New poems by Benjamin Bellet
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Archives
Archives
New Review and Interview by Larry Abbott: James Wells’ Because
He was 39 years old at the time of his death, and left a wife, Betty and three children, Ora, Kathleen, and the young…
New Interview with Kevin M. Kearney
But on a personal level, I don’t think there is an easy way out. I think the real answer is you need to go the other …
New Nonfiction by Matt Eidson: Binge
Sometimes I’d imagine that compressing the areas of fat would break apart the tissue and allow it to dissolve into my…
New Nonfiction by Evan Balkan: In Praise of Awe
It’s hard to define, awe. But certainly we know when we feel it. It’s a rare thing, buried under the onslaught of dai…
New Poetry by Loretta Tobin: “In the Dead Man’s Seabag” and “River City”
A blue ribbon marked
First Thessalonians,
where he had underlined—
Be joyful always;
…
Hope and Heartbreak in Kyle Seibel’s “Hey You Assholes”
About four years ago I first encountered Kyle Seibel’s work while volunteering with this publication (Wrath-Bearing T…
New Fiction by Matthew James Jones: Excerpt from Predators, Reapers, and Deadlier Creatures
I'd been in Afghanistan for three months when I saw the woman in the marketplace die. Thirty or forty men haggled the pr…
New Interview with Matthew James Jones
Predators, Reapers and Deadlier Creatures (PR&DC) is unafraid to be funny about serious subjects. Can you tell us…
New Poem by John Thampi: “Ad Memoriam”
New poem by John Thampi: Ad Memoriam
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New Poetry by Ben White: “Cold” and “Cold II”
New poetry by Ben White – “Cold” and “Cold II”
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Learning to Fly: The Army and The Airborne Mafia
Sometimes in life, one experiences a shock or a revelation so powerful that it stays with you for years. For me, one suc…
New Nonfiction by J. Malcolm Garcia: And This Is No Matter What
The temperature on this Tuesday morning in Grants Pass, Oregon, is edging up to ninety degrees as Helen Cruz and Just…
New Poetry by Layle Chambers: “Becoming a Lighthouse #1;” “You Find Wonders;” “Pilot Air”
cold laps the shore
no choice but to step in
stride out, stake my place
transmute into tower
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New Poetry by Kathleen Murdough: “He Signed Up”
“This is what he signed up for,”
my mother says when
my brother graduates from West Point.
New Fiction by Eugene Samolin: Narcissus Mask
Olly stood on a chair in his studio with a noose around his neck. “I’ll never love again,” he moaned. He stared at th…
New Fiction by Nathan Nicolau: Returns
Does anyone knock anymore? Even at a friend’s house, an office, or my bedroom, I would knock. No one can be too caref…
New Poetry by Devin Mikles: “Telegram to Mrs. Sargent”
ONLY MUDDY BOOTS AND HELMETS CAKED RUSTING ROTTING IN STEAMING GREENHOUSES STICK UP FROM DECAYED REMAINS CAUSED BY DE…
New Poetry by Aramis Calderon: “Loyal”
New poem by Aramis Calderon: “Loyal”
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New Nonfiction by Fred Cheney: Tracers
I’ve changed all the names in this story except my own. They’re all dead, but … that afterlife thing just might be tr…
New Poetry by Carol Alexander: “Late of Somewhere in the East”
New Poem by Carol Alexander: “Late of Somewhere in the East”
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New Poetry by Rachel Landrum Crumble: “Against Urgent Brilliance”
New Poem by Rachel Landrum Crumble: “Against Urgent Brilliance”
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New Fiction by Abu B. Rafique: The Madman of Sheen Bagh
The little mountain-village known as Sheen Bagh sat right on the border. So exact was the placement that the people i…
New Fiction by Paul Rabinowitz: Little Death
Each night our mascot—a black and white cat—sneaks into the base searching for a warm lap and scraps of food. Tonight…
New Fiction by Michelle R. Brady: Thirty Broken Birds
I. Valley of Quest Before what happened to Christine, before arriving in Iraq, before even leaving Nebraska, all we k…
New Poetry by Nathan Didier: “Hearts and Minds”
