By Sten Spinella
Jim Harrison died on Saturday, March 26th, 2016. Don’t let the innocuous name fool you; Harrison was an extraordinary man. For those who watch the show Californication, consider Harrison, who spent a portion of his career in Hollywood working on screenplays, a more talented Hank Moody with a blind left eye (a girl shoved a… More An ode to Jim Harrison By Sten Spinella
By Kate Monica
“Does any (MFA) program really improve anybody, as much as simply identifying them? And, after identifying them, not ruining them?” —Chang-rae Lee, On Such A Full Sea Getting an MFA seems like the natural progression for any English major looking to take a swing at making a career of writing. At first glance, it sounds… More MFA—Recipe For Success or Disaster? By Kate Monica
by Nicholas DiBenedetto
*Author’s Note: I’d like to thank Darcie Dennigan for introducing me to Francis Ponge and his poems, and Kerry Carnahan, Shannon Hearn, Emily Kraus, Erin Lynn, Eleanor Reeds, Matthew Ryan, and Brian Sneeden for engaging in an insightful discussion of selected works to help me form opinions on, and better understand the French poet. “But… More Francis Ponge: Things, Doodads, and Whatchamacallits by Nicholas DiBenedetto
by Emily Cantor
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life — It goes on.” —Robert Frost Today marks the 142nd birthday of the American poet Robert Lee Frost. Though Frost is most famous for his depictions of rural New England life, he was actually born in San Francisco. When he was eleven, his… More Remembering Robert Frost by Emily Cantor
by Nicholas DiBenedetto
“Sometimes the thought that I’m doomed / to fail – that the body is – keeps me almost steady,” – Carl Phillips Thus writes Carl Phillips in “Stray,” one of two recent pieces by the poet that have appeared in the March 2016 issue of Poetry. Indeed, the flux between states of balance and imbalance… More “Striking Prayer’s Attitude:” A Dalliance with the Poetry of Carl Phillips by Nicholas DiBenedetto
by Kate Monica
“Tell me about the dream where we pull the bodies out of the lake and dress them in warm clothes again. How it was late, and no one could sleep, the horses running until they forget that they are horses. It’s not like a tree where the roots have to end somewhere, it’s more like… More A review of Richard Siken’s War of the Foxes by Kate Monica
by Emily Catenzaro
My name is Emily and I have something to get off my chest. I’m a cheesy novel addict. I began reading cheesy novels around age… actually, the age I began reading cheesy novels is irrelevant because I haven’t stopped reading cheesy novels. I’m a twenty-four year old undergraduate majoring in English who, after studying fancy… More Cheesy Novel Addicts Anonymous by Emily Catenzaro
Dave Mercier is the creator of the comic Mercworks, a weekly webcomic strip. He has self-published two collections of his comics, Mercworks: The Joy of Despair and Mercworks: The Cure for the Human Condition. Carleton Whaley: So I guess I’ll just start off with a basic question about Mercworks. How long have you been making it, exactly?… More Keeping a Beginner’s Mind: An Interview with Dave Mercier by Carleton Whaley (2016)
by Rebecca Nelson
I’m a biology major—the quintessential science major, literally the study of life. In many of my required classes, the professors give out more exams than As and I use so many flashcards that when I shut my eyes and listen close, I can hear the whir and thwack of thumbing through a thick pile of… More Why Science Majors Should Take Creative Writing by Rebecca Nelson
by Emily Cantor
“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” — Jack London It’s been a long winter of below-freezing temperatures, snow, and that signature Storrs wind that we all love to hate. But Spring Break is approaching quickly and it’s bringing exactly the kind of weather you need to get… More Stay Creative This Spring Break by Emily Cantor