Volume 4, Issue 2
Our second issue of Volume 4–and first of 2021–explores the theme of belonging: what does it mean to “belong” somewhere, to a family, or with someone?
“The Days Without Time,” flash fiction by Caroline Fernelius, follows a young person from North to South Carolina and back to their home beaches of Galveston, Texas.
Adam Carter’s short story, “Benediction,” takes the reader through the tragic life of a man imprisoned, exploring the inevitable choices he has made.
In “A Mother’s Gift,” a short story by Michelle Tang, we witness a funeral scene through the eyes of a woman about to learn her family’s secret.
Finally, John W. Bateman’s creative nonfiction piece, “Southerners Don’t Lie: We Tell Polite Stories,” follows the author as a young boy and his family’s humorous assumption.
Book Reviews
Interviews
Art & Photography
Easing Restrictions | Visual Art
“I like the edge of things. Edge as in poignant and slightly threatening and edge as in interconnection. I like things that already exist. It’s not just about my ecological stance and the future but about mystery and the past. This piece, however, is really all about the now.”
COVID Lungs: A Trilogy | Visual Art
“The first image, COVID 1, depicts the brewing storm driven by the wet-markets in China where trafficked animals are kept in conditions of bio-insecurity which were (and remain) ripe for zoonotic events. It depicts the warning by scientists from thirteen years ago that SARS emerged from these conditions and the next deadly pandemic will likely do so as well.”
River Daughters I | Visual Art
“In the Yorubá tradition of mother Africa, the river goddess Oshun is the incorporation of love, fertility and sensuality, she is the essence and the nectar of life, the protector and guardian of women and children, along with her sister Yemaya that rules over the seas. To understand the beauty of women is to honour her daughters, their vitality, intelligence and caring and nourishing abilities.”