He's begun to fantasize that our son will wipe my in-laws off the planet

When I was thirteen, Pam, a family friend’s daughter, told me she was a “bare branches” child, meaning the bloodline would die with her. A dead end. Pam

And truth be told, I thought if breast cells had the potential to escalate to terminal illness, then I might as well let them do as they please—one less distraction for Kiran, one less destiny for …

Vol. VII: “Flux” captures moments of change—gradual and sudden, subtle and profound, intensely personal and immensely public. Yet time still flows, carrying readers with it through the stages of life,...

sometimes the word for tender isn’t tender there is a knife in the dishrack, sharp, facing the open kitchen. i take the blade in my palm. a hawk claws inside a river. i feel buzzing in the we…

A PEDESTRIAN GUIDE TO THE ALTERNATIVE ROUTE SYSTEM Seventh Edition (Revised) Compiled by: Dr. Rachel Wallace, Urban GeographerPublisher: Small Compass PressPrice: Free ROUTE 1: THE GRIEF-FOLD …

Plugs Years ago, ahead of my work trip to London, you went to RadioShack to purchase the type G plugs needed in the U.K. “Must you insist on this much preparation?” I asked and you raised your brow…

In this 10th volume of the annual Spoon Knife lit anthology, 19 authors representing a wide range of genres––and often gleefully crossing conventional genre boundaries––explore the strange alchemy of ...

When the NIPT results came back saying  boy, I sang to the heavens and burned money made from joss paper. The flames singed my ring finger, leaving a blister that bubbled for days before finally po…

There’s also the question “Is your stomach larger?” to which I wish to retort “Am I pregnant or not?” and “I’ll let you know if I miscarry in which case my stomach should be deflating a bit sooner.

I left our husband’s body where I found it: in front of the redwood desk, head slumped over a stack of papers and a dried ballpoint pen. I made tea by squeezing the milky sap from poppies into...

Snake Son My boy slipped out like a snake rather than human. I had thought I’d be having a daughter like my mother and grandmother and great grandmother, cursed with girls they’d craft into paper p…

by Lucy Zhang Flash Fiction   We’re making papier-mâché birds in art class, ripping strips of newspaper and smearing glue over our fingers. Albatross females lay only one egg, and those whose eggs don...