Welcome to Writers Resist, the December 2022 Issue

In case you didn’t know

Writers Resist celebrates each quarterly issue with a virtual reading, and you are invited to join us for this issue’s gathering.

Writers Resist Reads • Saturday 28 January 2023 • 5:00 p.m. PACIFIC

Zoom information:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88356614245?pwd=a1FRMndJYzI3VzE1Ym9yZUU2ODhHdz09

Meeting ID: 883 5661 4245
Passcode: 247349

In the meantime, we know the world is fraught with conflict, so give yourself the space to enjoy our December 2022 issue featuring works by:

Christina Bagni

Lisa Brand

Tara Campbell

Jacqueline Jules

Karen Kilcup

Livvy Krakower

Kathleen Kremins

Dotty LeMieux

Maenad

Renee McClellan

William Palmer

Yvonne Patterson

Stephen Sossaman

Holly A. Stovall

Samy Swayd

 


Photo credit: K-B Gressitt

Prolapse

By Tara Campbell

 

The uterus is tired.

The uterus is sorry
but it can’t seem to stay
in one place anymore,
which isn’t surprising
considering how often
it’s been poked
and prodded
and pricked
by congressmen’s pens.

The uterus would like
to get in a word of its own,
just one, even edgewise
just one goddamn word.

The uterus wishes
it could remember the words
to that song you sang
when you didn’t have to worry
about your uterus all the time,
when you didn’t have to be
so goddamn vigilant,
didn’t have to keep twisting
and turning away from men
shoving laws into it
edgewise.

The uterus is tired
so very tired.

The uterus would like
just one goddamn moment
to itself. The uterus just wants
to be. The uterus is sorry
it can’t give you that.
The uterus remembers when
it was barely aware of itself
which sounds like a contradiction
but was merely a state of grace.

The uterus is small and pink
and lovely and valued
and sacred and blessed.

But no, the uterus doesn’t believe
its own press. . .
well, it didn’t. . .
well, it shouldn’t have, and now
the uterus is continually disappointed
to find it is neither valued
nor sacred
nor blessed
nor even safe.

The uterus is tired
so goddamn tired.

The uterus is sorry it’s letting you down
because now it’s letting itself down
slowly, uncomfortably—
this is called “prolapse”
and the uterus wants you to know
this is not your fault either,
and it would have told you
everything sooner, but the truth
just gets the uterus bullied,
harassed, and threatened with rape
for upsetting men
(and, when the truth
is too educational,
it just gets the uterus kicked
off the socials for “porn”).

Some days the uterus feels philosophical,
and some days the uterus feels angry—
who are we kidding,
most days the uterus feels angry
if not for itself
then on behalf of other uteruses
who are told they’re overreacting
to getting bullied,
harassed, and threatened with rape
for upsetting men.

The uterus is often depressed
but today the uterus is simply tired
the uterus needs a break
to forget how everyone
is always talking about it
even when it’s not in the room—
especially when it’s not in the room.

The uterus is tired,
and the uterus is tired
of being asked why it’s tired.
The uterus no longer wishes
to be interrogated.

The uterus just needs a little time
a little goddamn time
to itself, and who can blame it
for feeling heavy
for wanting to slide
just a little bit lower
and rest after everything
it’s had to endure.

The uterus simply wants to sit
in the warm and the dark,
mind its own business
and quietly sink, baptized
in silence, blessed
finally
with one goddamn
moment of
peace.

 


Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse, and graduate of American University’s MFA in Creative Writing. Her publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, Wigleaf, CRAFT Literary, and Writers Resist. She’s the author of a novel and four multi-genre collections including her newest, Cabinet of Wrath: A Doll Collection. She teaches writing at venues such as American University, Johns Hopkins University, the Writer’s Center, Catapult, and the National Gallery of Art.

Photo credit: Ittmust via a Creative Commons license.


A note from Writers Resist

Thank you for reading! If you appreciate creative resistance and would like to support it, you can make a small, medium or large donation to Writers Resist from our Give a Sawbuck page.


 

2020 Summer Olympics: Tokyo Games Medal Count

By Tara Campbell

Table reflecting those harmed b y the 2020 Summer Olympics and the lack of recognition they recieved in the form of medals—none for any of them.

* as of July 13
** as of September 8

 


Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, and fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse. She received her MFA from American University. In addition to Writers Resist, previous publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, Wigleaf, Jellyfish Review, Booth, Strange Horizons, and CRAFT Literary. She’s the author of a novel, TreeVolution, and four collections: Circe’s Bicycle, Midnight at the Organporium, Political AF: A Rage Collection, and Cabinet of Wrath: A Doll Collection. Connect with her at www.taracampbell.com or on Twitter: @TaraCampbellCom or IG: @thetreevolution.

Photo by Sam Balye on Unsplash.

Note from Writers Resist: If you appreciate creative resistance and would like to support it, you can make a small, medium or large donation to Writers Resist from our Give a Sawbuck page.

For the Bookshelf: Bestsellers in the Age of Trump

By Tara Campbell

 

All the President’s Mendacity

How to Screw Allies and Idolize Dictators

Where’s My African-American?: the Great Picture Puzzle Book

Foreign Policy for Goddamn Idiots

Windmill Noise-Cancer is Not a Thing, and Other Actual Facts

The Man, the Myth, the Legendary Shitstorm: An “Illegitimate” Biography

What the Fuck? Asking for a Nation

No, Seriously, What the Fucking Fuck? The Sequel

We’re Sure as Shit Through the Looking-Glass Now, Alice

Love in the Time of Cholera: Attracting and Dating Survivors of the Anti-Vax Era

Decorating with Vessels: A GOP Guide to Marriage

Fun with Puppets: The NRA Goes to Congress

Incels and Ammo: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Putting the “I” in Democrisy and the “Me” in Melitia: A Patriot Speaks

The Spitball Cure: Injecting Spontaneity into Your Podium-Based Medical Practice

Liberal Tears: Not an Actual Fucking Strategy, Bro

How to Succeed at Culling the Population Without Really Trying: The Plutocrat’s Guide to Public Health

The Constitution: Look, We Wrote it in Memes, Would You Please Fucking Read It?

How to Lose a Republic in 1460 Days

From Russia with Love

 


Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, and fiction editor at Barrelhouse. Prior publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, Monkeybicycle, Jellyfish Review, Booth, Strange Horizons, and Escape Pod/Artemis Rising. She’s the author of a novel, TreeVolution, a hybrid fiction/poetry collection, Circe’s Bicycle, and a short story collection, Midnight at the Organporium. She received her MFA from American University in 2019. Read more about Tara at www.taracampbell.com.

Make American Great Again painting by Illma Gore. Follow her on Instagram.

Mock book cover by K-B Gressitt.

 

How to Not Be “Racist”

By Tara Campbell

 

Neighbors,

These are difficult times for True Patriots. With election season coming up, the lamestream media is going to start sniffing around our peaceful Neighborhood, asking for our opinions on things. You never know when an Enemy of the State is going to stick a microphone in your face, waiting for you to say something “Offensive” to make their bosses happy; or worse yet, catch you unawares, undercover with a hidden microphone, and splash your First Amendment Speech all over the news for Socialists to mischaracterize as “Racist.”

It’s always one thing or another, isn’t it? First, they said we didn’t respect Women, even though we let one run the PTA for Pete’s Sake. Then, it was how we treat Illegals, and now we’re supposed to be Racist.

Well, I’m tired of these Outsiders coming around, taking up our parking spots in front of the Diner and eating the last piece of pie while doing their Gotcha Journalism. That’s why I produced this Flyer, printed on 100% genuine American Flag letterhead so you know it’s True, and put it in your mailbox to tell you how to Arm yourselves against unfounded accusations of Racism and Bigotry.

When you see an Enemy of the State, or anyone else who isn’t from the Neighborhood (because remember, undercover), use the following phrases with caution:

“I’m not Racist but…”

When you hear yourself starting a sentence this way, stop and think: Is the person you’re speaking to really White-white, or do they just look White? Things have gotten to the point in this Country where you can’t be sure, and if you’re not certain, you’re probably not in a safe space to finish this sentence.

“How was ‘[insert your statement]’ Racist?”

Never ask this question around someone who has experienced Racism, or any kind of Bias, because frankly, they are too close to the issue to give you an objective answer. They are way too Biased to be trusted with a question of Bias.

“It honestly didn’t even occur to me to interpret it that way. I’m Colorblind, I guess.”

Caution: Be prepared to show more than two forms of Minority friend as proof—and no, your babysitter or your lawn guy are not valid for this purpose, no matter how nice you are to them.

“They’re the ones creating Division by talking about it.”

As true as this may be, it only makes the other side angrier when you point it out, opening the way for more trouble for you in the form of Facts and Evidence. Locate an exit in advance, so you can storm out of it easily if they react in this manner.

“He didn’t really mean that.”

Have a Plan. The other side will often be able to provide verbatim quotes, and follow up by asking you how to interpret that phrase, leading you to make statements you will have to apologize for later. Be prepared to either say he misspoke, or to tell them why they shouldn’t take it so seriously. If you choose the second tack, be sure not to use examples of threats that have actually come to pass.

“Go back to their Country”

Even if you say nice things about whatever Country it is, that phrase just ticks people off, and then they start talking about History, and Indians, and Pox Blankets, and that doesn’t end well, so just forget it.

Please note, the following words are also to be used with the utmost care.

Racially-charged

It’s elegant, yes, but it is beginning to lose its power due to the other side calling it insufficiently “accurate” or “rigorous” or “True”

American

Yes, we know what that means, but the other side will pretend not to, goading you into an actual explanation that will make you say things that you will later have to say you didn’t really mean. We know what this word means, so there is no need to explain ourselves.

Freedom

Again, crystal clear to those of us who already have and cherish it, but the other side tends to expand the definition too far beyond Firearms, Capitalism, and Christianity to have a meaningful discussion about it.

One last note, Neighbors: I’ve been careful to distribute this Flyer to everyone but that one family on Elm St., and I trust that you know which family that is. They will likely not be able understand the true intent of this Flyer, which is certainly NOT “Racist,” but Educational. If they encounter this Flyer, they may misunderstand it, and explicitly disallow their use as proof of Minority friends, and none of us can afford that.

And lastly, if anyone has any Questions—I’ve found it’s best not to ask.

Respectfully,
Your Neighbor

 


Tara Campbell (www.taracampbell.com) is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, and fiction editor at Barrelhouse. Prior publication credits include SmokeLong QuarterlyMasters ReviewJellyfish Review, Booth, and Strange Horizons. She’s the author of a novel, TreeVolution, a hybrid fiction/poetry collection; Circe’s Bicycle, and a short story collection, Midnight at the Organporium. She received her MFA from American University in 2019.

Photo by James Kenny on Unsplash.

 

Permission to Procure Birth Control: U.S. Government Form BC-451

By Tara Campbell

 


U.S. Government Form BC-451: Permission to Procure Birth Control

In accordance with the Maternal Priority Act of 2020, any and all requests for contraception must be approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Fetal Services. To that end, please complete the following questionnaire:

Name of Infernal Harlot (Last, First): _________________________________________

Citizenship status

  1. U.S. Citizen
  2. Naturalized U.S. Citizen*
  3. Dual Citizen*
  4. Permanent Resident*
  5. Spanish-speaker*
  6. Olive-skinned*
  7. Otherwise suspicious*

* This is the incorrect form for your use. Please submit Form 4827: Voluntary Forfeiture of Citizenship Status and Form 3453: Requisition for Repatriation to Country of Ancestral Origin.

Race/Ethnicity

  1. Caucasian or White
  2. African American or Black*
  3. Asian*
  4. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander*
  5. American Indian or Alaska Native*
  6. More than one*

* This is the incorrect form for your use. Please submit Form 3453 Requisition for Repatriation to Country of Ancestral Origin. Alternatively, submit Form 3423, Requisition for Federally-Funded Sterilization.