New Poem by Nathan Didier: “Hearts and Minds”
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New Poetry by Rachel Rix: “Experimental Simulation of Joint Morphology During Desiccation,” “Second Deployment,” “CO’s Canon”
New Poetry by Rachel Rix: “Experimental Simulation of Joint Morphology During Desiccation,” “Second…
New Review: Michael Carson on Kevin Honold’s Our Lady of Good Voyage
CROATOAN: A Review of Kevin Honold’s Our Lady of Good Voyage (Orison Books, 2024). Kevin Honold’s Our Lady of Good Vo…
New Nonfiction by Jennifer Crystal: An Excerpt from One Tick Stopped the Clock
Chapter 12 of One Tick Stopped the Clock Published by Legacy Book Press Excerpted from ONE TICK STOPPED THE CLOCK Cop…
New Nonfiction by Adrian Bonenberger: “An Alternate View of Moral Injury”
An Alternate View of Moral Injury Introductory note: I originally composed this essay between 2022-23. I’ve gone back…
New Poetry by Douglas G. Campbell: “The President’s New Children’s Crusade”
New Poetry by Douglas Campbell: “The President’s New Children’s Crusade”
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New Poetry by Sylvia Baedorf Kassis: “Detritus”
New Poetry by Sylvia Baedorf Kassis: “Detritus”
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New Fiction by Jake Bienvenue: Chasing Colonel Sandro
Dr. Maldonado fiddled with the picture of his hot wife and blonde sons, making sure I noticed. Hot professors are rar…
New Nonfiction by Kyle Abbott Smith: The Superman Fight
Fights within the infantry were common enough that their variations came to be source material for a dark form of in-…
New Fiction by Robert Miner: Shades of Purple
Danny Llewellyn hadn’t shit himself since he was a toddler, back when nobody minded. Since then, he’d joined the Army…
New Fiction by Jesse Nee-Vogelman: Improv
The terrorist sat down at the cafe at a quarter to one. She had always been punctual. Beneath her clothing was a bomb…
New Poetry by Richard Epstein: “The Dance”
New Poem by Richard Epstein: “The Dance”
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New Poetry by Ellie J. Anderson: “Impact, 1984”
New poem by Ellie J. Anderson: “Impact, 1984”
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New Interview by Larry Abbott: Doug Rawlings
Doug Rawlings had his life planned out: graduate school, business school, eventual law school, and a career in busin…
New Poetry by Peter Mladinic: “Fist”
In Okinawa I made a fist and my fingers stuck together that stop over night my one stop before Danang, between…
New Poetry by David Burr: “Harvest”
Hurl of metal – iron, steel – as shrapnel,
as bail hail, as HE detonation, all
forged and spi…
New Nonfiction from Per-Olof Odman: “Mystery Mountain”
In the remote and forgotten northwestern corner of Vietnam looms the vast, rugged and rain-drenched Hoang Lien Mounta…
New Fiction by Dwight Curtis: “The Thirty-Two Fouettes”
The chair came to a stop and with great effort, haltingly, the figure lifted himself to his feet. He took a single j…
New Poetry by Jayant Kashyap: “The War”
New poetry by Jayant Kashyap: “The War”
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New Poetry by Phillip Sitter: “Krakivets, Odyn” and “Elemental”
New Poetry by Phillip Sitter: “Krakivets, Odyn” and “Elemental”
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New Nonfiction by Avory Schanfelter: “Condition Black”
Time in a combat zone passes strangely. When you are surrounded by the incredible, the human mind has a tendency to d…
New Fiction by Adrian Bonenberger: “Checkpoint”
Every two or three months Jon and Steven would meet for lunch at the McDonald’s outside the town center where Main S…
New Nonfiction by Michael Jerome Plunkett: “Four Letter Words: A Meditation on Fuck”
The most versatile piece of equipment an infantryman carries is a four-letter word. It can be used in almost every co…
New Fiction by Dion Wright: “Your Land”
“Drone up,” said Lieutenant Levi. Heads turned and eyes followed the drone’s swift ascent to the sequoia canopy 350 f…
New Review by Maggie Gamberton: Nancy Stroer’s Playing Army
A Game of Soldiers – A Review of Playing Army by Nancy Stroer LT Minerva Mills is a hot mess. Literally. We mee…