Issue of September 30, 2024

Consolaçam (The Great Consolation): Four Stories of Jews in the Ottoman Empire by Ron Singer — Cover story serial fiction

Ron Singer (www.ronsinger.net) has published twenty-one books, with another one due out in 2026. Consolacam shares with several of Singer’s recent books, and with his current WIP, the themes of exile and unlikely alliances.

Neal's Dad, Earl by Barry Udoff — Essay memoir

"Earl was a colossus..."

Angel of WTF by Patrick Sweeney — Fiction

A daily war...

Small Plates by Jerome Berglund — Poem

"...junkyard dog illusory correlations..."

In Memoriam II: 7 by Pranab Ghosh — Poem haiku

Memories in haiku

Tan-renga 2 by Christina Chin and Uchechukwu Onyedikam — Poem tan-renga

Collaborative Tan-renga

Aubade to the Boy Holding Out His Heart as A Way of Survival by Yahuza Usman — Poem unrhymed

Yahuza Usman [Crawling Writer], the Secretary of Taraba State branch of Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation, is a Nigerian award-winning author, essayist, spoken word artiste, book reviewer, Wikimedian, typist, graphic designer, short-story writer, and a versatile poet who has many of his works featured in many literary magazines.

For the 11-year-old Being Bullied by the Mean Girls by Susan C. Waters — Poem unrhymed

"...a fire that uses kind girls as kindling..."

Insuza Villagers Are Being Terrorized and Dehumanized by Ndaba Sibanda — Poem unrhymed

"...terrifying criminals are usurping the local people’s lands..."

Outdoor Towels by James Croal Jackson — Poem unrhymed

"...you refuse the lake when the lake refused you..."

Recurring Dream by Donna Pucciani — Poem unrhymed

"...my Italian grandfather, a carpenter from Calabria, built this house..."

The Goddess of Books and the Singer-Songwriter by April Mae M. Berza — Poem unrhymed

"...Music embraces the two of us..."

Volition by Sanjeev Sethi — Poem unrhymed

"...Are these fluctuations or the fallout of love?..."