I, Infernal Harlot (First name, Last name) ___________________________________________, am requesting permission to procure birth control for the following reason(s); check all that apply:

  1. __ I choose not to have children at this time.
    Please report for six-month Re-Acculturation Training for self and husband. Be advised, failure to do so will result in a filing with your state’s attorney general.
  2. __ My family cannot afford to have additional children at this time.
    Please be advised that per the Find A Way Act of 2020, the right of the child to be conceived supersedes any and all other potential concerns, such as present ability to feed, clothe, house, or protect current or future children. Potential parents are legally bound to procure such means should conception occur, and as such, all petitions for birth control lodged upon this basis will be rejected.
  3. __ Bearing a child will disrupt completion of school/my ability to work.
    Per the 2021 Patriot Mother Act, an approved and notarized Form 1426b: Justification for Continuance of Educational/Professional activities must be attached. Please note that applications filed under this justification will be investigated and may result in termination/expulsion from your educational program.
  4. __ Health risks associated with pregnancy.
    Per the 2022 Valiant Vessel Act, you must attach a statement from your pastor attesting that the benefit to the world of any potential child that might have been conceived was considered coequally with the value of its mother’s survival. Please note, physicians’ statements are no longer considered valid.
  5. __ I’m too young to have children.
    Please consult the 2023 Budding Young Future Act, which revised age of consent with parental or assaulter’s permission, and harmonized it with appropriate childbearing age on a national level.
  6. __ To regulate my periods.
    Attach a statement from your husband along with form HOLI-1: Certification of Training: Understanding God’s Plan for You. Please note, physicians’ statements are no longer considered valid.
  7. __ Treatment for ovarian cysts, endometriosis, or other health conditions unrelated to pregnancy prevention.
    Attach statements from your husband and your pastor, along with form HOLI-1: Certification of Training: Understanding God’s Plan for You. Please note, physicians’ statements are no longer considered valid.
  8. __ Risk of sexual assault.
    Attach proof of address; most recent crime report from your precinct, certified by a reliable male law enforcement official; notarized letters from any potential assailants granting you their permission to not bear their children; and form HOLI-1: Certification of Training: Understanding God’s Plan for You.
  9. __ I am dating a married CEO or Member of Congress.
    Attach copy of text messages and current mailing address for immediate shipment of contraceptives.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All petitions based on reasons 1 through 8 will be rejected per the Fetal Host Act of 2024.

________________________________________________________________________
Name and Social Security Number of Infernal Harlot (print)

________________________________________________    ______________________
Signature of responsible party                           Date

________________________________________________
Relationship to Infernal Harlot (Husband/Father/GOP Elected Representative)

By signing this form, you acknowledge that you have given your wife/daughter/mistress permission to procure birth control, which may render your household subject to additional surveillance. Please be advised that per the Purity of Penetration Act of 2020, all carnal activity, including that between husband and wife, but with the exception noted in point 9 above, is purely for purposes of procreation. Anyone who knowingly commits fornication (sexual contact for purposes other than procreation, with the exception of point 9 above) may be subject to prosecution under federal law, potentially resulting in fines and/or jail time, and forfeiture of present and/or future rights to erectile dysfunction therapy.


 

Tara Campbell (www.taracampbell.com) is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, and fiction editor at Barrelhouse. Prior publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, Jellyfish Review, Booth, and Strange Horizons. She’s the author of a novel, TreeVolution, a hybrid fiction/poetry collection; Circe’s Bicycle, and a short story collection, Midnight at the Organporium. She received her MFA from American University in 2019.

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash.

Goddammit, you gotta vote because

By Tara Campbell

 

when hate comes marching into town
it bashes streetlights left and right
incited by a raving clown.

They’ll yank the phone- and power lines down
to shock and choke us in the night
when hate comes marching into town.

We’ll stand together—black, white, brown
queer, Muslim, Jew—against the blight
incited by a raving clown.

When angry men fling fists around
we’ll arm the women (impolite!)
when hate comes marching into town,

and we’ll sing loud enough to drown
them out, when they shout all their shite
incited by a raving clown.

But only votes retake the ground,
rebuild, and reignite the lights
when hate comes marching into town
incited by a raving clown.

 


Tara Campbell (www.taracampbell.com) is a Kimbilio Fellow, a fiction editor at Barrelhouse, and an MFA candidate at American University. Prior publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, Jellyfish Review, Booth, and Strange Horizons. Her novel, TreeVolution, was published in 2016, followed in 2018 by Circe’s Bicycle. Her third book, a short story collection called Midnight at the Organporium, will be released by Aqueduct Press in 2019.

