Author: bholmstrom

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Image of men staring at each other on a train with some tension.

On Openness

by Victor Garate

As he usually did when greeting me, my dad held the back of my neck and planted a kiss on my forehead. I didn’t greet him back.

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Abtract pattern with some day-glo colors against a black-and-white background.

Just Look Away

by Caleb Hogan

It’s the end of the month
you’re staying up until midnight
waiting for your Link card to refill.
You’ve been making peanut butter sandwiches
out of stale crackers all week.

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Black and white image of two women looking out a window.

She and I

by Victoria Segarra

She wears warm, vibrant colors. I wear cold, muted colors. Her voice is loud and distinct. She often asks me to repeat myself because I’m so quiet.

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Otra Vida

by Emily Ramos

For parts of my early childhood, my mother was a vampire. A part of her was this creature that couldn’t be fully seen—someone I couldn’t fully recognize.

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Image of car on highway in rearview window.

Going to the Shop

by Joel Pazmiño

He knows the gravity of what happened that Wednesday morning on the highway, and who’s responsible and who’s to blame and what to do and this and that. He knows.

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Blurred photograph of New York City subway

My Commute

by Layla Barrett

Smell of piss and shit, burnt coffee, New York Times.

Women and children on trains selling sweets

Anything to help make ends meet.

Interview with Isabella Allwood

Click here to view Allwood’s photographs in the 2024 issue. Interview by Tammy Browne and Christopher Schmidt You write in your contributor’s bio that you took the photographs in this portfolio when you returned to […]

Interview with Matthew Pacuruco

Interview by Kevin Cruz What inspired you or gave you the inspiration to write this piece? What inspired me to write this piece was the idea of how my life took a turn when I […]

Some Questions for Alexandra Rivera

What inspired you to write “A Promise Goes Both Ways”? I wrote “A Promise Goes Both Ways” for my introduction to creative writing course after being prompted to create a flash fiction piece. “A Promise […]

Some Questions for Victoria Segarra

What inspired you to write “Ode to a Strange Planet”? I actually wrote “Ode To A Strange Planet” as an assignment for a creative writing course I took last year at LaGuardia. We had to […]

Some Questions for Kaylin Rivera

What inspired you to write “Era Death”? “Era Death” was something that I randomly thought of. We’ve seen the idea of writing letters to your child self and letting them know you’ve succeeded or are […]

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Summer

by Rianna Cruz The colors of summer are a beautiful sight They make so many things look better in the light, And though summer is a short flight, It can tend to feel like the […]

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Loving a Soldier

by Franchesca Cuba Again, in my window Waiting for his return Engrossed in my pain, the moon takes the floor Yes, the moon She tells me that he will return Let me prepare a place […]

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Era Death

to all the versions of myself that I’ve killed by Kaylin Rivera [CW // sexual assault] Circa 15, 16. Kaylin, Pressured by your so-called friends around you to give away the one thing that you […]

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Stand-in image

A Promise Goes Both Ways

by Alexandra Rivera “Hey, bean…? If I ever become one of those things, I want you to put a bullet in my head.” I was still maintaining my faith in societal restoration and keeping track […]

Some Questions for Robbie Atienza

What was your writing process like for this piece? In my creative writing course last semester, I was tasked with writing a flash fiction piece. I took that opportunity to write a horror story because […]

Adventure

by Jasmine Chan Jasmine is a Malaysian-Chinese Queens-based illustrator and concept artist who just graduated from SVA with a BFA in Illustration. She designs and draws characters and environments for video games and animations. You […]

I Don’t Believe in Subtlety

by Josseline Cruz Garcia Josseline Cruz Garcia is an artist based in NYC. As a queer, latinx woman with depression & PTSD she faced many difficulties in her life that she learned to overcome through […]

Some Questions for Matthew Pacuruco

How did you begin this piece? Did the poem take a sudden turn that even you didn’t expect while writing? I began this piece during the early beginnings of the pandemic. Being enclosed and tightened […]

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Cold Show

by Matthew Pacuruco [CW // suicide]   Film. Broadcast. Edit. Work is almost done. I slouch when it’s already dawn. I can feel his presence from here. Noises from his footsteps make me want to look […]

Life

by Maria Huertas Maria Huertas is a Fine Arts student at LaGuardia Community College.  

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Ode to a Strange Planet

by Victoria Segarra Rolling hills of skin Comfortable, cushiony ground The strong and capable plains Of my back Blue rivers of veins, Their waters warm and comforting Beyond the peaks and dips Of my abdomen […]