Author: Heavy Feather

“Bringing the Heart of Things to Eye Level”: Louis Elliott on Eye Level, a poetry collection by Jenny Xie (Graywolf Press)

Philosophical, simple, balanced. Such is Eye Level, Jenny Xie’s full-length debut, a collection that returns wisdom from a place seemingly far away and places it for us in full legibility at eye level. Xie practices brevity and clarity, an ability to make deep solitude, or suffering, noble. The poems follow a traveler, a la backpacker,…
“Cobweb Lake”: A Short Story for Haunted Passages by Hernán Ortiz

My friend and I were skipping stones near the bodies that floated on the surface. We imagined that if the ripples touched them a hundred times, the bodies would wake up. But if the stones touched them instead, they would stay asleep forever. Most were thin stones we collected among the undergrowth that surrounded the…
John-Michael Bloomquist: Four Father Nescio Poems for Haunted Passages

Father Nescio and the God Pill—after Carl Sagan When the machines grew all our foodand drink, there was no need to workor study. We lived like passengersin a self-driving car traveling without adestination. When Christ, grieved over ourrestlessness, came back into our lives,she gave us Theophorin, a gel capsule of slicknanotech-spiders that wove us into…
“.DECEMBER.”: October People novel excerpt & audio by Pablo D’Stair

…It was twenty-years ago today (as someone – I can’t think who – was known to say) at the ripe young age of nineteen, beguiled by my mis-reading of the rules to the Anvil Press 3-Day Novel Writing Contest, that I locked myself in the cheapest Econo Lodge money could buy for the purpose of…
Two Poems by Nancy Hightower

Resurrectionfor Jericho Death always wins. Despite sunsetand a blood moon calling for magic,there’s a small body leftin the field of lilacsand still more bodiesadrift on a forgotten sea,and he sings their namesin remembrance, wears a crownof flowers with half-cocked grinbecause tomorrow bringsnew tragedies like a promise. Still, he believesin the prophecy of rain,blesses the descentfrom…
Su Nadeau: “Juniper,” a short story for Haunted Passages

The twelve-thirteen train derailed on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. It was the only one that passed through this way. This meant Lupon and Wren devoted their time to clearing the wreckage so each train had the opportunity to wreck on its own. A quarter after noon on Saturday the train was heard before it was…
“The Aftermath of Disconnection”: An Interview with Gina Tron by Hillary Leftwich

Gina Tron has authored three books, and she has three more books forthcoming, including Star 67, which drops on 11/11 by Vegetarian Alcoholic Press. Her poems have been published in Green Mountains Review, Hunger Mountain, Junto Magazine, and Tupelo Quarterly. Gina has an MFA in Writing and Publishing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.…
Amanda Chiado: “A Pretty Girl’s Hair,” a short story for Haunted Passages

“Where’s mama?” Bobby asks. “She went to the moon,” Dad says. He sucks hard on a Marlboro. Most of the smoke escapes out the window. I think of Mom drifting in a silvery spacesuit toward the strange botched face of the white orb. We three stare out the windows. Journey is Believing on a half-static…
Flavor Town USA Poetry: “On Eggs” by Evan Williams

Scrambled poached over easy over medium over hard sunny side up hard boiled soft boiled screaming with tabasco with salsa with toast with ketchup omelette omelet omlet om nom nom let benedict pope benedict catholic eggs fertilized unfertilized Rocky Balboa eggs ostrich eggs emu eggs fish eggs caviar cavalier to spend so much golden eggs …