Active 3D printer situation

By Tara Campbell

 

Before you download
the plans for your AR-15
please also download
the plans for our son

In case of loss
please reprint the following:
one son
who loves his dog
and his friends at school
and his little sister
and even his parents
you know
he’s still young enough
to say “I love you”
and give us a kiss
without blushing
do you have the right
printer for that?

Please inform us
which resin you’re using
because we need to know
you’ll be able to reprint his laugh
and reproduce how he held
his baby sister
brow furrowed
shoulders hunched
like he was balancing an egg
on top of a balloon

Do you know the right setting
for how he always sat down
when he held her
because he was so afraid
of hurting a delicate thing

If you have all of that
then go ahead
but please also download
just one more thing:
this blueprint of an intact family
so you can recreate our life
before
just in case

 


Tara Campbell (www.taracampbell.com) is a fiction editor at Barrelhouse and an MFA candidate at American University. Prior publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, b(OINK), Booth, Spelk, Jellyfish Review, Strange Horizons, and Queen Mob’s Teahouse. Her debut novel, TreeVolution, was published in 2016, and her collection, Circe’s Bicycle, was released spring 2018.

Photo credit: Electric-Eye via a Creative Commons license.

Take This Memo by Tara Campbell

From: Director of Market Research, Irrational Fears Division
To: Executive Director, Enough Already with the Guns, USA (EAWG USA)

I’m writing to follow up on our discussion about whether any lessons can be learned from California’s speedy abolition of open carry after the Black Panthers’ armed protest at the state Capitol building in 1966. I understand your reticence about the tactic I suggested, but when repeated mass murder doesn’t prove to be an effective incentive for change, perhaps we need to speak in a different language to be heard.

Here are my suggestions for new civic associations that might “trigger” additional action on gun control in the United States:

  • African-American Bump Stock Acquisition Fund
    Motto: A shooter is a terrible thing to slow down.
  • National Latino Ammo Exchange
    Motto: Together we are better armed. ¡Unidos!
  • Muslim Skeet-Shooters of America
    Motto: Train for your future, shoot for the sky!
  • Arms for Immigrants, USA
    Motto: Open hearts, open arms, open carry
  • Gun Enthusiasts of the African Diaspora
    Motto: I am my ancestors’ most heavily-armed dreams
  • First-Generation Pistol Patriots
    Motto: We are the new face of the firing range

We didn’t discuss the following angle at our meeting, but given recent events, I’ve taken the liberty of suggesting one more:

  • Armed Actress Guild of America
    Motto: Keep your hands where we can see them and no one will get hurt

I look forward to discussing further steps at your earliest convenience.

Until then,
Stay safe

 


Tara Campbell is a Washington, D.C.-based writer and an assistant fiction editor at Barrelhouse. Prior publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Litbreak, Masters Review, b(OINK), Queen Mob’s Teahouse, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and Writers Resist. Her novel, TreeVolution, was released in 2016, and her collection, Circe’s Bicycle, with be published in fall 2017. Visit Tara’s website at www.taracampbell.com.

Image via artparodies.com.

Uncle Sam Doesn’t Want You

By Tara Campbell

 

On June 29, to little fanfare, the State Department reinstated the approximately sixty Foreign Service job offers it had abruptly rescinded from Pickering and Rangel Fellows earlier in the month. The Pickering and Rangel programs seek to diversify the U.S. Foreign Service by providing undergraduate and graduate scholarships and Foreign Service jobs to women, minorities and low-income students.

For several of my seventeen years as a professional in international education and admissions, I had the pleasure of working with students and administrators of both of these programs. These fellows are some of the most sought-after applicants for an admissions officer, not only because they are intelligent and committed students, but because of the high level of academic and career support they receive from the fellowship programs before, during and after their degree programs. My admissions counterparts from other schools and I would compete for these students because we saw the good in diversifying both our universities and the Foreign Service.

State Department Secretary Rex Tillerson initially revoked the sixty positions offered to this year’s fellowship graduates based on the erroneous assumption that none of the Foreign Service positions had been guaranteed (the positions are in fact guaranteed—indeed, required—by the terms of the fellowship programs). The sixty job offers were reinstated after lobbying by the congressional and diplomatic communities.

Initially, I considered this a victory. But the more I think about it, the more troublesome this whole episode becomes. While the level of investment these students receive is considerable, it is a fraction of the total budget of the State Department. And yet, it was seen as low-hanging fruit in the current administration’s push to slash State’s budget.

