I gripped my tight, full belly the whole way wailing along with the ambulance siren. I ate a lot of watermelon that year, sucking down each slice and spitting out the seeds into the grass.įour months later, I couldn’t wear my Jordache jeans or even my gym glass sweatpants. ![]() She grabbed me by the arm and drug me off the paper-covered doctor chair, throwing my jumble sale sweatshirt and stretchy pants and Wednesday underpants at me. We ate almost a whole watermelon after we went swimming.” “Who did this?” she hissed at me like my brother’s bearded lizard that lived in a cage by his bed. “Watermelons in early spring are for rich people, mama. My back hurt like when I helped bring in the corn crops. I wasn’t looking forward to carrying this watermelon that long though. Having watermelons in the off-season was something rich people did. “Sit still,” she told me, as if I were a child and not carrying a sweet watermelon under my skin.ĭr. I jumped back in the stirrups that weren’t made for horseback riding. He touched my belly and set off some kind of sparky tweed-induced friction. Smith had a voice and bedside manner that matched his name. She loaded pumpkins up in her wheelbarrow and me into her wood-panelled station wagon.ĭr. Just as mama’s garden spit out piles of pumpkins, my belly reached gourd stage. I tried pushing it down and hiding it under sweatshirts when everyone else was stripped down to tank tops and shorts. I asked Bobby to try and suck it out of me and he tried but we both knew it was all over.īy the time I went back to school, my stomach was the size of a cantaloupe, stretched summer peach-y skin that hadn’t been burnt by the constant Alabama sun. I felt it land with a plop in my stomach. I remembered my mama’s warning when it was too late. We were both sweating by the time we got done swimming and snacking. Bobby Jenkins and I went skinny dipping in Sander’s Pond and afterward we sat half-naked by the water’s edge and ate slices of watermelon until our fingers were red and we were both wearing less than we arrived in. I avoided eating watermelon until that one really hot day at the summer carnival. If you eat a watermelon, a baby will grow in your belly. Order your copy hereĪmy Barnes’ flash fiction explores the surprising ramifications of a young girl eating watermelon. When I Cook is from The Nostalgia Issue – Issue 22. Of hands – nut-brown, green veins, gold rings – Of a hollowness, a deep clanking in my chest. Every year, the magazine also launches three large international prizes for short stories, art, and poetry worth checking out and offers a grant for a charming, week-long stay at The Moth Retreat in Cavan to eligible artists and authors.This poem is by Oeil Jumratsilpa, a London-based copywriter who loves to read, paint and cook. Besides publishing short stories and poetry, each issue includes two interviews from exciting established writers, such as Sally Rooney, Colm Toibin, or Eimear McBride. Guess what, it’s illustrated! However, unlike Popshot or Firewords, The Moth focuses on fine arts - it is certainly the most serious publication on the list. The Mothįinally, let me introduce The Moth Magazine, a literary mag based in Ireland. The framework for the upcoming issue is Luck, so get your lucky writing socks on and your stories ready even if your submission is not successful, you will receive feedback from the editors - a true rarity in the publishing world! What is also worth mentioning is that Firewords has its own podcast featuring writing tips as well as discussing stories published in the magazine. Like Popshot, Firewords features dreamily illustrated, fiery short stories, flash fiction, and poetry that fits a given theme. If you find Popshot too intimidating, you will be happy to learn that there is a lesser-known yet equally beautiful alternative: the Scotland- based Firewords. Yes, this also means that Popshot is the hardest-to-get-in magazine on the list - having tried countless times, unsuccessfully, I am speaking from personal experience. ![]() I remember when this journal still came out biannually and focused mainly on emerging writers - and let me tell you, Popshot has not just grown, it skyrocketed! By now, they have not only published numerous established authors, such as Joanne Ramos, Hollie McNish, or Jamil Jan Kochai, but also gained so much respect on the literary scene that a story “Saying Goodbye to Yang”, previously featured on the colorful pages of Popshot, is to become a film starring Colin Farrell. ![]() Many of you may know Popshot Quarterly, a beautifully illustrated magazine spitting out short and flash fiction as well as poetry revolving around a specific theme. I have chosen publications that I genuinely love to read (nothing here is sponsored and no links are affiliated!) and consider fresh alternatives to perhaps more reputable yet dusty journals no one actually buys: 1.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |