Twelve months after Jose vacated the second bedroom, twelve months spent eating peanuts and microwave pizza under the hum of reality TV—Fourteen months after he found me jerking off to Facebook pictures of his sister, taken when she could still walk, and he punched me in the face, and she stopped coming over to watch … Continue reading
Category Archives: Spring 2017
Horses—Bill Vernon
A series of storms trapped him inside so long, he envied the animals’ freedom to roam in their pastures. Within a day he felt like King Tut, Cincinnati Zoo’s silverback gorilla, whom he identified with, pacing back and forth in a cage. He was full of oats, as his farmer-father and mother used to say. … Continue reading
Review: “Spoken Portrait” by Uriel Quesada
At first, it became obvious why “Spoken Portrait” by Uriel Quesada was picked for the Iowa Review because of the author’s ability to relate to the readers. At the bare surface that’s all the seems. However, the story goes deeper with the reader. This is a story about a writer in a coffee shop and she … Continue reading
W. Kamau Bell’s “Ending Racism in About an Hour”
Kamau Bell at once proved that his show was not going to be your normal comedy routine. With a clicker and projector and screen, I was prepared for a lecture. And it was in the sense that I learned something and it wasn’t in the sense that he ever made me feel inferior. Opening the … Continue reading
Mission Creek Festival
A crew of Coe Review staffers, myself included, headed down to Iowa City for the annual Mission Creek Festival on Saturday the 8th. First stop: The Mill. Stepping into what seemed like a small restaurant at first, the warmth of the sunny April day and the milling mass of people created a somewhat claustrophobic atmosphere. Around … Continue reading
“I’d Save the Kids” by Michael Horton
I ended choosing the story I’d Save the Kids to read in the 87th Issue of Glimmer Train. I started to read quite a few stories, but I’d Save the Kids is the only one that I related to the most and found the most interesting and well-written. The simple, short story tells of a … Continue reading
Using Real-Life Experiences as Writing Inspiration
One of the easiest places for a writer to draw inspiration from is their own life; after all, that is what they know best. While this is a great source, many writers struggle to remove themselves from what happened in real life and what should happen in their fictionalized story. One common result in writing … Continue reading
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Some people have heard of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. The movie, starring Jack Nicholson as its front man, won all five major academy awards and still remains to be critically acclaimed. However, most people don’t know that it is a novel by Ken Kesey. This novel offers riveting insight into the daily life … Continue reading
The Catcher in the Rye
Since its publication in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger has been considered to be a highly controversial yet widely beloved story. Despite getting banned in classrooms and libraries across the nation, The Catcher in the Rye as garnered a cult following of appreciative readers. If you don’t mind swear words, prostitution, … Continue reading
11/9/16
My mama named me Tolerance But I named my tongue Silence The fleshy epoxy that holds these teeth tight Thick with regret I wanted to tell you, you see I was born in February But Silence was born when his shadow consumed Mine on the wall I was always so sick with fear But I … Continue reading
Coe Review 