Author: Heavy Feather

“Genre and Selfhood and Speculation, Endless”: Jeff Alessandrelli on writing And Yet

I recently published a book that, like thousands of books, is nebulous vis-à-vis genre. And Yet is a book-length fictional essay. It’s a long prose poem. It’s an experimental novel. It’s a commonplace book with a wavy, fragmented narrative. It’s a work of eclectic literary collage. It’s autofiction. It’s nonfiction that’s more informed by the…
“Trudging Through the Universe / As A Gigantic Lonely Eyeball”: An Interview with Gion Davis by Jeremy Boyd

Gion Davis’ debut poetry collection Too Much, forthcoming September this year, won the 2021 Ghost Peach Press Prize selected by Chen Chen and has been dubbed “wild and disrespectful” by Eileen Myles. In Too Much, Davis examines the self as a “gigantic lonely eyeball” wandering through scenes of abundance and hardship, creating a self-reliant and…
“letters that linger,” a poem by Jen Schneider

of the moments.memories.meanderings a. the sound of silenceb. the taste of quietc. the feeling of safetyd. the color of warmthe. the flavor of peace that could have pressed, stamped, stomped, even tattooed themselves in inks (blue.black.red) & palettes (pink.yellow.green) on concealed palms, at the midnight hour, of rays of sun / grains of sand /…
Haunted Passages: “Rooftops,” a new short story by Michael Cole

Just after 9:30 in the morning on a Wednesday in June, the creature tore down Michigan Avenue, upending taxi cabs, snagging awnings from storefronts, its talons leaving three-foot gashes in the asphalt. A few minutes later, the emergency sirens began to sound. In that time, the beast had emerged from Lake Michigan, traveled alongside the…
“It Shimmers”: Matthew Kinlin Reflects on Derek McCormack’s Judy Blame’s Obituary

Derek McCormack’s Judy Blame’s Obituary: Writings on Fashion and Death is a furious haberdashery of his own shining and ghostly obsessions. When writing about fashion, McCormack is writing about his life. Fashion is a glittering, inaccessible mirage like Kafka’s castle covered in rhinestones. Our exclusion from glamour is the push-pull of our own hearts beating.…
“The Snowy Owl,” a poem by Tara Campbell

The snowy owl said to the sad little girlI can send more love your way;the snowy owl said to the lonely girlI can give you a reason to play. The snowy owl said to the nervous young womanI can solve your problems, dear;the snowy owl said to the fearful young womanI can sweep your worries…
Side A Flash Fiction: “Another Life” by Darci Schummer

Another Life In another life, I am married to a Japanese man who was born in Toyko. “Moshi moshi,” he says when he answers the phone. We fell in love because he had a pompadour and wore leather pants, could play a hollow-bodied Gretsch guitar behind his back. At night, his dexterous hands made a…
Mount Summer, a short story collection by Travis Dahlke, reviewed by Marin Killen

Mount Summer is the collaborative product of Travis Dahlke, Jeff Dragan, and John Shields—writer, musician, and illustrator respectively. Produced by “the literary arm” of Out to Lunch Records, Lunch Break Zine, Mount Summer falls into the category of “extra-musical,” and accordingly the texture and sound of the prose stands out as well as the accompanying…
Revenge of the Scapegoat, a satirical novel by Caren Beilin, reviewed by Fani Avramopoulou

Caren Beilin’s Revenge of the Scapegoat begins and ends in a café in Philadelphia, where the protagonist, Iris, waits for her friend Ray. The two scenes are eerily similar, down to Iris’ outfits and the presence of flying insects around their table. And both sections open with a single, stand-alone sentence: “I was upset.” Iris’…