Featured: Week of Jan. 28 (Families)
This week, our contributors take a look at families, of all sorts. Christina Ginfrida’s short story, “Opere Roma,” tells a story of an orphaned boy who gets placed with a very unusual foster family. Alizabeth Rasmussen’s essay, “The Art of Goodbye,” depicts a divorced mom coping with shared custody. Sam Grieve’s short story, “The Heartbreak of Long Division,” follows two sisters as they deal with grief over two continents. Raud Kennedy’s short story, “Strays,” is a tale of two lost souls who find each...
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Jan. 21 (The Movies)
As the movie award season begins, Wild Violet’s contributors goes to the movies: A poem by Lyn Lifshin, “Now Let’s Say,” pays tribute to the classic dance movie, “The Red Shoes” A poem by Michael Grosso, “How to Watch a Bad Movie,” provides a different way to look at late-night films. In the humorous essay by Peter Dabbene, “Life in the Movies,” he takes a look at movie tropes. In the short story by Victoria Large, “Analog,” a video store clerk who dreams of being a filmmaker reassesses his life when the...
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Jan. 14 (Inspiration, Pt. 2)
In celebration of the new year, which brings new perspectives, goals, and plans, we are taking the second of a two-part look at artistic inspiration. This week’s poems all draw from well-known musicians and writers. Arthur Winfield Knight’s poem, “Lu Watters: Blues Over Bodega” recalls a friendship with a jazz musician, with whom he shared common influences. Carol Hamilton’s “Another History of the Bean” draws inspiration from Thoreau, nature and coffee. Sean Lause’s “Whitman at the Game” imagines how the famous poet, Walt...
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Jan. 7 (Inspiration)
Many wishes for a wonderful new year! We are back from the holiday season, feeling refreshed and ready to set upon new paths and new creative goals. With that in mind, we will devote two weeks to the sources of artistic inspiration, beginning with poems by two poets, Robert Lavett Smith and Deborah H. Doolittle. Robert Lavett Smith’s “Maud Gonne” looks at the hold that unrequited love had on William Butler Yeats and how it influenced his poetry. Smith’s “Bird and Cows” shows us jazz great Charlie “Bird” Parker, playing a nighttime piece...
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Dec. 17
As the year winds down, we turn to reflection, as we assess the year that passed and anticipate the one yet to come. This week’s contributors use personal introspection to reach insights about past and possible future behavior. In the essay “A Brief Consideration” by Charles Sanft, the speaker contemplates the idea of living life twice: once cautiously and once with abandon. In the essay “Merit Badge” by Karen Fayeth, a woman contemplates body image on a Thursday work commute. The poem, “The fresh and promising morning” by Robert Phelps, explores the...
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