N o t H ow i t W o r k s D av i d W . Ber n er I t ?s n ot w h at I ex p ect ed f r om h er e, bei n g abl e t o see ever y on e th i s w ay. I h ear voi ces, bu t n ot th e w or d s, an d I ?m ok ay w i t h th at. Seei n g t h em i s en ou gh . Sm i l es. Tear s. A l l t h ose ey es on m e an d th en t u r n i n g aw ay as i f th ey can ?t bear t o l ook t oo l on g. T h at ?s sad , th e t u r n i n g aw ay. Bu t seei n g p eop l e, esp eci al ly som e I h aven ?t seen i n y ear s, i s n i ce. I t ?s str an ge th at I can ?t u n d er stan d an y on e. I w on d er i f I n eed to, th ou gh . Bu t w h at ?s m ost su r p r i si n g, i s h ow I am cer t ai n of w h er e I ?m goi n g w h en th i s i s al l d on e, an d ever y on e l eaves, w h en t h e d oor i s l ocked f or th e n i gh t . I t ?s t h e f i r st th i n g y ou l ear n . T h er e i s so m u ch abou t h ow th i s i s su ch a bi g m y st er y, ou r bi ggest m y st er y i n th e en ti r e u n i ver se. Bu t i t?s r eal ly n ot . I t ?s p r et t y si m p l e w h en y ou k n ow. St i l l , i t h as t o h ap p en to y ou bef or e y ou sl ow ly, m et h od i cal ly begi n to r eal i ze t h at w h er e y ou ar e goi n g i s so si m p l e. W h er e am I goi n g? W el l , I ?m n ot su p p osed t o tel l , an d I ?m sti l l tr y i n g t o u n d er stan d . You see, th e m y st er y m u st r em ai n u n t i l y ou ar e m e. A n d t h at com es on ly f or each of u s on e at a ti m e. Per son by p er son . T h at ?s on e th i n g I ?ve
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l ear n ed so f ar . T h e m y st er y stay s a m y ster y u n ti l i t?s ti m e. Your ti m e. Bu t w h at I can tel l y ou i s w h er e I ?m not goi n g. I t?s n oth i n g l i ke y ou th i n k , h ave r ead abou t, or h ave been tol d i n ch u r ch or Su n d ay sch ool . For get al l th at. I t?s sm oke an d m i r r or s. A n d besi d es k n ow i n g th i s, I al so k n ow w h at I ?m not taking w i t h m e. W h at d o p eop l e say ? You can?t take it with you. W el l , th at?s abou t r i gh t. So m u ch w on ?t be goi n g al on g. I w on ?t be tak i n g th e m ou n tai n s or th e r i ver s or th e cl i f f s al on g th e I r i sh Sea; th e bi r d son g or th e bu tter f l i es th at f l oat ar ou n d th e m i l k w eed . I w on ?t take th e p oetr y book s. I w on ?t take th e su n i n Ju n e or th e d an ci n g sn ow f l akes of Jan u ar y. T h e h oot of th e ow l th at u sed to h an g ar ou n d th e bi g p i n e n ear th e f en ce. I w on ?t take th at . I w on ?t take th e w ood f i r e sm oke i n O ctober . I w on ?t take th e ston e gn om e i n th e gar d en , th e on e th e k i d s p at on th e h ead w h en th ey w al k h om e f r om sch ool . I w on ?t take th e sm el l of l i l acs. I ?m al so n ot tak i n g th e l ove of a w om an , or a m an , or a cat. Yes, cats can l ove. I h ave l ear n ed th at , too. I t ?s an ot h er on e of th e f i r st th i n gs th ey tel l y ou . I ?m n ot tak i n g a ch i l d ?s gi ggl e.
