Uncle No one wants to go there. We have to tread light, write the perversion with metaphors, pen how flowers were crushed by boots. We have to whisper our travesties to therapists, guard the ears […]
In Celebration of Women: Paula Cullison and the Art of Activism
I first met Paula Cullison at a rally to protest the abortion bans threatening to sweep the nation. I was part of a small group of women standing up against the pro-life protestors who were […]
Two Poems by Matthew E. Henry
an open letter to the white teacher who threw a Black boy out of her class for wearing too much lotion his skin was ashy. perhaps that’s a conceptyou’re unfamiliar with—like seasoned chickenand leaving vegetables […]
The Shot Heard Round the World: Zoombombing in the Era of MAGA/Covid
I would describe the bombers as “fraternity boys,” and I’m not saying this to perpetuate unsubstantiated stereotypes. I’ve been in higher education for just over 20 years, and I’ve seen some deplorable behaviors from fraternities […]
“AOC”: In Celebration of Women
“AOC”, Acrylic on canvas, 60×48 inchesby Lucretia Torva This portrait of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on display at the Herberger Theater Art Gallery in Phoenix, AZ as part of an exhibition titled “In Celebration of Women: […]
Seven Daughters
Josephina is born with the notched penny her mother swallowed as a childtucked in the folds of her chin. So beautiful, she charms the midwife and winksat her husband. Always the one to pick the […]
Memory, Land, and Love: An interview with poet and author Amber McCrary
Amber McCrary is writing what she yearned for when she was young in the small town of Flagstaff, Arizona. “I always felt kind of like an outcast and a weirdo growing up. I never really […]
The Theory of Walls
after Dr. Joshua Bennet’s interview with The Poetry God 1.A physics student told him that we are“too big to be considered by a wall”(as an explanation to why we aren’t ableto walk through them if […]
A Black Veteran’s Tragedy
I was honorably discharged from the United Air Force in the summer of 2005 and suddenly found myself unemployed. A few weeks later, I was homeless. Dominant economic theory suggests that the economy becomes unstable […]
Once, I Shot a Man Right Between the Eyes
Following orderson the battlefield,it was kill or be killedmy sergeant said,no different thanwhen he taught meto thrust and parrywith fixed bayonet.The young soldierwore thick glassesand looked a lot likeone of my classmates.Sergeant claimedGooks don’t belongto […]
