Nonfiction
“Laying on of Hands” by Matt Muilenburg
23 February 2018 on Blog, NonfictionI unwillingly entered the priesthood in seventh grade. My name appeared on the slip of paper my teacher drew from the fake chalice we would later use during our staging...
Storystorm
Magnetic Irony
23 February 2018 on Blog, Poetry, StorystormFuture generations may define our period style by its pervasive sincerity. Irony is what's missing from much contemporary poetry. For example, the popular political poems are earnest, if angry, and...
Poetry
“A Brighter Light” by Nancy Christopherson
16 February 2018 on PoetryAfter days in the drear rain and wind—sunlight, the sun comes up in a clear sky. It seems settled, then, a difficult argument of weather—the sun displays its wares. Simple...
Fiction
“A Single Red Feather” by Jacqueline Guidry
09 February 2018 on FictionLee pulled up her shade. Workers in bright orange vests scurried around the plane, their movements impressively purposeful, though she had no idea what they were doing. She’d never flown...
Storystorm
What do we look for in fiction submissions?
09 February 2018 on Fiction, StorystormBarnstorm’s fiction readers have varied reading tastes and interests, but they share a common passion for stories. Recently, they weighed in on what they look for as they read fiction...
Poetry
“Return No. 2” by Laurel Milburn
02 February 2018 on Blog, PoetryWe step outside an axis where the magnets scrape to a dry thinning spark. Things to do: Things to do to turn a nocturne to a waltz. Today is red....
The Writer's Hot Seat
The Writer’s Hot Seat: Mira Ptacin
02 February 2018 on Blog, The Writer's Hot SeatMira Ptacin reports on women in trouble—in trouble with the law, with the economy, with their bodies, with ghosts. Her memoir, Poor My Soul, has been called “a funny and...
Nonfiction
“Creatures My Mother’s Cat Killed Last Summer” By Meredith Jeffers
15 December 2017 on NonfictionDozens of Shrews plucked from the gaps in our neighbor’s stone steps. Her patio has all but collapsed; thick weeds sprout in its cracks. The shrews dug their burrow in the disrepair....
The Writer's Hot Seat
The Writer’s Hot Seat: Fred Marchant
15 December 2017 on Blog, Poetry, The Writer's Hot SeatBarnstorm reader Katie Brunero recently talked with poet Fred Marchant about his new collection of poetry, Said Not Said, guidance for new poets, technique versus craft, and the best revision advice he's...
Fiction
“Tough Jobs” by Eric Rasmussen
08 December 2017 on FictionNothing should have survived the garage collapse. Holy lord, if only you could’ve seen it. The outer wall crashed into the alley and the roof fell straight down. The west...
Poetry
“To be Kissed” by Aran Donovan
01 December 2017 on Blog, PoetryThese arable lands To go quizzing about them in hoop skirt To melt humble in an avid sahara To piss, comrades in relief abandon Truly waffle, like a primary in...
Storystorm
The Landscape of Memory, or, My Characters Keep Getting Lost in The Desert
01 December 2017 on Blog, Fiction, Storystorm“[E]very pilgrimage to the desert is a pilgrimage to the self. There is no place to hide and so we are found.” -Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge I close my eyes...