OUR EDITORIAL BOARD A hearing impaired writer and artist adopted in Luxembourg, Kelly Sargent is an award-winning author of two memoirs in verse, a haiku and senryu poetry collection, and a children’s storybook. Recent honors include: Firebird Book Award winner, The Rash Award in Poetry finalist, Eric Hoffer Award nominee, Touchstone Award for Individual Poems nominee, and Best of the Net nominee. Her other works have appeared in more than eighty literary journals. She also serves as the creative nonfiction editor of The Bookends Review. Visit www.kellysargent.com to learn more about her. Callum Foulds is a poet, recording artist and an Arts and humanities graduate based in Nottingham, UK. Their work has been featured in Beyond Words Magazine and their debut pamphlet, Morning, grey sky is out February 2023 on Electric Frog Ltd. In their free time they enjoy writing poetry, consuming copious amounts of gorgeous coffee, releasing music as ghost orange and scaring themselves silly watching horror movies. They are most passionate about innovative forms of poetry and prose. Diliana Stoyanova is a Bulgarian-Finnish spoken-word and sound poet, and PhD candidate based in Helsinki. A 2019 Finnish national slam finalist and an avid performer, she writes to take ownership of her own narrative. Her poetry moto is 'Sometimes I do the words, and sometimes the words do me.' She has been published in magazines and anthologies, most recently in the "Poetry and Settled Status for All" published by Civic Leicester to support refugees and migrants. K.D. Zwierz is a lecturer, musician and poet. His poetry was recently featured in the anthology Ukraine in the work of international poets (Literary Waves). His writing explores themes of displacement, cultural identity and historical relativism, explored through the analysis of his own experiences growing up in a migrant farming community. Of Polish-Italian descent, he lives and writes between Croatia, Kuwait and the UK. Colby Flade (he/him) is a queer writer, artist, avid drinker of coffee, and student based in Chicago. He is the author of The Smell of the Light Blue House in Summertime (2021), Menthol (2022), Fear Home (Oyez Review, Vol. 49, 2022), Short Sweet Simple: Love Poems (Bottlecap Press, 2022), Ignis Fatuus (Beyond Words Literary Magazine, Issue 35, 2023) and The Fly & Odor (Beyond Words Press, 2023). Colby’s work can be found online, at bookshops like This Old Book in Grayslake, Illinois & The Book Teller in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. Flade attended DePaul University, studying Writing, Rhetoric & Discourse, and is
currently pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education. Find him on Instagram @theflade and on www.theflade.com Erin Challenor (she/her) is an undergraduate at the University of Iowa, studying creative writing, political science, and American studies. Originally from Portland, Oregon, she likes pennies, sticky notes, slam poetry, and cats. She likes writing about the Generation Z experience and is Managing Editor for the literary magazine The Jupiter Review. Noah Evan Wilson is a writer and musician based in New York City. His stories have been published in Beyond Words, Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine, and Prime Number Magazine, among others, as well as the anthology, Ten Ways the Animals Will Save Us, from Retreat West Books. Noah is currently an MFA candidate at Rutgers University-Newark. His latest record, The View from the Ground – EP, is now available on all major streaming platforms. Candi Martin is a Creative Writing tutor and published writer/ editor who writes on social equality and our roots in this world. She holds MA Creative Writing and Wellbeing from Teesside University and has always written for her own wellbeing. She can usually found listening to BBC6 music with a huge cup of tea. Insta @candi_says_ @writingforwellnessrossendale Brian "Brie" Sheridan is a writer and editor existing on the East Coast. They are currently trying to publish their first chapbook. In their free time, the enjoy playing nostalgic video games, planning out tattoos, and drag. Roberta Laurie is the author of Weaving a Malawi Sunrise. She holds an MA in Environmental Education and Communication and teaches in the Bachelor of Communication Studies program at MacEwan University. Roberta writes about writing, nature, sustainability, and sustainability communication. She is currently writing a memoir inspired by a box of letters left behind by her father. Sam Burt is a tutor and proofreader living in London. Since finishing a master’s in creative writing, he has edited for Exposition Review, Bandit Fiction, F(r)iction, and Beyond Words. Off-page, he volunteers with an LGBTQ+ charity and runs the East London Indie Book Club. He is always thinking about working on a novel.
