Counting Steps or, How to Live Like an Animal The sidewalks in our neighborhood are crowded despite the cold because the experts have told us a blizzard is coming after midnight. The computer models predict a foot of snow, or maybe two, who can say, and everyone in New York City is stockpiling milk, bread, and wine because they won’t dare to venture outside tomorrow. The lone exception to this rule will be people like me. One foot of snow or three, I’ll still have to brave th

Katya Apekina, The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish, Two Dollar Radio, 2018. $16.99 Long before receiving my copy of Katya Apekina’s novel The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish, I was aware of the buzz surrounding it. Several respected outlets had published rave reviews. Social media was in love. I was excited to finally have my copy, and I can honestly say that the novel lives up to the praise. What’s more impressive is that this is Apekina’s debut novel. It’s a hear

Letter to My Sister I lack some imagination because when I think about where you’ve gone I imagine you are wearing a white robe and sitting cross-legged in a Southern California desert. Your leader is a white man with long brown hair who wears sandals. When he’s not leading prayer circles he’s getting you all pregnant. Everyone has given up their money because who needs money when you’re on your way to Planet Heaven. I know—it’s not the 1970s, and this brand of cult is passé.

From my perspective, the tendency among writers to focus on and discuss the slush pile makes it’s easy to forget all the other projects and challenges that go into running a literary journal. Even if editors dream of spending their hours seeking out gems and marking up manuscripts, those tasks are often cast aside to attend to more practical matters: paperwork, production, and promotion, to name a few. Events need to be planned. Volunteer staffs require consistent reorganizat