Herald’s and Del’s Cosmetic Issue
In this vernacular poem by Charles H. Lynch, a husband and wife spar over their respective spending habits
Identity Academy
In this short story, Meirav Seifert tells the chilling tale of a school that erases individuality. With photography by Ashlyn Vickery
Spectacular Faults
TW: physical and sexual abuse
An excerpt from Sondra R. Brooks’ unpublished memoir, this personal essay paints a childhood haunted by the damaging spectre of hypermasculine, alpha father figures
A Note from the Editors: Issue 42
Flee
In this rich personal essay, Augusté Nomekaité feels the weight of history on her Lithuanian identity, family, dating life, and her grappling with the horrors of the present: the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Two Poems
In “Everything I Learned About Love I Learned from the Couple Across the Street”, a love poem drifts to its ever after, while in “How the Girl Became a Poet”, a young Ukrainian girl writes out of rubble
Ladies and Gentleman, Your In-Flight Entertainment for this Evening: Late Capitalistic Nausea
Benjamin Kirby’s humorous essay takes us through the absurdity of a six-and-a-half hour Emirates flight
THE NAME OF A CITY
Men, memories, monuments – Nadine Khalil’s new poem thinks of cities and their ruinous histories
“Since”
Emirati poet Amal Al Shamsi’s poem explores nostalgia, longing, and a mother-daughter relationship
Even in Saltwater
Andrea Eaker’s short story traces a relationship realizing it has no roots
Soliloquies
Swiveling between memories in Sharjah, Dubai and Cairo, Noor Tannir’s vulnerable personal essay grapples with themes of anxiety, grief, and family illness
Caspian Sea
Persian poet Leila Farjami writes about a complex, knotted mother-daughter relationship. With artwork by Vivian Hagedorn
The Station in Summer
Irish writer Oisin Breen’s poem lurches into being like the arrival of a train. With artwork by Ekaterina Palesskaya
Itthon (At Home)
In a series of personal vignettes, Rose Gove traces their evolving relationship with the country of Hungary
Event Horizon
Taking the black hole’s point of no return as its inspiration, Event Horizon is a single channel audiovisual piece that explores the bending of light as a signifier of the colossal and divine
Visions
The disembodiment of helplessness – a poem by Natasha Huynh
Untitled
Matheus Crespo’s drawn triptych conjures little cities in the nooks of things grown
Two Auditions
In this memoir piece, Ernestine Whitman looks back on her journey as a young girl to becoming a professional flutist
May
New in milk & vodka, Pakistani poet Ammara Jabbar entwines nature with girlhood. With artwork by Keely Mclavin
I am
I am is a digital art project by Ethiopian artist Lidiya Zelke that explores the surreal process of self-discovery and self-understanding