UPDATE: Deadline Extended to July 6th!
Witness Editors
q+1 Issue: Thespians
by Kristin Ito “Thespians!” he shouts at us from the front of the crowded restaurant. Katie and I had been talking to the man ten minutes earlier at the bar. In his fifties or sixties, he wore Buddy Holly glasses and a wide Cheshire Cat smile. He’d ordered a couple of drinks, and while he… [Read More]
q+1 Issue: Temporary Organ
by Oona Robertson They say the uterus is the thing that holds a woman inside of herself. Blood-wetted. Always emptying or filling. A tide on the open ocean. Entangled. Drumming heartbeats. Blankets of blood thickness. Umbilical cord wrapping around and around and into us. This piece we hold internally, forking toward the tiny livers and… [Read More]
q+1 Issue: Three Allegories
by Oona Robertson Family dinner. Suddenly, at the dinner table, she stops eating. First a bend at the neck, then head, a leadening. The body always follows. Her fork skids into the depths of bare feet, her torso long and stretching sideways. It is almost imperceptible, the slow fall and then she is dangled, her… [Read More]
q+1 Issue: Self Control
by Oona Robertson I take a small pill every day that does not sustain me. The point is nothing happens. All flesh remains stable, womb empty, hormones balanced, pain a heartbeat, base note of my body’s self-understanding. I could tell you why I take them; Pain, however, is no story in itself. My pain is… [Read More]
Memorial Fund in Honor of Our Reader’s Spouse
We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Matt Heighes, partner of Witness reader & UNLV poetry MFA Katie McKenzie. Our hearts go out to Katie and her daughter, June, as we look to offer support in this difficult time.
Celebrating Pride, with a Reminder
Equality for all is worth fighting for. Stand proud, but don’t forget to also stand with those still in the fight. Keep it up. On all fronts! We’re with you. PRIDE AS PROTEST | BLACK LIVES MATTER
q+1 Issue: Tree of Heaven
by Nathan Alling Long I’d seen Trip at the school bus stop for years, but hadn’t ever talked to him. Not more than a hello. He lived on a farm down the road, and it wasn’t until the summer I turned fifteen, just as school was ending that year, that his dad came over and… [Read More]
q+1 Issue: A Letter from the Editors
Dear Readers, Witness Capsule Issues is a project imagined by the editorial staff to expand our readership and to grow our community of writers and the voices we are able to feature, doubling down on our mission to raise voices and stories of those who are underrepresented. q+1 is our first installment, featuring work from writers… [Read More]
q+1 Issue: The Buzzer
by Kate Tooley The outside buzzer has been ringing since she got into the bath. It started as a series of long zzzings, progressed through an array of quasi-musical rhythms, and now, one hour later, has settled into the tempo of an old dog snoring. There’s only one other tenant in the building and he… [Read More]
q+1 Issue: Under the Door
by Kate Tooley When I’m grown up, I won’t be afraid of anything. She whispers, digging her toes into the mattress, her body rigid under the daisy printed quilt. She’s sweating but is too frightened to push it off. There’s nothing in her room that scares her, but there is a knife-edge of light under… [Read More]
q+1 Issue: Cranky Pants
by Kate Tooley Everyone knows when you’re wearing the cranky pants. You know. You feel it as the fabric slides up your legs and bumps a little too hard into your crotch. And you think “why today.” You’re not going to be comfortable again as long as you have them on. They don’t always look… [Read More]