WRITERS Josh Mayhall lives in Chicago by way of Los Angeles by way of Dallas by way of Louisiana. Some of Carla Carlson’s poems have been published by various journals: Thrush Poetry Journal, Thimble Literary Magazine, Narrative Northeast, and Brushfire Literature and Art. Her current manuscript in progress has been a finalist at Harbor Editions. Cherie Logan is a lifelong storyteller and new writer. Patricia Cannon has been a Registered Nurse at UCSF since 2001. Her passions are her faith, photography, and the written word in all its forms. She would like to thank the poets Jon Lavieri, FM Lupinetti, Pamela Butler, Pam Ahlen, Cheryl Martone, Lucinda Pinchot, and Kathleen Loe for their valuable help with Burn Unit—A Fragmented Memory. Marika Litras is originally from Southern California and now lives and works in Washington, D.C. Lift is her first published poem and dedicated to her extraordinary mother. Her poem Like-Like was a finalist in the Non-rhyming Poetry category of the 92nd Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. Dick Altman writes in the high, thin, magical air of Santa Fe, NM, where, at 7,000 feet, reality and imagination often blur. He is published in Santa Fe Literary Review, American Journal of Poetry, Fredericksburg Literary Review, Foliate Oak, Landing Zone, Cathexis Northwest Press, Humana Obscura, Haunted Waters Press, Split Rock Review, The Ravens Perch, Beyond Words, New Verse News, Wingless Dreamer, Blueline, Sky Island Journal and others here and abroad. Pushcart Prize nominee and poetry winner of Santa Fe New Mexican’s annual literary competition, he has in progress two collections of some 150 published poems. Liam Gibbons (they/he) is a queer, disabled writer living and working in New York. Jennifer Hill-Flores earned a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, where she also served as an editorial assistant in poetry for Ploughshares literary magazine. She is currently completing an MA in Writing at Johns Hopkins University. Her poetry and short stories have been published in journals and magazines in the US, UK, and Canada, including San Antonio Review, Funicular Magazine, Bridge Eight Literary Magazine, Black Fox Literary
Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, and others. Find her work and more info here: www.jenniferhillflores.com. Thomas Sims holds a B.S. in Biology from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University. He currently teaches sixth grade science and eleventh grade philosophy/literature in Chandler, Arizona. His work has been featured in “Beyond Words” and “An Unexpected Journal.” Cathy Hammond has a BA in English from Northwestern University and an MA in Teaching English. She is the founder of two schools and lives in Michigan. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her on the water with a fishing pole. www.cathyhammond.com David W. Berner is the author of several award-winning books of fiction and memoir. He has been honored as the Writer-in-Residence at both the Jack Kerouac Project in Orlando, FL and the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum in Oak Park, IL. Lauren Hall's work has appeared in The Rumpus, Two Peach, The Conium Review, Cleaver, The Lascaux Review, and others. She was awarded the William Carlos Williams Prize for poetry at the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a master’s degree. Lina Buividavičiūtė was born on May 14, 1986. She is a poet and literary critic. Lina is an author of two poetry books in the Lithuanian language. Her poetry is published in "Matter", "Masters" and “Proverse Poetry Prize" contest anthologies, "Drunk Monkeys", "Beyond Words", "The Dewdrop", "The Limit Experience", "Beyond Queer Words", "Maudlin House", "Cathexis Northwest Press", "Poetry Online", "Red Noise Collective", "Sad Girls Diaries" magazines as well as "Versopolis" poetry platform. Upcoming publications include “New Millennium Writings”, "Cathexis Northwest Press", "Red Noise Collective", "The Stardust Review" and “Beyond Words” magazines. Walter Holland is the author of four books of poetry: “Reconstruction,” “A Journal of the Plague Years: Poems 1979-1992,” “Transatlantic,” and “Circuit,” as well as one novel, “The March.” His most recent work has appeared in the “Cape Cod Poetry Review” and “About Place Journal.” He reviews for “Lambda Literary Review” and “Rain Taxi.” For further info visit: www.walterhollandwriter.com. Emma Musty is the author of two novels, The Exile and The Mapmaker, longlisted for the 2022 Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award, and The Bones of Barry Knight, which was nominated for the 2023 Dublin Literary Award. She is currently completing her third novel with the support of a Society of Authors K
