by Jennifer De La Cruz
She loses sleep searching for deals on humidifiers and dreams of fog. If plants need just three simple things to grow, why won’t they?
We Are the Children
by Saturn Lawson
We are the children
Of those who threw the first stones
Cathedrals
by Ethan Velez
I was still quite young when my mother told me about her dream where she found me having sex with another man. When my mother told me about her dream, I saw her bewildered eyes, her lowered lips, her shoulders turned away from me.
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.
Photography Showcase by Isabella Allwood
by Isabella Allwood
I want my photos to remind the audience to call their grandma. I want every photo to have a personality, like you know someone is there but you just can’t see them.
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.
Art Showcase: Fortune by Jino Dority
by Jino Dority
This piece was created in honor of the singer Jonghyun, a staunch supporter of the LGBTQ+ community who passed in 2017.
Why Astronauts are Sad
by Matthew Pacuruco
Over a cone of fast light comes sadness,
a chaos that consumes many things.
(An astronaut is supposed to know this part.)
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.
I Was Never Anything/Self Love
by Matthew Pacuruco
Where masculinity is only one option.
Every walk and every expression
is an element of their critique to judge.
Mango from Bongo
by Raisa Zannat
Every passerby who walks in front of her house carries a bit of my grandmother’s love with them. Everyone who enjoys the mangoes relishes a part of the love that my grandmother had to offer.
Don’t Do That, Rosa
By Ethan Velez
“Is my husband cheating on me?”
She gives me this look. She was expecting this question, but she was still surprised I asked.
Art Showcase by Len Rivera
“Sunnier Morning” by Len Rivera
Estranghero
by Tai Coronación
Estranghero
Perpetual foreigner
Words that are permanent on my body
Have You Considered Therapy?
by Caleb Hogan
What the fuck are you talking about?
I never called you that.
That never happened.
Midnight Mistress
by Alessandra Ventura
How often has the moon beheld me from afar
eagerly waiting for my phone to glow?
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.
My Friend, the Mirage
By Jocelyn Carrasco
After it destroys you, saturate and add higher resolution to each scene
Can I Have a Dream?
by Danaiya Odom
Hold on so tight they can not be swiped by the hopeless.
The restless.
The silver spooners.
Art Showcase: Wings of Love by Alondra Barrales
“Wings of Love,” Alondra Barrales (shawl); photo by Ethan Velez. Alondra Barrales is a student at LaGuardia Community College and crocheted the “Wings of Love” shawl in March 2024. Its colors are inspired by the […]
The Man Who Loved the Stars
by Akasha Weeratne
You are the man who adored the stars so passionately that their twinkle intensified whenever you were near.
The Art of the Anxious
by Alvi Chowdhury
My hands were becoming sweaty as my heart was racing. I tapped my foot in an attempt to calm the nerves.
Interview with Binita Shrestha
Interview by Vanesa Paulino What made you want to submit your artworks to The Lit Magazine? I wanted to submit my artwork to The Lit Magazine to share my perspective and connect with a wider […]
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 […]
Interview with Akasha Weeratne
Interview by Daraen Kyi ‘What was your process in writing this? Why did you choose a poem format, for example? What led you to this topic? The process of writing this was surprisingly easy. I […]
Interview with Emily Ramos
Interviewed by Joel Pazmiño via email What was writing this piece like for you? Writing “Otra Vida” was unexpected. The first time I read the prompt in my creative writing class, I had a completely […]
Interview with victoria segarra
Interview by Victor Garate Did you plan to use the “she-and-I” format before writing this piece, or did it come naturally as you wrote? I wrote “She and I” as an assignment for my creative […]
Interview with Alvi Chowdhury
Interview by Ethan Velez Let’s start with the title – where did it come from, how did you decide on it? The title “The Art of the Anxious” came very naturally to me. Anxiety is a […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Chocolate Bar in the Summer
by Joel Pazmiño Rodriguez The chants of the crowd roar in rhythm, and the drum pounds through the speakers. He nods at the owner who’s biting his pen at […]
