The latest issue of Southern Humanities is now at the Mag Stand. This issue features poetry by Hala Alyan, Anne Barngrover, Jordan Escobar, Rhienna Renée Guedry, Sjohnna Mccray, Immanuel Mifsud, Anna Newman, Kimberly Ramos, Karen Rigby, Brett Shaw, Travis Tate, and Ruth Ward; fiction by Ser Álida, Leslie Blanco, Benjamin Murray, and Glen Pourciau; and nonfiction by Myronn Hardy and Ian Spangler.
Fiction
NewPages Mag Stand: World Literature Today
The expanded Summer 2021 issue of World Literature Today foregrounds Palestine Voices in a cover feature showcasing 30 of the most prominent poets and writers from the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the diaspora, guest-edited by Yousef Khanfar + poetry & fiction from Hong Kong, Hungary, and South Korea. Now at the NewPages Mag Stand.
NewPages Mag Stand: Jewish Fiction . net
Thrilled to announce the new summer issue of Jewish Fiction .net! A gift to imbibe this summer along with your favourite cool drink: 10 beautiful stories, originally written in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English. We invite you also to join Jewish Fiction .net on July 13 for an online program in celebration of our 10th anniversary year: “Jewish Fiction Written in 16 Languages: Stories as Reflections of Jewish Life Across Time and Place.” Find out more at the Mag Stand.
NewPages Mag Stand: december
Volume 32.1 is here! Hot off the press, and filled with beautiful poems, stories, essays, and art. Poetry by Mary Ardery, Joshua Boettiger, Tianna Bratcher, Dana Curtis, Kenneth Jakubas, Naomi Ling, Sara Mae, Myles Taylor, and more; fiction by Jeremy Griffin, Greg Johnson, and Candice May; and nonfiction by Gary Fincke, Ainsley McWha, and others. See more contributors at the Mag Stand.
NewPages Mag Stand: Club Plum Literary Journal
A new issue of Club Plum is at the NewPages Mag Stand. In this issue: flash fiction by Linda Saldaña; prose poetry by Mike James, Kristen Roach, and Sean Rys; hybrid by Katherine Cart, Ann Stewart McBee, Jesse Millner, and t.m. thomson; and art by Carolyn Adams, Allison Janicki, Rebecca Ledbetter, Joe Lugara, and Michal Mitak Mahgerefteh.
The Malahat Review’s 2021 Open Season Awards Winners
The winners of the 2021 Open Season Awards are in the Spring 2021 issue of The Malahat Review. This year’s judges were Rebecca Salazar for poetry, Philip Huynh for fiction, and Lishai Peel for creative nonfiction.
Fiction
“Crossing” by Zilla Jones
Creative Nonfiction
“Mondegreen Girls” by Tanis MacDonald
Poetry
“Merchant Vessels” by Matthew Hollet
Check in with The Malahat Review in August when this contest opens for submissions again.
NewPages Mag Stand: Salamander
Salamander #52 features poetry from Anemone Beaulier, Stephanie Burt, Cortney Lamar Charleston, Leila Chatti, JD Debris, Jose Hernandez Diaz, Charles Douthat, Ananda Lima, Angie Macri, Ricky Ray, Rochelle Robinson-Dukes, Leah Umansky, Sara Moore Wagner, Yun Wang, Erica Wright, Maria Zoccola. See contributors in other genres at the Mag Stand.
NewPages Mag Stand: Paterson Literary Review
The 2021 Issue #49 of the Paterson Literary Review features poetry, fiction, essays, memoir and reviews, and includes all the winning and honorable mention poems for the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards. Work by Jan Beatty, Jack Ridl, Nellie Wong, R. Bremner, Seema Tepper, Vida Chu, and more. See more contributors at the Mag Stand.
NewPages Mag Stand: Driftwood Press
Short stories “Work” by Chad Szalkowski-Ference and “Haze” by Mike Nees take you across the white plains of the Tularosa Basin and into a hazy apartment complex. From joyous lyricism to stark realism, the poems this issue are a bricolage of loss, grief, solitude, and joy. Wrapping up the issue are visual arts and comics by Kelsey M. Evans, Rachel Singel, Dustin Jacobus, Lia Barsotti Hiltz, Coco Picard, and Laila Milevski. Now at this week’s Mag Stand.
NewPages Mag Stand: AGNI
Unforeseen urgencies, heightened introspections. The long Covid siege has put pressure on everything, not least the expressive arts. AGNI 93, with its unsettling cover and art portfolio by Deepa Jayaraman, channels the mood of the times. The issue includes poetry by Rafael Campo, Hope Wabuke, and others, and more. Check out the Mag Stand to see what else is in this issue.
A Thousand Times Over
Guest Post by Harry Okorite Joy.
After reading Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the most endearing became the phrase, “For you, a thousand times over”, first voiced by Hassan, inarguably the most sympathized with character in the novel. The simply titled yet convoluted novel narrates the coming-of-age story of two boys, discusses the state of a nation, celebrates the bond of friendship and, most importantly, the height and depth love could attain.
While at first, you might perceive Hassan as gullible, Amir as being undeserving of the love Hassan bestows on him, Baba being an impartial father, and Ali a loyal to a fault servant; soon you realize Hassan is an embodiment of selfless love Amir realizes all too late, Baba’s fairness is out of familial piety, and Ali’s loyalty is part due to his debt to Baba and a part special bond he feels with Hassan.
The Kite Runner questions reality and the nature of truth. The reality between the two main characters might be cold but it is the fact: one would always be there, the other loves but would never measure up. And at the end of the novel, only guilt allows Amir to return the favor to Hassan’s offspring. In reality, we also see the box of revelations opened at crucial points about characters like Baba. The nature of truth is tricky—some might say relative—but the unwavering answer is you cannot really judge the lies told in this novel as right or wrong.
While this piece has an optimistic ending, Hassan’s turbulent short-lived life could justify it as a tragedy, and just like me, you might begin to wonder if he died directly or indirectly from being there a thousand times over.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Riverhead Books, March 2013.
Reviewer’s bio: Harry Okorite Joy is an avid reader, budding writer and fashion enthusiast. She adores owls. Reach her via Instagram @o.k.o.r.i.t.e or Facebook @ Harry Okorite.