Blundell Trust Grant. She has also written multiple human rights reports, articles and chapters on migration and mobility. Lawrence Bridges' poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry, and The Tampa Review. He has published three volumes of poetry: Horses on Drums (Red Hen Press, 2006), Flip Days (Red Hen Press, 2009), and Brownwood (Tupelo Press, 2016). You can find him on IG: @larrybridges
VISUAL ARTISTS Cover art: Portals by Melissa Mimms. Melissa has a BA in Journalism and worked at The Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post as a photojournalist before starting her own photography business. Currently she lives in Ventura, CA and works in fine art photography. @mimmsey Christopher Paul Brown is known for his exploration of the unconscious and the serendipitous. His first photography sale was to the Standard Oil Company of Indiana and his video You Define Single File was nominated for the Golden Gate Award at the 47th San Francisco International Film Festival. He earned a BA in Film from Columbia College Chicago in 1980. Lior Locher, Spring. Lior is a nonbinary mixed-media artist, mainly working in acrylic and collage and printmaking. After having lived in 6 countries on 4 continents and being homeless at some point, they are now based at the English seaside. They are fascinated by people’s inner lives and how we make sense of our own inner journeys as humans, and the inner dynamics and stories we tell ourselves. Cynthia Ruse, Still. Cynthia is a painter and installation artist. Her work is an ongoing reflection on themes of social justice, climate change and the body/mind/spirit connection through lenses of mythic archetypes, collective vs individual experience, and the delicate reconstruction of opposites. Tiffany Tuchek, Cemetery Angel. Tiffany is an emerging writer, photographer and watercolor artist. She lives in Michigan with her husband and rescue pets - three dogs and four parrots. She enjoys reflecting the powerful and fragile aspects of life through poetry and artwork. Emily Landberg, Hang in There. Emily, an emerging artist and writer, calls Minneapolis, Minnesota, home. Beyond her creative pursuits, Emily loves hanging out with her teenage boys, and you'll often find her happily skateboarding, gardening, or rockhounding whenever the weather plays along. IG: @its_me_lovebeam Hanlin Mu, Out of the Woods. Hanlin is specialized in fine art photography, merging traditional techniques with modern insights. His works, including "Civil Twilight" and "Obscure Sorrow," are narratives that stimulate thought and emotion, establishing him as a pivotal voice in contemporary art. Embracing tradition yet innovating, Mu's foray into AI-generated art enhances his avantgarde reputation. Instagram: @hmuphfshm
Matthew Bindert, Interconnected Crisis. Matthew creates large-scale mixed media individual works and installations utilizing woodblock printing, serigraphy and painting on both traditional and upcycled materials. The process typically begins with hand carving woodblocks that are primarily four by eight feet in scale, using imagery pulled from a variety of personal and historical sources – the iconography of the Roman Empire, camouflage, textile patterns, logos, DNA charting, empirical symbols and military graphics. His work is a response to globalization’s dual nature as a force for both prosperity/destruction and represents the complex social, religious, economic, health, environmental, and political interdependence of the contemporary world. Christian McCulloch ('WART') is a prolific Short-story writer with a background in Fine Art. He's been an international teacher in British West Indies, Singapore (Principal), Japan and Hong Kong, also 10 years in Special Needs in UK. After 30 years in the Far East, he returned to UK and now lives and creates in London. His stories and artwork have appeared in many modest but worthy magazines. the rat in the picture is from Banky's mural work which he admits he 'borrowed' from a French artist. Max St-Jacques is a Canadian American who lives between Brooklyn, NYC and Toronto, Ontario. Max has acted in A Gathering of Shifts shot in New York City in 2011. Max’s work has been featured in 2021 in Up North Literary Online Magazine and Lunch Break Zine and in 2015 in Stone Soup Magazine. Chris Fleming, Interstices #4. Chris is a writer, translator, and multimedia artist whose work has appeared in both scholarly and popular media, including Westerly, The Guardian, The Sydney Review of Books, The Saturday Paper, The LA Review of Books, and The Chronicle