Writing is an act of resistance
-
Poem in Response to Mass Shooting Number 130 in the United States of America 2023
By Ellen Girardeau Kempler This poem is a scaffoldingbuilt of assault weapons& high-capacity magazinesfor recurring questions I have,a terrible structure for hangingreloadable horrors in bright daylight. What questions?you might ask. I’m dumbfounded.I can’t even answer, can only instruct youto remain perfectly quiet & listen—maybe hide behind/under a desk,evaluate your escape routes,hug your friends, text your…
-
When I hear ‘migration,’ I think of ships
By Christian Hanz Lozada chopping through tides and promise.My coworker says, “I mean, I’m white, so, implicit bias much? We have no story,” referring to her kid’s project askingabout how the family’s migrationwas affected by World War 2 and the Cold War. She says, “I understand I can’t say anything,but we’ve been American since the 18th century,so there’s…
-
Breathe
By Ryan Owen When her husband lowers the newspaper and stops hiding his cancer, Stacy learns that their voting rights have eroded as quickly as his health. The front fold rests on his lap. “How?” she asks. “With new laws.” He taps the headline with an ink-stained fingertip. From the kitchen countertop, a screen’s…
-
The Dream Children of Addison Mitchell McConnell III
By Michael Henson What are the dreamsThat await the sleep of Mitch McConnell?Do children enter with their hungers?Do they sit at the side of the road of dreamwith their empty bowlsand their wide curious eyes?I believe they wait each day in their hidden placesalong the congressional corridors,hidden in the pedestals of the heroic torsosor in…
-
Suffrage or Suffer
By Kristin Fouquet Artist’s StatementIn a world seduced by artificial intelligence, I assemble my collages more traditionally. I use my original printed photographs on archival paper with pigment ink, cut them, glue them on foam board, and embellish them with gold paint. Kristin Fouquet is a photographer, collage maker, and writer in lovely New Orleans.…
-
Welcome to Writers Resist the Summer 2024 Issue
It’s summer and all kinds of things are in bloom—beautiful and ugly—but we’re happy you’re here. We’re moved by the courage of those who give voice to their righteous struggles. We’re determined to continue to be able to challenge the inequitable and untenable. We’re hopeful climate leaders will be followed. We’re particularly grateful to Dorothy…
-
God in Hiding
By Kayla Blau Our five-year-old fingers plucked mancala beads, wove white flower crowns, blew dandelion seed wishes. Our Barbies knew no god. Our families spoke nothing of politics. Sleepovers at hers were cardamom and allspice, steaming lamb nestled under mounds of rice, fried eggplant, labneh and cucumber. Sleepovers at mine, sustained by cardboard box…
-
In Florida
By Anna Lucia Deloia a school principal confiscates the dictionary. When a student tries to look up the meaning of ontology (n.), she is informed that she doesn’t exist. In Massachusetts, the police storm a classroom to apprehend a graphic novel. They bury it in it the woods behind the station, because ideas aren’t…
-
Trans Joy: A Selfie in Five Parts
Poetry, transgender rights, gender identity, self-harm, LGBTQ rights, Dameien Nathaniel, gender assignment, transitioningBy Dameien Nathaniel 1. 2007 and I have gotten my first flip phone. We are hanging out after the after school art club, and Alyssa has just informed me that this cell phone can take photos. You just have to open it, access the camera, hold the phone at arm’s length, and do your…