When you were little, you used to wear tiny floral print dresses and sit with your legs apart because that was the only way you knew how to. You would confidently march on that stage and carve melodies with your body — each move either accentuating or masking every curve on your body — and you continued in rhythm, too…
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Sound Off by Katherine Michalik
My mother has never been one to cuss. Coming from a religious family, her language was fairly clean. That day my mother told me to “go kick some ass.” It was her way of showing support because “good luck” was just not going to cut it. From then on, it became a tradition. At every competition, it would be the…
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The Animator by Lorraine Biteranta
“No, don’t leave,” he said, staring up at me with his huge, vulnerable eyes. “I need to go, I have class,” I said, begging myself not to drown in the blueness of his gaze. “Meet me later. Please,” he said, grabbing my hand and pressing it to his lips. I had never felt butterflies like that before. He stood there,…
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A Breakup, a Bar, and Stand-Up Comedy by Susannah Chovnick
People often ask how I started doing stand-up comedy. I went one night to a bar in the Tenderloin of San Francisco. It was dimly lit with a small stage near the bathrooms. I sat by the door and ordered a whiskey sour. A red curtain cast a red light throughout the room. We had broken up the night before.…
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When the Love You Have for Me Seems Lost by Priyam Gupta
It’s two o’clock. You are staring at the wall. Sleep has been an elusive personage for the past two hours now. That is not a new thing for you, is it? However, there is a real reason behind your wakefulness tonight, and it is not your recurring nightmare. You are trying so hard to go to sleep, but you are…
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Natural Disasters by Asma Gaba
1) Don’t call me adorable. I am tornadoes and tidal waves; my looks are not an invitation for condescension, but a warning. 2) I know that I’m quiet sometimes, but do not mistake that for vulnerability. Take one step towards taking advantage of me and you will hear noise you never would have expected to come out of my adorable…
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Danger Ahead by Satvika Jain
You never liked car rides because first you’d get sleepy, and when you couldn’t sleep, you’d get dizzy. Sometimes those rides would be bearable, if you remembered to tilt your head so far back you could see the streetlights upside down. They’d flash on your subtle, smiling face like a flickering bulb. Even freaky things became beautiful with you. The…
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A letter to my best friend by Lizelle Dsouza
Somewhere between flattery and glorification, I watched the shell of a coconut, a strong, resistant, carefully fronted facade break open to reveal a tender vulnerability, clinging on to a resilient shell of grandeur and hardiness– a tender vulnerability that offered a delightful sweetness that reminded consumers of the bliss that followed blood and sweat. Somewhere flattery and glorification escalated to…
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Without You by Rita Smith
Without you, I do not know the type of person I would be today. At times, my mind disconnects from reality and my thoughts venture to deep dark realms of the universe. I find you in these realms and we try to decipher the true meaning of life. Everyday I am thankful that I have someone to discuss the monsters…
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Joe College by Lanny Larcinese
"Joe College" is an excerpt from Lanny Larcinese's memoir, which is a work in progress. I grew up during the fifties and sixties and spent a lot of time at our family-owned restaurant in a semi-industrial area of Detroit. I needed a short leash, so even before I worked regularly at the Bungalow Bar B-Q, I often had to be there while my parents worked the…
