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Yoko by DS Maolalai
“we’re watching that Beatles / documentary. Get Back. / it’s pretty good generally.” – excerpt from Yoko, poetry by DS Maolalai #MetaworkerMonday …
Kicker Kids by Tejal Doshi
“we carve what we call secret tongues / into the tender skin of trees, / fingernails packed with earth / and vows strung like webs.” …
Abecedarian Lament by M.R. Lehman Wiens
“…echoes of Sunday School pull me from my book to the unyielding curve of a church bench.” – excerpt from “Abecedarian Lament”, creative non-fiction by …
gelato rain by Azure Brandi
“my shadow slips like fallen light into the gelato rain of second grade ants in raisin boxes” – excerpt from Gelato Rain, poetry by Azure …
Micro Fiction by Erin Matheson Ritchie
content warnings eating disorders [52 words] First Date, Blank Zoo I wonder if the turtles study us from their cage, if they clock my desire, …
Purpose and Apex Beat by Rashmi Bhopi
[212 words] Purpose Dragging the laundry basket to the washer, she saw an ant meander on the kitchen top. The ant paused now and then, …
Swerve (you’re hit) by Charles Sutphin
content warnings drunk driving [906 words] A mouse darts across the road and stops in front of your car. For a dog or squirrel you …
Outsourcing by DS Maolalai
[160 words] we drink beer. he talksnervously – looks overthe wood-panelled patiosidewall, past bus-stops and into the traffic.the traffic is …
Sharh on Sunan Ibn Majah 3914 by Reyzl Grace
[309 words] —for E. R. Shaffer For a moment, the tip of your finger lights / on the edge of …
Monday Morning by Mark J. Mitchell
[49 words] While questioningyesterday’s breakfastshe asked eggsfor an answerthey could not give. Toast stood guard,silent as toasttends to be.The eggswould …
Podcast
The Metaworker Podcast | 025 The Draft I Buried, Part 1
Elena, Mel, and Cerid speak with Kathryn Temple and Matthew Smallwood about unfinished work. #TheMetaworkerPodcast …
The Metaworker Podcast | 024 Pushcart Prize Nominees, Part 2
Episode Description: In Part 2 of our Pushcart Prize Nomination podcast series, we review three pieces: one of poetry, one of creative nonfiction, and one …
The Metaworker Podcast | 023 Pushcart Prize Nominees, Part 1
Listen to the newest podcast episode! Elena, Mel, and Cerid discuss three of their nominees for the 2024 Pushcart Prize, plus readings and interviews with …
The Metaworker Podcast | 022 Creating Anthologies, Part 3
Elena, Mel, and Cerid discuss Mel’s launch of River and Stone and Cerid’s updates for Artificial Sweetener, as well as the thought and care that …
Micro
Purpose and Apex Beat by Rashmi Bhopi
“Dragging the laundry basket to the washer, she saw an ant meander on the kitchen top.” – excerpt from micro …
and i agree by Breton Lalama
and i agree, a micro poem by Breton Lalama #TheMetaworker #MetaworkerMonday …
Five Micro-Fictions by Ken Poyner
“Our pond monster is the best. He waits under unruffled water, eyes only visible if you grow too close…” excerpt from …
Abecedarian Lament by M.R. Lehman Wiens
[398 words] A religion textbook from 2009. It falls open to an exact page when I take it off the shelf, and the broken spine …
The Finding Momo Birthday by Madlynn Haber
[732 words] My mother’s birthdays became occasions for celebration. For her seventieth birthday, my sister and I took her to New York City for a …
You Forget How Wet A Fire Is by Mitch Kampf
content warnings descriptions of burning, natural disaster [723 words] You forget how wet a fire is. The water flows so naturally. New rivers run down …
Self Portrait by Sean Bw Parker
A self-portrait, using acrylic, watercolour and ink on cardboard. Sean Bw Parker (MA) is a writer, artist and musician based …
Mother and Child by Julie Mota Kondi
Pen and ink drawing inspired by social changes in built-in environmental landscapes. Julie Mota Kondi is a freelance artist who …
Artwork by Gregg Williard, from “Scared Boy with Theory and Mask”
These drawings are part of an unpublished illustrated novella, “Scared Boy with Theory and Mask”, drawn and written by Gregg …
Interviews
The Dead Are Not Dead: A Review by Lena Bramsen of the Afrofuturistic Graphic Novel, Zana
“Zana imagines an Afrofuturistic scenario set in 2048, where Nelson Mandela had died while imprisoned… and the entire continent finds …
Darkness and Wit, Delusion and Hope: Writing and Art from Parchman Unit 29, a book review by Amita Basu
A book review of Parchman Unit 29, poems, drawings, and creative non-fiction pieces that constitute a powerful call for systemic …
Looking Back to Forge Forward: A Catchup Series by Lena Bramsen
“An interview compilation with some of The Metaworker’s first contributors, reflecting upon the past and updating us on their careers.” …
Speculative Fiction & Poetry
Exhibits in Orbit by Paige Eaton
“In a different reality a murder encompasses the tree / of metal spires, lining the ground with pebbles” excerpt from …
The Dead Are Not Dead: A Review by Lena Bramsen of the Afrofuturistic Graphic Novel, Zana
“Zana imagines an Afrofuturistic scenario set in 2048, where Nelson Mandela had died while imprisoned… and the entire continent finds …
Princess and Dragon by Amy Forstadt
“Did you know I killed a dragon once? / A bully made of scales and fire” – excerpt from Princess …
Sharh on Sahih al-Bukhari 5460 by Reyzl Grace
[225 words] —for E. R. Shaffer Reyzl Grace is a writer, librarian, and translator whose work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and featured …
Sharh on Sunan Ibn Majah 3914 by Reyzl Grace
[309 words] —for E. R. Shaffer For a moment, the tip of your finger lights / on the edge of my hand like the toe …
Anathematikon, Part III by Lukas Jackson
[180 words] a new day dawns wolves are howling far across the moon a spun night dark the mighty rapids rise wind beats against the …
gelato rain by Azure Brandi
[241 words] i hide from you calling me in bed HOW TO fall in HOW TO track the HOW TO …
Exit Stage Left by Bob Gielow
content warnings references to death, assisted suicide [938 words] Bob Gielow writes fiction using non-traditional formats that he wishes were …
Triptych by Tim Love
[656 words] LEFT PANEL Life looked ahead long before it could remember. The better we could anticipate the future, the …