I do not struggle to imagine why.

As I read the initial report of the offers being rescinded, I could almost hear the rumble of skeptical questions behind closed office doors.

“Why should they get special treatment?”

“Why shouldn’t they have to apply the same way as everyone else?”

“Why should we invest in these particular students more than others?”

I can easily imagine these questions because I heard similar grumblings about “reverse racism” in education when I was finishing high school in the late 1980s. A few of my fellow students were not pleased that some of the college scholarships I earned were for students of color, and they did not hesitate to share their opinions with me. No matter that I was graduating second in my class and scored in the 99th percentile in standardized testing; some white colleagues deemed certain investments in my education questionable because they were reserved for students of color.

How quickly we forget our history. But then, this essay isn’t about slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, racial gerrymandering, police brutality, inequity in prison sentencing, or any of those other historical means by which racial and socioeconomic elites have sought to retain their positions.

This is about Rex Tillerson’s counterproductive attempt to throw up a roadblock to the participants’ service after millions of dollars had already been invested in their education. If he or anyone on his staff had given the program an even cursory glance, they would have seen that the fellowships require students to accept employment as Foreign Service Officers after completing their education. Whether this program requirement was overlooked due to insufficient research, or it was intentionally disregarded, Secretary Tillerson’s attempt to renege on contractual obligations to these students is problematic. It is yet another example of how political victories are often sought on the backs of the most historically powerless members of society—women, minorities and the poor.

There could hardly be a more inauspicious message for a young person to hear at the beginning of their career representing the United States of America to the world: If you are a woman, a person of color, or poor, your country will only grudgingly keep its promises to you. Fortunately, these fellows had the benefit of other people with influence to agitate on their behalf. But what if they had had to scrape together the means to hire legal counsel? And what does this augur for the future of the program?

It is exactly because of situations like this that we are still not in a position to forget about slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, racial gerrymandering, police brutality, inequity in prison sentencing, or any of those other historical means by which racial and socioeconomic elites have sought to retain their positions. Indeed, because of the advances we have made, we must guard against the temptation to think that we no longer have to worry about structural inequity in society.

Under the guise of individual liberty through smaller government, the Tillersons of the world hold onto their positions of power by rolling back federally-supported opportunities for women, minorities and low-income citizens. Were it not for federal “interference” of passing and enforcing the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th Amendments, political and economic power in this country would have remained solely in the hands of wealthy white men. The forms of exclusion are subtler today, but the urge of those in power to maintain power by halting progress remains the same.

So yes, the reinstatement of these sixty Foreign Service job offers is a victory, but not one we can rest on. Together we must defend the advances we’ve made and continue to fight for a more just, inclusive world. Some seek to preserve an America built by entrenched power on stolen land, to build a moat of wealth around their castles of privilege, and retain control over access to opportunity in this country. Without federal “interference,” their state government chambers, corner offices and boardrooms would be perennially white, perennially affluent, and perennially male. If anyone needs proof that we are not yet past this stage in history, look no further than the committee of thirteen wealthy white men chosen to hash out the ruinous Senate healthcare bill. The fact that this bill is now languishing at a 17% approval rate shows we as a country want a better, more humane society than any closed committee of elites can envision.

To the Tillersons of the world: you may try to keep us out of your castles of power, and tell us to build our own out of the scraps you leave behind. Let this case show that, while we build our own structures, you cannot keep the drawbridge closed forever. And as our realms of success overlap and blend with yours, we will continue to strive toward a future where your children and grandchildren see there is room for all of us here.

 


Tara Campbell is a Washington, DC-based writer, assistant fiction editor at Barrelhouse, and volunteer with children’s literacy organization 826DC. Prior to writing, she had a seventeen-year career in international education and admissions in Oregon, Austria and DC. Prior publication credits include Booth, SmokeLong Quarterly, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Establishment, Barrelhouse, Masters Review, and Queen Mob’s Teahouse, among others. Her debut novel, TreeVolution, was released in November 2016, and her collection, Circe’s Bicycle, with be published in fall 2017. Visit her website at www.taracampbell.com.

Rex Tillerson caricature by DonkeyHotey via a Creative Commons license.