennia of falling.Even now fault-lines fracture canyons, gougeslike scores in a bed-post. So much passageis documentation, our...

my new face, for one. But what a relief not to have to bethe pretty one any more,begging for love,and to have this ravaged mug,the man of experience, the worldlyno-shit look, and with it,even a pot belly.though I'll admit that with a pot bellyit's better...

Want I’ve been thinking and writing about how womenare coached—cajoled, shamed, guilted—into practicing gratitude asyet one more desirable character trait for the fairer sex. (Read: as yetanother way of telling us to sit down).An entire industry has made a business of...

THE VIOLENCE ALMANAC, by Miah Jeffra (2021, Black Lawrence Press, New York, NY, 180 pages, $19.95, 978-1-62557-836-5) Reviewed by Derek Berry The Violence Almanac Centers An American Obsession with Brutality...