Chemical ValleyDavid HuebertBiblioasis, 2021 Review by Peter Szuban “What you might find, if you were handling a dead pigeon, is something unexpected in the glassy cosmos of its eye: a dark beauty, a molten alchemy.” The characters in David...
What have you been haunted by? What echoes are in your midst? Spirits aren’t just apparitions that linger in empty hallways and portraits. They are the songs from your childhood you still know all the words to, the figures...
SwolleningJason PurcellArsenal Pulp Press, 2022 Review by Catherine Harris Jason Purcell’s Swollening begins in childhood, where the microbial landscape of the body is formed. In “Bathing” the speaker says, “For years / could not say the word I—could not...
Our shortest-form contest deadline has been extended until May 15! The Grouse Grind Lit Prize for V. Short Forms is judged by PRISM’s editorial board. We’re excited to dig into your flash fiction, micro-memoir, poetic hybrids and everything in between...
The Glory of Dirt The dirt under Lenny’s nails is an industry. The mud on her knees is a fashion. Her boss tells her if she wants to keep selling ice-cream under the umbrella at the wharf, she needs...
If It Wasn’t for the Nights I have buried my father every night for the last fifty-seven days, every night since he died, and I couldn’t fly home for his funeral. When I fall asleep, I see myself standing...
Shifting Baselines The term shifting baselines describes slow, almost imperceptible changes in an ecosystem…Our faulty memories and relatively short lifespans have made us unreliable witnesses. – Kyo Maclear, “Birds, Art, Life” 12:47 a.m. The bedroom seemed darker than usual....
the correct fury of your why is a mountain Kevin Andrew HeslopGordon Hill Press, 2021 Review by Robert Colman The intriguing aspect of reading a poet’s debut is witnessing a voice perhaps not yet fully formed but exploring themes and...
Dear Memory: Letters On Writing, Silence, And GriefVictoria ChangMilkweed Editions, 2021 Review by Cynthia Sharp Victoria Chang’s multimedia poetic conversation Dear Memory: Letters On Writing, Silence, And Grief turns sorrow into art with transcendent understanding. Intergenerational suffering is expressed...