Review. He is the author or editor of ten books, most recently of "On Drugs" (Giramondo, 2019). He is currently Associate Professor in Humanities and a Member of the Writing and Society Research Centre at Western Sydney University. Jeanne Wilkinson, Winter Symmetry. Jeanne is an artist and writer who shares time between Madison, WI and Brooklyn, NY. From being a pioneer organic farmer in Wisconsin, she went to Brooklyn's Pratt Institute for an MFA in painting. Her writing and artwork are in numerous venues worldwide and online. Patricia Cannon, Thunderbird Dream for Pat. Patricia has been a Registered Nurse at UCSF since 2001. She has worked in cardiac critical care, neurointensive care, heme-oncology, school nursing, and currently, in research. Her passion is her faith, photography, and the written word in all its forms. The photo series “Thunderbird Dream for Pat” was inspired by a true friendship and
a man named Jim who brings a smile to the public by sharing his beautiful cars with the world. Denise Zubizarreta, Spring Love. Denise "The Vamp DeVille" Zubizarreta is a neurodivergent interdisciplinary artist of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent, with over a decade of experience in various creative fields. She is currently an arts and culture writer for multiple leading publications that offer curated and critical perspectives on contemporary arts and culture. Zubizarreta holds a B.F.A. in Fine Art from the esteemed Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, and is pursuing her Masters in Arts Leadership and Cultural Management (M.A.L.C.M.) at Colorado State University. John Widdowson’s art basis is on abstract expressionism, depth of visual texture and structure. Most based on traditional media and techniques, such as canvas, acrylic and mixed media. Mari Honma, Light-Headed. Mari is a Japanese mixed media artist based in the UK who began experimenting as a self-taught painter in her teens and put on VJ shows in Tokyo whilst studying as a University student. Overcoming challenges in life, she started releasing her works again in October 2020; they have since been featured in international magazines and exhibitions. Glenda "GG" Goodrich, Bridge of Birds. Glenda is an artist, art doula, writer and SoulCollage facilitator living in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Learn more about GG at www.glendagoodrich.com. GG's book, Solo Passage: 13 Quests, 13 Quests, featuring extraordinary stories about the healing and restorative powers of nature as experienced through her time alone in the wilderness, is available for preorder on Bookshop, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Trudy Borenstein-Sugiura, Facts of Life. Trudy is a multi-media artist from Princeton, NJ, exploring the issues of time, perception, cultural identity, ecological awareness and memory. Trudy’s collage portraits are realized using the personal papers and related documents of the subject, to create a unique amalgam of image and content. Kathy Haynes, Seeking Solitude. Kathy is a former corporate writer, editor, and communications consultant who resides in Portland, Oregon. She began creating collage art fifteen years ago but now she prefers watercolor and ink. Her artwork reflects her passion for the Pacific Northwest and all its outdoor possibilities. Heidi Kelleher is a nurse, artist and gardener. Her hope is to help herself and others feel joy and serenity through her various creations.
Aleksandra Geremia, Explosion. Russian born and Brooklyn based, Aleksandra takes her love for nature and expresses it through acrylic. Her inspiration combines natural, cosmic and psychedelic patterns to create deeply colorful scenes. Her background in Architectural design and classical art serves as a foundation for her work. Annie Wood, Relief. Neurodiverse, Internationally exhibited mixed media artist, author, and actor, Annie was born and raised in Hollywood, California. Annie creates quirky sculptures, draws, paints, collages, and shoots. She aims to create images that are steeped in nostalgic joy and vibrant longing. Annie finds anything & everything in life to be inspiring, meaningful, strange, crazy, wild, beautiful, maddening and… art. To view available art and sign up for Annie’s newsletter please visit anniewood.com Octavio Pajaro, The Mirrored World. Octavio is a heart surgeon by day and often by night. He is a father and a husband 24/7. He likes to take photos, compose music and write about stuff he dares to dream up. Our thoughts and our feelings are often like vapor, physically unbounded, ungraspable yet real. To capture the intangible, he is a writer, composer and photographer.