“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.

Autumn Bernard’s Sip, Drop, Shatter, Drip, Blare is a visceral, multi-sensory poem that immerses readers in a moment of joy turned tragedy. Told through the perspective of shattered glass, it captures the vibrant life of a queer nightclub and the devastating impact of violence—echoing both resilience and heartbreak in every line.

In this powerful personal essay, Alex Zhang reflects on growing up with anxiety and navigating his queer identity in silence. With vulnerability and grace, he reveals how writing, friendship, and quiet moments of love helped him transform shame into strength—and why he’s choosing to stay in the game, unshaken.

In her powerful piece, Clara Zimban examines how political rhetoric—words like “invasion”—reshapes immigration policy in the U.S. and UK. Through legal analysis and human stories, she reveals how language fuels fear, dehumanization, and exclusion, urging us to reclaim compassion in the global migration discourse.

In her latest Kinsman Quarterly feature, Monique Franz profiles Nigerian artist Onyedikachi Prince Robinson, whose journey from homelessness to healing through art is as compelling as the portraits he paints. With deep compassion and cultural reverence, Robinson captures the forgotten—restoring dignity, memory, and voice to America’s invisible elders.

In Amerasian, poet Lam Ho unravels the generational weight of identity, beauty, and belonging. This poignant piece explores the haunting legacy of war and mixed heritage through the eyes of a daughter tracing the myth and mystery of her mother—searching, remembering, and reckoning with what lingers in the bloodline.

In "Away the Water Drains," Radiyah Nouman crafts a powerful coming-of-age tale set along a dying river in rural Pakistan. Through the eyes of Aasiya, a bright young girl turned weary woman, the story explores the slow erosion of dreams, identity, and livelihood under the weight of poverty, patriarchy, and loss. Lyrical, tender, and haunting, this multigenerational narrative is a sobering reflection on what remains when the water—and hope—run dry.

Author Nicole Doyley makes a poetic plea from a mother’s heart, challenging the cost of conflict. With heartbreaking tenderness, Doyley reclaims the sacred purpose of motherhood from the violence that threatens it.

Battle of Broom: Sweeping Mindsets by Vernica Goel unveils the poetic soul and painful truth behind India’s most humble tool. Through the broom’s voice, caste, gender, and cultural inequalities are laid bare. This eye-opening narrative challenges readers to confront prejudice and sweep away centuries-old biases with every turn of the page.