Vol. 12      No. 2      Fall / Winter 2015–16

(  P u r c h a s e  )

 

Included    in    this    issue  .  .  . 

     

Translation Feature     T H E   S W A M P     Can Xue     Trans. Karen Gernant & Chen Zeping

There actually was a swamp right in this big concrete forest of a city. Older people could still remember it. Ayuan wasn’t old, but he knew of the swamp from hearing Uncle Sang talk about it occasionally.

One night after drinking too much, Uncle Sang was about to fall asleep as he sprawled over a big square table. Ayuan was chatting excitedly with the waiter about going into a small business together, when Uncle Sang sat up straight and started shaking Ayuan’s arm. He yelled, “You have to be broad-minded in order to see the bigger picture! Everything I told you before was true! We mustn’t let superficial things blur our vision…You, Liuma: you’re a waiter here, but you’re a schemer; you’re too ambitious, and you aren’t broad-minded. Why are you tugging at me? I have to get it all out; there won’t be another chance!” He flung Ayuan’s hand off.

In the blink of an eye, Liuma vanished. Waving an arm, Uncle Sang shouted, “He’s gone into hiding! This schemer—he’s gone off to hide in an inconceivable place!”

It took all of Ayuan’s strength to drag Uncle Sang out of the bar. They turned into a long alley; Uncle Sang’s home was at the end of the alley.

(Continued on page 31)

 

 

F I C T I O N

Space     Christopher Marc Pascucci

Inishmore     Gwen E. Kirby

Puppy, with Child     Daniel O’Malley

Close to Kansas     Reem Abu-Baker

Listen to Me     Bryan Furuness

 

 

N O N F I C T I O N

The Full Montaigne     Joey Franklin

Suck     Sara Crosby

Grand Theft     Barrett Bowlin

The Cobra’s Son     Betsy Hearne

 

P O E T R Y

Lisa McMurtray     The Universe in Which Neither of Us Exists     
The Universe in Which We All Own Islands     The Universe  Which Is Only This Room

Erin Rodoni     Giant Slalom     The Woman Who Is Your Mother

Matt Morton     The Idea     All Honeycombed, the Ground

Mairead Small Staid     Stable Vices     Studies for a Spaghetti Western

Mai Der Vang     Dear Soldier of the Secret War, Laos 1975
The Spirit Meal

Matt McBride     City of the Whites     City of the Police

Kate Lebo     Care and Feeding     Horsetail

Noa Saunders     Self-Potrait     Cannonballs

Damian Caudill     Prayer Sitting Atop the Bronco’s Wheel Well

Hannah Baggott     1 Corinthians 6:19     Game Theory in Dreams

Mary Angelino     Our Young Fathers     Waiting     Calling Home

Keith Kopka     Homecoming

Lauren Jensen-Deegan     A Lazy Love

Max Cohen     Good People Make Their Own Coffee
Every Cold Bird     What I Missed

Laura Romeyn     Sundog Bride     Wet Nurse

Annie Kim     More Words for Snow

Dan Haney     Elon Musk’s Failed Mission to Mars
Where George Lokitis Left Centralia for Good     What I Do After Work

Jeffrey Morgan     Translation

Annie Rudy     St. Hubertus in the Ardennes

 

2015 Literary Awards

Fiction
S E E   A L S O :   A   H I S T O R Y   O F   G L A S S M A K I N G
Kristen N. Arnett

Poetry
I N   T H E   Y E A R   O F   N O   S L E E P
Corey Van Landingham

Creative Nonfiction
M Y   O W N   G O O D   D A E M O N
Michael Gracey

 

 

Art Features ( Brian M. Wiley ) ( Emmy Lingscheit, interviewed by Alyssa Bralower ) ( Micah Cash, interviewed by Ally Johnson )

 

 

 

Brought    to    you    by  .  .  . 

 

(editor )  Jodee Stanley

( creative nonfiction editor )  Alex Shakar

( fiction editor )  Philip Graham

( poetry editor )  Michael Madonick

( creative director )  Matthew Peterson

( art director )  Joe Carpenter

( illustrators )  Jina Seo  Mew Tachibana  Sander Weeks  James Wisdom

( designers )  Katie Geary  Robert Marohn  Ben Minard  Vin Park  
Courtney Podgorski  Eric Pryor  Alyssa Sparacino  Gracie Sullivan

( assistant editors )  Sara Fan  Ceridwen Hall  Zachariah McVicker  Katherine Scott Nelson

( editorial assistants )  John Dudek  Nolan Grieve  Michael Hurley  Katherine Kendig  
Calgary Martin  Caitlin McGuire  Daniel Porder  Kristin Walters  Jess Williard

( editorial intern )  Laney Ontiveros

 

 

 

S U P P O R T

College of Fine + Applied Arts
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English
LAS Humanities Council
Office of the Chancellor
Office of the Provost
School of Art + Design

Individual Sponsors

(patron)  Sarah Knox, M.D.  John Hall, M.D.

(friend)  Raina Bahns  Gladys Justin Carr  Joan Golder  Kathleen Harleman

 

This project is partially supported by grants
from the National Endowment of the Arts
and the Illinois Arts Council

Information about supporting Ninth Letter
can be found at ninthletter.com;
all donations and gifts to Ninth Letter are
tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law

 

 

  

(enjoy)