Winter Solstice 2020

Poetry

Bailey Cohen-Vera

Diamond Forde

Jessica Lawson

Jocelyn Li

Julia Laxer

Lark Omura

Art

A Visual Poem by KT Herr

Fiction

Tight Little Vocal Cords: a novel excerpt by Loie Rawding

Essays

Ritual for Release 2020 by Courtney Morgan

Solstice Soliloquies—Notes from the Editors

Ritual for Release 2020

by Courtney E. Morgan

The following is a ritual which uses the powerful practice of tonglen meditation from Tibetan Buddhism to help us say goodbye to 2020. Tonglen means ‘giving and receiving’ or exchanging self with other. In this ritual, we take in the pain of 2020, transform it within our ourselves, and give or send out relief, compassion, love.Continue Reading

Tight Little Vocal Cords: A Novel Excerpt

by Loie Rawding

One night not long into our courtship, I got thirsty for a little kissy face and ice cut straight off the block. Mix that with some sweet bubbles and easy fumes coming off the crowd and I knew I could be satisfied for the evening. M was tired of being dragged around, and then left waiting in front of a broom closet. Who could blame him? I tell him someone has to pay the bills. I’ve sold off all the war medals. Compensated myself by pressing them into my skin and once the imprint faded, I just took them off to pawn. We have to eat more than the bedpost, I say and give him a little slap across the cheek. He does not argue.Continue Reading

A Poem by Julia Laxer

Moon Shit

The moon like a cut of beef
All violet and indigo on the ascending sky

Fluid petals
All real

On the chin
Of a new body

 

Julia LaxerJulia Laxer writes across genre, reveres the ocean, and uses writing, performance art, and spiritual practice to explore archetype and ritual. She won the Orlando Prize from A Room of Her Own in 2014 and is featured in journals and anthologies including Luna Luna MagazineThe Los Angeles ReviewSo-to-SpeakZócalo Public Square, and Yes, Poetry. You may reach her on Twitter @JuliaLaxer.