October 2024 | visual art
Graffiti Mask
Sadie
Michael Hower
When Michael Hower began digital photography over ten years ago, it was founded upon a fascination with abandoned buildings and landscapes. His work focuses on historical themes, portraying human objects/structures in modified environments now devoid of human activity, with a particular interest in places of industry, prisons, and graffiti. The work conveys themes of wear, deterioration, and nature’s reclamation of manmade environments. Recently, he has started exploring sculptural spaces using photography to challenge himself further. The first foray into this space was his Cabinet of Curiosity jars, or as he refers to them, “Specimen Jars” of “Sadie” and “Graffiti Mask.” Additionally, Mike started experimenting with altered books, allowing him to explore similar themes tactile and multi-dimensionally.
October 2024 | visual art
Stairs
Aiden Kwon
Aiden Kwon is a sophomore at Yongsan International School of Seoul. Aiden is a student who believes creativity is the key to life. He, therefore, shows interest in art, where he can create and draw his ideas. Creativity crosses Aiden’s eyes every second, with random yet brilliant ideas or a scene coming to his mind. Different colors and shapes for him are the key to the entrance of his creative ideas. His endless adventure of improvements and findings highlights his creativity every day.
October 2024 | poetry
Alice Chu lives in Chongqing
and she attends classes online
loves hotpots and her friends
never submits work on time
can’t follow essay instructions
but she speaks perfect English
and writes crystalline sentences
a potential poet or a novelist
but her father has other plans
One day Alice logs into class
splotchy bruises on her arms
a heavy cast around her ankle
every part of her looks broken
but Alice Chu is still smiling
her dad shoved down the stairs
for a C plus grade on her essay
Who do you call when the
abused live on other continents?
and what’s there to be done
about never-returned messages?
and how do you tell parents
your child’s not doctor material?
and how do you lift someone
when you can only reach so far?
Alice—this dreamy teenager
not quite ready for university
a poetic giant, ready to awaken
with more guidance and patience
her father demands perfection
but Alice Chu’s already perfect
Brendan Praniewicz
Brendan Praniewicz earned his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State in 2007 and has subsequently taught creative writing at San Diego colleges. He has had poetry published in From Whispers to Roars, Tiny Seed Journal, That Literary Review, and The Dallas Review. In addition, he received second place in a first-chapters competition in the Seven Hills Review Chapter Competition in 2019. He won first place in The Rilla Askew Short Fiction Contest in 2020. He was a Pushcart Nominee for poetry in 2023.
