Featured: Week of Oct. 22
On the week before Halloween, while putting together costumes and stocking up on candy, we often become aware of a strangeness in the air. Is it the chill of impending winter? Is it the collective, temporary obsession with otherworldly experiences? Or does this time of year really open the door to something odd and alien? This week’s contributors illustrate such encounters. In “Slug Boy,” a story by Raud Kennedy, an office worker contemplates reincarnation and the seemingly otherwordly nature of a slug. In “House to House,” a poem by Bruce McRae, traveling...
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Oct. 15
We spend at least half our lives in our dreams, and dream imagery is one of the most visceral ways of expressing our hopes, dreams, fantasies and fears. This week, join us for a trip into the dreamworld. Mark Joseph Kiewlak’s story, “Magic,” depicts a world where magic may be more than it seems. Bruce McRae’s poem, “Shopping,” takes a dreamlike look at the nexus of consumerism and desire. Maurice Oliver’s poem, “Or Musical Instruments Like the Guillotine…” uses dream imagery to illustrate insomnia. Sean...
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Oct. 8
Throughout the month of October, Wild Violet is leading up to Halloween by exploring some darker terrain, suitable for the holiday of spirits and monsters. In this week’s installment, we visit four dystopias. Richard Wolkomir’s “Swamp” takes us inside a secretive society living in American’s southern swamplands. Donna Marie Robb’s “The Banished” shows us a deceptively pleasant New Eden brought by eugenics. Robert Woolridge’s “The Debt Breakers” depicts a futuristic world ruled by banks. David Hancock’s...
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Oct. 1
On Saturday, I celebrated my fifth wedding anniversary with my husband. In honor of that milestone, this week’s featured pieces look at romantic love. Dwayne Thorpe, in his poem “Falling in Love Again,” contemplates the interconnectedness of love, loneliness, perception and mortality. Michele Hromada’s story, “Voodoo Love,” follows a woman willing to do anything to find true love. Scott Stambach, in his introspective story, “The Quiet Catharsis of Igor Isaenko,” explores the possibility of love flourishing in the most poisonous...
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Sept. 24
In the Northeastern United States, where I live, the weather is wavering between warmth and coolness. But on many days, as this past weekend, one last burst of heat blooms, as summer takes a last stand. This week’s contributors celebrate the beauty of warm weather. Emily Strauss, in her poem, “Settling Into Outside,” explores the transformation brought by spending time outdoors. John Grey’s poem, “Train Through Nebraska,” depicts the scenery out a train traveling through the Midwestern U.S. Stephanie DeLusé, in her essay, “My Morning with a...
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Sept. 17
This week, Wild Violet goes global, with three writers providing international perspectives. “Village Women,” a poem by Slobodanka Strauss, depicts the life of rural women in the Ukraine. “Bridge Crossing,” an essay by Louise B. Bennett, tells the story of a 1970s good-will trip to China that changed the author’s life. “Smoke Invasion,” a poem by Agholor Leonard Obiaderi, vividly portrays the problem of pollution in...
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