All of the artwork featured in volume 10 is the work of Canadian oil painter Vicki Smith. Vicki Smith is a Canadian painter known for her paintings of female figures that explore the possibilities and limitations of gravity. Often shown suspended in rippling water, twisted and upside-down, falling into and out of the picture plane, these figures are so precariously placed upon the canvas that … Continue reading The Oil Paintings of Vicki Smith
Masculinity I learned its meaning from my mother. Warm like the compress I steadied against her stoma. Gentle exertion as I attached her colostomy bag. Reassuring eye contact when she apologized “for this god-awful mess.” Ready to remind her: the countless times she changed me as a child. Grateful to mine affection wherever it might be found. Parade My father built a cage for me:two-by-fours jerry-riggedto a neighbor’s rusty flatbed,my sister trimming it with streamers—blue and … Continue reading Four Poems
“I am not about to die.” The old woman looked up at the minister from her bed. Pastor Clark stopped abruptly a few feet into the room. “No. Of course not,” he said. “Of course not, Miss Hartfield,” he added, remembering the name the nurse had given him. “I’m sure you have many years ahead of you,” he went on, but her sickly appearance made … Continue reading Abraham’s Axe
All of the artwork featured in volume 9 is the work of Canadian oil painter Michael Fantuz. Fantuz is a self-taught artist who uses palette knives, primarily those inherited from his fraternal grandfather, Gastone Fantuz. He stretches his own canvases using Canadian kiln dried wood from renewable forests, archival and environmentally friendly hemp canvas, and professional archival grade pigments from Winsor and Newton Artist Paints. … Continue reading The Oil Paintings of Michael Fantuz
When I see vultures gorging on the surplus of our society, I wonder if they are judging us. I believe thanks to vultures and other carrion lovers, we don’t always have to judge ourselves. They effectively remove a problem. But they feed on rotten meat… Continue reading Vultures
My tongue swam like leaves in hot tea,
the silence burning at my mouth. Continue reading Four Poems
Despite my wish that I be called Nathaniel, Stephanie has always insisted on calling me Nate. I don’t want to suggest that she is always so contrary, and I do find it endearing now, though it took time. She has a contrarian streak in her that shines through more often than I have been consistently comfortable with, yet I completed much of my PhD thanks … Continue reading The Edge of Something
They sit on the curb just past the customs booth: three dudes staring into the distance, faces hangdog, eyes vacant. Dreadlocks flow down their backs and rest limp on the sidewalk beside their bodies, looking like unearthed roots withering for lack of soil. Above them, the flags of two nations whip in a stiff breeze, while twenty yards off loom the struts and cables … Continue reading Story of the Ghost
All of the art featured in this issue is the work of Emilie Mae, an American oil painter from Detroit, who now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Following the images below, our editors ask Emilie a few questions. Interview with Emilie Mae Border Crossing: We really enjoy your use of vibrant color as well as use of texture in paintings. Can you talk … Continue reading The Paintings of Emilie Mae
So slow coming was the disaster,
the way, with dusk one could never say
exactly when the sky was fully dark. Continue reading Four Poems
A teenaged boy takes his little brother to the movies. Continue reading Strange Beast
Ronlyn Domingue discusses the process of writing her fourth novel. Continue reading A Conversation with Ronlyn Domingue
A grizzly bear haunts a grieving widower on Baffin Island. Continue reading Animals of the North
