“Omen Sketches” by Rachelle Pinnow
Rachelle Pinnow is also a professional geologist and a part-time writer. A graduate of the University of Calgary’s creative writing program, her short stories and …
Author: The Metaworker
We are The Metaworker, an online literary magazine where great stories are forged.
Our mission is to publish great things to read. Send us the stuff you don’t think will be published anywhere else. We want new ideas, words that make us ponder, narratives that upend stereotypes. We don’t care if you’re an established writer or someone who’s never been published before, if you're a student or returning to writing after a career in something else, if you're 16 or 80, if you live in the United States, in India, in New Zealand, in Mexico – if you’ve got something you think needs to be shared with the world, submit it to us!
We publish prose, poetry, art, and more on our website every Monday at noon PST, plus we sometimes post fun extras (like our podcast episodes) on Wednesdays or Fridays.
“GET A JOB, LOS ANGELES” by Tadeu Bijos
Dude driving, dude driving vast expanses, dude fucking up on the GPS, dude asking for directions, dude getting off on the right off-ramp and hitting the ocean …
Happy Birthday to The Metaworker!
Too bad there’s no internet cake. It’s a year later, and we didn’t think we’d last a year. Q: You didn’t? A: No. We really …
“Twilight’s Drift” By Ken Allan Dronsfield
Reason for waking, lofty faded dreams soft steps in grass eyes raised skyward Brisk breeze blows wind swirls on water geese march in air reality …
“Casualties, or I can’t f*#!ing understand this Ikea Diagram” by Dani Neiley
Hello, everyone! It’s Friday again and we’ve got another extra thing to share. When we were all talking, we realized we’ve all shared some of …
“Crazy at the Viper” by Ben Nardolilli
I joined the most well-adjusted band in America. My fault for believing. After twenty days and twenty nights I lost my lease on life with …
Interview with Alex Clare
To celebrate the release of her debut novel, we are pleased to present an interview with Alex Clare, author of He’s Gone. Read an excerpt …
“Girl” by Chestina Craig
I used to think girl meant pink meant birthday cake roses wilting for safety & always use your inside voice but sometimes it means shout …
Excerpt from “He’s Gone”
We at The Metaworker are excited to bring you something a little different this Friday. We’ve been given the opportunity to work with Impress Books, …
“An Abstract Vision of Paradise” by Scott Thomas Outlar
Into the infinite void where spaciousness calls out with a silent vibrating hum. Vibrant electricity gets shocked and magnetized by polar extremes to …
“Diamondsuit” by Rachelle Pinnow
Rachelle Pinnow is also a professional geologist and a part-time writer. A graduate of the University of Calgary’s creative writing program, her short stories and …
“Fireworks and Supernovas” by Jack Madeira
You can cage me in fireworks But I won’t wither from entropy I was once resilient to the loss Or maybe I just absorb it …
Our New Editor!
Hello! Matthew here with another announcement! And this is one I’ve been waiting for. Those of you who have been reading our about us will have …
“This is not a Political Poem” by Addison Namnoum
Addison Namnoum and The Metaworker Editorial Staff would like to dedicate this poem to the victims of the Orlando shooting, and to their friends, families, …
“Buzz Hunt” by Adam St. Pierre
I don’t know how long we were up on that hillside, just Paul and me. We sat in a shallow trench, bundled up …
“Conversations with Carbon” by Chestina Craig
I ask carbon, what does it feel like to be backbone? To have multiple arms? To be mother to all of me. Mother to all …
“On Fainting in Tube Stations” by Carter Vance
I don’t want that smart bomb sort of love, that painless thing all beset with clang of rust knife, mouse click, screen swipe, before you …
“Eclipsed” by Matt Rouse
There is something he forgot Something he had do to today He stands in the driveway Next to the black BMW Taps his foot …
“Shimmers of Time” by Ken Allan Dronsfield
Diamond shimmers within sand, an ardor in the moon’s brightness; a whisper. Stealing of devoted memories cast one’s heart off into eternity; the promissory. Talking …
“Bathsheba Beckons” by Fred Owens
Tom Blethen faced two fifty foot rows of potatoes. He looked up at the December sky. It had rained, the field was all muddy, and it …
“La Ciudad” by Ellen Zhang
Late night insomnia in la ciudad that never sleeps is a gift. I slip between the dusk, waltzing weaving between hum of streetlamp. Twirling in …
“Insomuch, I can see” by Jordan Wirth
Is it a cricket, a refugee, chirping behind solid bars? Rub the legs, hope to see, there is nothing in the darkness. Close the eyes, …
“Seep” by Elizabeth Tyrell
Seep Thought like a torrent of water Seep- drip, drip, drip. Each mould to old ideas that drip into a now opened mind. …
And…We’re Back!
Well it’s about damn time, and here we are. We, at the Metaworker, hope you were impatiently waiting. Because we, at the Metaworker, were impatiently …
“Clocks” by Matt Rouse
I have seven alarm clocks programed on my smartphone Which I place under my pillow at night Seven alarm clocks that are set 5 minutes …
The Good Break – An Update from the Editor in Chief
Happy Leap Year, everyone. And I have an announcement for you all. I wanted to start with: I can’t believe we’re still a thing. Literary …
“Every Night” by Ellen Webre
Every night I’ve lain awake with baited breath. Shadows flash across the ceiling as cars pass by the window. There is a woman out there, …
“On Writing” by Marina Shugrue
The reason I write is a simple one: I’ve always done it, and I can’t imagine living my life without writing. When I think about …
“It is Tuesday, November 3rd & I am Alive by Whatever Means Necessary” by Torrin Greathouse
Lightning strikes like the silhouette of the city and for a moment, the air blisters with Saint Elmo’s fire over the Arby’s sign. The …
“A Dream About a Sky That is a Sea” by Meli Ewing
I am getting off the school bus at the top of the driveway in the afternoon on a Friday. In real life, there were only …
“The Lunch Bucket Game” by Ronnie Clark
https://youtu.be/4jJA229Cd-0 So I’m sittin’ in the lunchroom of the factory one day, chattin’ up the new gal. She was a secretary. Name of Suzie. Only …
“Write” by Elena Lucia Perez
Sit up straight, feet flat, pen poised – ready? Now don’t think, just write what comes to mind. Don’t pick up your pen, just keep …
“A Question Considered in a Pedal Car” by Ellen Webre
How am I fitting in this right now? It’s been years, centuries since I was small enough to terrorize villages and miniature pedestrians in this …
“Blossom” by torrin greathouse
Torrin Greathouse is a Literary Journalism student and governing member of the Uncultivated Rabbits spoken word collective at UC Irvine. They were the 2015 winner …
Beating a Dead Horse (Or Good Prose Writing) by Matthew Maichen
I want to address something that, in hindsight, should have been brought up before. We’ve posted a few editorials about the process of writing, but …
“The Woman Who Makes My Salad” By LilyAnne Rice
It occurred to me the other day that I don’t know your name even though you wear a name tag. I never even bothered to …
“Two Kisses” by Tadeu Bijos
I was five years old when I first kissed a girl. Her name was Juliana and it happened during my kindergarten recess, on the sand …
Hump Day Update from the Editor in Chief
Wait, it isn’t Monday! Yeah, well I’m about to drop some news on you suckas. It fits pretty solidly into the good news/bad news/okay news …
Five Short Poems by Michael Cantin
Without Roots Without Roots this Ikea bed supports me just about as well as a twig supports a tree house Glue sticks Paper thin is …
“How to become a Professional Writer (And Get Paid Too)” by Nicole Mormann
How to Become a Professional Writer (And Get Paid Too) It sounds like a headline too good to be true, right? Finding a good writing …
“4 AM Girl” By Matthew Maichen
She wanders through the streets past midnight. They assume it’s too dangerous for her. It isn’t because anyone who would harm her is asleep. She, …
“Kinds of Tears” by Zoe Zhang
It’s funny how there are different kinds of tears. Tired ones that creep from the corners of your eyes, brushed away with impatient fingers; dry, …
“Steps” By Elena Lucia Perez
She looks at the ground, the sky, the trees; anywhere but her own heart. She must, at all costs, keep the poison from entering her …
“Symphorophilia, or Crash: 1898” by Michael Cantin
To the rail Taken under duress, mid congress, my petticoats torn, I find myself bound to the track. Ostensibly, for ransom. But who pray tell, …
“Tinder” by Tadeu Bijos
Last week in the park, a small, violent dog kept sniffing the ass of a much larger, more docile dog. The sniff was aggressive and strangely …
“One Girl” by Ellen Webre
One girl bakes a hundred cupcakes and gives them away for free. One girl wastes perfectly good eggs on a car. One girl’s dog gets …
“Battlegrounds” by Marina Shugrue
The needle pricks my skin and I gasp as I shake out my hand. A little speck of red blood lands on the grey flooring. …
“Bandile” by Darin Milanesio
Out by the creek behind our home, the moon and stars reflect off the water, and Bandile would often go out there. The trees were …
“Catfish” by Amethyst Hope Hethcoat
My room is black as an Olympic runner—except for the illuminated screen of my Sony Vaio which radiates like Chernobyl. My laptop is cherry red; …
“The Last Time I Spoke to Penelope” by Matthew Maichen
She led me out of my house in the middle of the night. I went with her because she was moving away the next day, …
The Cycle of Writing by Nicole Mormann
The first time I tried to ride a two wheel bike, I remember my dad running alongside my six-year-old self as I swerved down the …
“Daymare” by Wil Deas
Wil Deas lives and writes in the city of Los Angeles with his cat Murder Mittens. A recent graduate of Chapman University, Wil is doing …
On Art – An Update from the Editor in Chief
Hey guys, happy hump day (or at least it was when I started this). I just wanted to take this opportunity to talk about art. …
“They” and “The Mountain Where our Bones Showed Through” by Jesse Swire
They Sleek bold bodybound by expectationsby gendered declarationsforced to function in conversationssplit in twain by ‘his’ + ‘her’, no ‘they’ How to navigate this intimate …
“Lethargic Colonist in Church’s Chicken” by Ellen Webre
He comes for honey, sweetness of the meaty earth he plants his flag in. Sunlight pollinates the horizon with gold. He moves like a rolling …
Maichen Nation Here
Please never call me that. Why did I call myself that? As of now, there is no deadline for when we’re going to start publishing …
We’re Doing What Scares the Sh*t Out of Us and We Love It
No one ever said it would be easy being writers. Instead, we heard things like, “So what do you plan to do with your degree? …