ISSUE #6

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Lydia Gladkova, watercolor. The editors would like to thank Lydia for permission to share her work in issue 6. The editors would also like to thank Garth Evans for curating art for Speculative Nonfiction and introducing us to so many wonderful artists.

Table of Contents

Letter to the Ukrainian People

Editor’s Notes

Things That Glow / Brenda Miller

To the west the moon has appeared, a waxing crescent gilded in gold.

Essay That Was Once Called “How to Write about Joy” But My Friends Said They Didn’t Get the Connection So Idk Lol / Gyasi Hall

Me and the homie are sitting on the couch watching a video called Try Not To Be Satisfied

Deadwood / Coyote Shook

Like the rest of Deadwood, South Dakota, the Mount Moriah Cemetery does not aspire to discretion.

She Ran Like a _____ / Caite McNeil

Weddings were never good for M and me.

My Old Kentucky Home / Billie Pritchett

In this dream, my wife Rumi is standing with our daughter Hannah on the patio at the back deck of my childhood home in Kentucky.

Side Effects of Being Dunked On / Evan J. Massey

Awakening in a hot sweat, your arms shielding your face, crying out mercy.

Nina Simone on the Colorado: Tributary Duchesne River / Nicole Walker

When Mom and I weren’t listening to Nina Simone, we were singing along to the musicals on videotape we owned.

These Dirty Shoes Will Take You / Natalia Rachel Singer

To live without writing would be, for me, to drift through the world without inhabiting it fully.

Marble Solitaire / Penelope Cray

For years I’ve played this game and not solved it, by which I mean I have not ended up alone.

A Survival Manual for Drowning / Bunny McFadden

I started my drowning in the dark waters that birthed me.