2026 Poetry Contest Announcement by Fred Wilbur As I read this year’s contest entries, I accumulated a deep appreciation for the humans who invested the thought and energy to create them and who t […]

Bloodless by Martin Vest I don’t want to be eaten by a grizzly, my dad would say every time we were camping. But I wouldn’t want to be here if it weren’t possi […]

Pots for Art's Sake: A Look at Judd Jarvis's Work by Russell Hart Ceramic artist Judd Jarvis finds a thoughtful middle ground between form and function.  It’s tempting to suggest that Virginia’s famous red clay […]

The Kestrel Blues by Marjorie Gowdy   He perches      boldlyon the old phone wiredown Canning Factory Road. He sings      killy killy killya violent tune for a falconpainted in col […]

Splitting Wood by David Sapp It wasn’t when I got the hang of cursing, exquisitely and generously, tutored by the bigger kids at the back of the school bus. It wasn’t when I puf […]

On A Scale Of . . . by Wendy Kennar Wendy Kennar is the 1st place winner of Streetlight’s 2026 Essay/Memoir Contest Within my first few years of teaching, the district’s grading sys […]

Human Entanglement and Woman, Falling, 2 poems by Karl Meade Human Entanglement After they split the atom, broke our water into hydrogen, and hydrogen, and the oxygen you couldn’t breathe, we and the h […]

When My Secrets Were No Longer Mine by Jean Romano One day after school, I stepped into my room and immediately felt that something was wrong. My eyes darted to the bed, and my heart stopped. The […]

The hothouse by D S Maolalai   wondering at marriage; at what it’s really like and what it does to you – like: I know that I do love her but will it dislocate my bone […]

Eileen French's Figurative Paintings Celebrate Kinship   Joy. Love. Silliness. These words come to Eileen French’s mind when asked to describe her paintings. A figurative artist at the Mc […]

Mind the Gap by Sharon Perkins Ackerman Sukey Gap Graveyard The road here is pocked with holes, graves strung mostly in mistflower or phlox, apt to spread airy trails. Not a place for […]

A Block Off Henderson by Chris Dahl   “The deer stood like a blessing, then vanished.” —Jane Hirschfield, “Standing Deer” And this is how it is when I see the two-point, […]

Mattering To Fiona by Ginger Moran I was listening to NPR on my way home from the dentist today and it turned out to be one of those shows I carried into my house when I got […]

Two Homes by Douglas Cole He took his bike from under the porch and rode down the driveway and out onto the sidewalk. He rode around the corner and east on 47th Street past the […]

For the Sake of a Quarter by Gayla Mills If you’ve shopped at Aldi, the German-based grocery that’s expanding around the U.S., then you know their shopping cart system. You insert a qua […]

The Lone Ranger Alone by J.R. Solonche My favorite television cowboy was the Lone Ranger because he didn’t sing, he didn’t kill Indians for the fun of it, and he wasn’t even a cowbo […]

Blindsided by Wally Swist There are times when Dr. Amanda Mullen’s visage takes on that of a lion tamer about to open the locked gate to the ring where the lions are gathered f […]

Nigerian Photographer Focuses on Self Portraits Nigerian artist Imran Abiola Sulola started by taking pictures of the sun and the moon. Then in 2021, what began as a hobby changed after seeing […]

Left Behind by Claire Rubin Scott I thought it was all behind me remission said my doctor now only periodic PET scans to be sure only blood tests to double check […]

Cadence by David Stern You don’t think about it unless you’re doing it. Coughing. The cough reflex is a critical means by which your body protects your airway from blo […]