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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 …

On the Train from Charlotte by M. C. Tuggle

“I find the station where the long tracks meet. / It’s burrowed beside an old steel mill…” excerpt from On the Train to Charlotte, poetry …

Micro Fiction by Dana Wall

“She thinks we can’t see her press her palm against the blank spaces.” – excerpt from micro fiction by Dana Wall …

Sharh on Sahih al-Bukhari 5460 by Reyzl Grace

“you rise, / lay your arms like the seam / of the first dawn across / my shoulders and sigh with the robins,” excerpt from …

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, …
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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, …
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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 …
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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 …
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To find your grandmother’s house by Yev Gelman

[396 words] To find your grandmother’s house, walk the highway until you see the billboard ad of the same twopoliticians, …
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and i agree by Breton Lalama

[22 words] and i agree we belong together but so do the trees and the leaves and look how beautiful …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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and i agree by Breton Lalama

and i agree, a micro poem by Breton Lalama #TheMetaworker #MetaworkerMonday …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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Puppeteering by Jackson Mattocks

content warnings depression, mention of self harm [2378 words] After only a few months into my master’s program, each day had become just another attempt …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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book cover of Unit 29: Writing from Parchman Prison. The back cover is a black and white image of the Parchman cemetery arch, underneath which is a bare dirt road. The pullquote reads "Books are dangerous where there is injustice." - Jack Henry Abbot. The front cover is another dirt road, lined with telephone wires and prison buildings.

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 …
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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.” …
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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 …
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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 …
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Princess and Dragon by Amy Forstadt

“Did you know I killed a dragon once? / A bully made of scales and fire” – excerpt from Princess …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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graphic of a cell phone conversation. Texts say: Person 1: I’ve been thinking about Mom and the prognosis she’s received Person 2: Yeah, me too. I’m kind of devastated here. Person 1: I’m gonna suggest something you might not like Person 2: Good start if you’re trying to sell me on an idea. Person 1: I seriously think she might be interested Person 2: In?

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 …
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Triptych by Tim Love

[656 words] LEFT PANEL Life looked ahead long before it could remember. The better we could anticipate the future, the …
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The Needle Man by Clint Sabom

content warnings reference to drug use [1291 words] In my worry chamber birds fly east and west but never north …
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