Writing is an act of resistance
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On Sending Her Back
By Abby E. Murray for Ilhan Omar The man with no back to return to— which is to say there is no path to safety from the cliff where he clings, no escape to remind him the way back is his— has wished to banish, send back, cast out a woman whose back is…
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The Rainbow Sign
By Sara Marchant We went, my mother and I, to get haircuts. The previous appointment was still there, standing in front of the mirror, talking. This woman’s hair made her look like a pretty Afghan dog; her large green eyes did little to compensate for wearing clothes too dowdy for a woman in her…
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Longing to Belong
By Elizabeth Weaver girl with eyes too large and milky teeth fairies must wait years for in country that ripped her from Mama locked her in metal cage no laughter crosses her howl swells into lost others’ sounds for families babies resounds past soiled dreams strips belonging as those ripping teach children how arms…
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We Are Not America
By Diane Elayne Dees America is Mexico, Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, Canada. It is Paraguay, El Salvador, Guatemala, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Chile. America is Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Honduras. It requires a lot of nerve to take the name of two huge continents and make it your own. We are the man who stands against…
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North Pole Bombshell: Elves to Be Shelved! by Marcy Dilworth
MEMORANDUM TO: The Elf Consortium FROM: Kris Kringle, aka Santa Claus RE: Downsizing1 DATE: November 24, 2019 ****************************************************************************** After extensive thought and countless sleepless nights, it is with great sadness and disappointment that I announce the downsizing of our North Pole headquarters. Physical, marketplace, and socio-political changes factored…
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Daughteret is not a made-up word
By H. E. Casson for Tarana Burke Your whisper met with stone and echoed back “A cave is not a prison,” ricocheted Ancestors live in each abraded crack A line from renegade to renegade I see your eyes are tired, heart is sore Body bearing scar and gash and grit In counting these…
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Not Today, Satan
By David Martinez I was suspected of heresy the first day of the class I’d picked up at the Christian university, which I suppose is valid. This was after I introduced the course, the topics, and how we would focus on critical thinking as a way to progress and achieve in college, and explained…
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Suspension
By Mandy Brown When their skins have thinned with age, they will still tell the story: thirteen people suspended over Portland bridge to stop a Shell tanker. “I was one of them,” she will tell his children. “I regret nothing,” he will tell hers. Living sometimes means hanging at the end of a knot.…
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Hymn of Thanksgiving
By IE Sommsin Rejoice now, thou Christian boldly sneering. Thine nation is ruled by one most holy who in deed mocks the sick and the lowly, but who knows what thou hate and art fearing. Hark! For he hath come to enrich the rich and bring comfort to the brazen craven with their condos, yachts,…