“Could’ve” by Akin Jeje is a powerful poem of generational frustration, self-reflection, and resilience that confronts hopelessness while examining expectation versus survival in a complex, modern world.

“A Town on a Lake” by Albert Christer Singletary is a fictional narrative exploring fleeting encounters between two racially isolated Black men in a small New England town, examining belonging and quiet human connection.

"Locked" by Sonia Kinyua is a coming-of-age short story exploring self-acceptance, Black hair, and identity, revealing how her journey with hair is shaped by her mother, peers, and ultimately herself.

“The Watermelon Woman” by Hailey M. Young features Black kinship, shared experience, and survival, exploring endurance in the face of racialized violence.

“Going Unplugged for the Holidays” is a letter from the senior editor, exploring Christmas, poverty, faith, and intentional parenting. Drawing from lived experience, Monique Franz examines Santa, economic inequality, and the impact of technology on Christmas. In the letter, she advocates for unplugged holidays that prioritize family connection, spiritual meaning, and shared values over consumerism.

“Social Media vs. Mental Health: Is There a Healthy Balance?” is a timely question in 2025. Drawing from personal experience, Arnett explores the emotional impact of growing up online. The article highlights links between social anxiety, self-worth, and internet use while encouraging real-world connections, healthier habits, and rediscovering hobbies as steps toward balance.

“POWER GAMES” challenges what many take for granted, stable, accessible electricity. Through personal anecdotes, the article shares tips and tricks for daily life in Nigeria. It explores how unreliable power reshapes routines and survival strategies, ultimately creating an adaptive way of life. The piece captures how an entire nation learns to cope, improvise, and endure amid constant power uncertainty.

In Hunt's story "Meena", caste and privilege are confronted as a young girl gains a complicated insight into the life of a maid’s daughter, revealing harsh social realities and lost childhoods in India.

“My mother wears her trauma like a second sari.” In For My Mother, Who Learned to Smile in a Foreign Language, Vaswati Das traces the inheritance of pain across generations. With raw tenderness and unflinching intimacy, she writes of what it means to grow up beneath the shadow of unhealed wounds.

“The Spirit Board” by Jonathan Brònico — In their new home, one family’s ghost story turns horrifyingly real when two children invite a restless spirit to play.

In Survivor’s Guilt: An Inner Dialogue by Timea Faulkner, the author reflects on surviving Triple Negative Breast Cancer at 27 while finishing grad school. This moving essay explores the emotional aftermath of survival—where gratitude meets grief, and resilience becomes a daily act of faith. A must-read on healing, purpose, and life after cancer.

In “Sunflower,” Elaine Joy Edaya Degale explores identity, belonging, and colorism through a Black American-Filipina lens—an intimate, lyrical reckoning with race, privilege, and home between New York and Mindanao.

“Push shove. Push shove.” In Odette Cortés’ “Orpheus Underground,” the subway becomes an underworld — a place where myth meets the modern commute, and the rhythm of survival hums beneath the city’s surface.

In Clocking Out: Coping with Office Microaggressions, Laisha Martinez Navarro delivers a sharp, personal reflection on the subtle — and not-so-subtle — comments that chip away at dignity in the workplace. With vivid storytelling, she captures the exhaustion of constant “smiling through” and the quiet power of finally choosing to walk away. This piece is both a mirror and a rallying cry for anyone who has had to excuse the inexcusable.

by Odette Cortés Born and raised in Mexico, I remember that my elementary class was shown the caste system, which was the backbone of New...

In "Halwa for Hymen," Hannan Khan confronts silence, shame, and survival—poetry that reshapes kitchens into confessionals and exposes the haunting recipes tradition forces women to swallow.

An Interview with Hannan Khan by Clara Zimban With a fearless voice shaped by the landscapes and cultural cadences of Kot Muzaffar,...

After multiple rejections, O’Hunt wins big with "Meena"—a powerful short story exposing caste injustice.

In Titan Arum, Elina Kumra delivers a haunting, lyrical portrait of survival amid maternal cruelty and generational trauma. Told through a daughter’s eyes, the story traces the transformation of pain into silence, and silence into strength. Stark, poetic, and unforgettable—this is a story that will root itself deep within you.

In love of the youth, Yinka Emaleku captures the raw ache and electric thrill of young love—its intensity, confusion, and fearless vulnerability. With lyrical clarity and emotional depth, the poem speaks to the beauty and heartbreak of discovering love while still discovering oneself. A resonant tribute to coming-of-age tenderness.