On the Other Side My father gave me one thing in this life: a brown-skinned Rainbow Brite doll. When I was a kid sometimes I would get jealous of the doll and pull out her black yarn hair in chunkfuls. Even a silly doll had more life to her hair than me. Still, I feel … Continue reading
Simone I’ve never tricked with a guy from a group home. I was compelled to press palms with the house manager, a beefy black dude decked out in Adidas, and he insisted that I articulate my promise to return Darren sober and unharmed by midnight. We get high before leaving the subdivision. The bedbugs and … Continue reading
Chain of Rocks “I swear I saw a sign for Chicago,” Ma said, holding the battered Esso map on her lap. “Sun’s going down fast,” said Pa, for the fifth time in twenty minutes. Then, for the first time, “Don’t know where we are.” The wooden spokes of the old Hudson vibrated on the rough … Continue reading
That You Were Meant for Great Things Today Margaret from Ascertain Awareness calls about helping her do all-natural teeth whitening at the LA County Fair. She says. “I’ll train you and you can make some money.” I tell her I’ll consider. I’m busy working on my Aunt May costume for the Spider-Man convention in … Continue reading
You spoke on the phone to your mother every week, a combination of mutual guilt and obligation, but she wanted to give you the news in person. It was common not to speak to your telephone-phobic father for months at a time, and your mother had always been adept at keeping secrets. Continue reading
The boy and girl were laid out at the mortuary a week after Jamil’s funeral. For those who considered the thickness of hair currency, the children were rich. The townspeople, to observe the fear that devils could appear to buckle the children’s crowns, guarded the children, danced to distract themselves. Continue reading
Your name never seemed like it belonged to you. It sounded ridiculous when you said it out loud. It came from your mother, who wanted a bit of greatness, so she named you after Benito Juárez. Continue reading
Criminal “Love is never better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe.” —Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye The winter I move back to my hometown—, degree-bearing, jobless, staying at mom’s—I’m remembering why … Continue reading
For Issue 8 Each editor was asked to pick a theme. Ryka Aoki will be reading fiction on the theme of Abundance. Read on to learn more. Ryka Aoki, our fiction editor for issue 8, is the author of Seasonal Velocities, He Mele a Hilo (A Hilo Song) and Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul. She has been … Continue reading
It all started when dad made me sign up for football. I was really little, and when I told him I didn’t want to, he said, “It will turn you into the man you’re going to become,” and we didn’t say anything else for the rest of the car ride. And, looking back on it, I guess he was right, but not for the reasons he thought. Continue reading
The James Franco Review 