MK Chavez is an award-winning author, co-founder/curator of the reading series Lyrics & Dirges, co-director of the Berkeley Poetry Festival, a fellow with CantoMundo, and a Fall 2018 guest curator of the reading series at UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Join us September 19 for a free and open to the public poetry reading poetry reading on …
The End by Aniah Hill
The origin of my misery lay dying in a hospital bed. As I entered the room, I was overcome with the competing emotions of compassion and anger. A natural urge to embrace the suffering was rapidly suppressed by the anger that had burned inside me for so many years. He was dying, finally, but only …
The Skyscraper (Benjamin Guterman)
The Skyscraper by Benjamin Guterman Concrete slabs, ribbed and reinforced with iron, Set together on riveted crossbars of steel, Towering from the earth, and thrusting Ever upward through the clouds. Skyscraper of bold and massive slabs, A thousand glittering windows soaring through the clouds In ever faster succession along the rising grey rock. Skyscraper with …
“Futility” by Dorothy Pilgrim
Futility by Dorothy Pilgrim To rise from earth's low level for a space And soar to giddy heights of mind's delight; To hold brief commune with the great, a sight Of greatest truths to catch; and then this place Of slowly muddling things to reach; to face The thought that through your life you'll fight …
“Ten-Second Sermon” by Jack Hulse
Ten-Second Sermon by Jack Hulse There seems to be a tension in people's talk these days. Their speech is nervous, impatient. All of this, of course, is the reflection of fear--fear of their war-baby that killed so many Japanese so quickly. Maybe people are beginning to realize that you can't be relaxed and charming while …
“The Highway” by Fred Mayer
The Highway by Fred Mayer It parts the forest pushing trees aside, And leaves a wedge of concrete gaping wide. It stretches past the plain like the leveled light, And curls around the mountain tops at night. Or sweeping by, it mocks the creaking waste Of dying towns, rotting and hollow faced. It cracks the …
A Rational Weakness (Peteso)
A Rational Weakness by Peteso "Destruction is the duty of every man, woman . . ." the loud speaker blared, just before the thrown grenade exploded on the platform, sending the Vice-Admiral in charge of Persuasion back to the ship in a log. And indeed a thirst for destruction, self- or other- wise, seemed a …
Untitles (J. T. Grogan)
by J. T. Grogan rolling down the asphalt trail an ersatz man buried in a smogbox of steel fiberglas and rubber mouthful of plastic trubyte teeth munching a tru-luv candy bar made of butylated hydroxyanisole calcium propionate hydrogenated strontium 90 and vanillin an artificial flavoring on his eyeballs small plastic disks ground to prescription for …
Vuillard (Hunt Baldwin)
It was about two o'clock when I walked by the fountain. I remember it clearly because I was not wearing a watch. When you don't wear a watch and you walk through a large city, you become acutely aware of all the time pieces that are on public display. There are digital clocks in bank …
Family Tradition: a Gay Evolution (David Nelms)
Family Tradition: a Gay Evolution by David Nelms No one ever told me that Grandma Rose was a lesbian. She was my father's paternal grandmother. And since her divorce in the late 1920's had been living with Olive. I remember spending many weekends with them in their apartment. Assigned to the guest room, I never …
Continue reading Family Tradition: a Gay Evolution (David Nelms)
