1I have a lot of referencesmore than enough 2the reference is meand I’m proud of it 3I mirror me and lighten with painforming families of wordsbaby pictures and older little sisters the mirror is meit’s me my true selfand you deform us—from Catherine Theis’ translation of Jolanda Insana’s “I Said Nothing,” Volume . . .
Read MoreIt’s 5:50 in the morning, just ten minutes before the university bus is supposed to arrive. I should be rushing to catch it and head to my classes in Gaza, just like I used to every day. But today, I’m trapped in a nightmare from which I can’t awake. The alarm ringing . . .
Read MoreA Review of Salt House by Hazel Hawthorne An early twentieth-century literary darling of the Outer Cape (and a descendent of Nathaniel Hawthorne), Hazel Hawthorne and her second husband, Morris S. Werner, spent many years living and working between New York and Provincetown. From the back cover of her 1934 novel Salt . . .
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The yellow seagrass was taller then. The dried stalks brushed my shoulders as I journeyed from the house to the beach. The journey was long, required wile. My mother twenty years younger watched me from the porch. She didn’t yet know what her life would be.—from Arro Mandell’s “Dream A Highway Back,” Volume 66, . . .
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To praise what knows only darkis to praise the seed before its soil-ceilingcanopies. The belly, too,moon that parallels the moon, tooth of a new bud thatcurls from its green casing.Quaint, too playful, word—from Michelle Lewis’ “Disaster Ode,” Volume 66, Issue 2 (Summer 2025) Tell us about one of the first pieces you wrote.In my . . .
Read MoreFruit cannot dropthrough this thick air—H.D. Whether Celsius or Centigrade,It’s damned hot in these late summer days!Yet you’ll cool (even smile)When you drink dog days style.Here are beers that provide liquid shade. 1You’ll keep cool with this wintry White Beard,A translucent white ale to keep near.Beat the heat (and repeat)With this lemony . . .
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The final year of high school in Palestine, known as Tawjihi, has always symbolized more than just exams. It’s a year of dreams, a year in which every student’s aspirations meet their family’s ambitions. The future of a nation rests on the shoulders of our generation. But in Gaza, Tawjihi has become . . .
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“She woke up so happy. One of the nuns opened the bedroom door and crossed the narrow aisle between the beds. As the day’s first gentle sounds touched the silence—the door opening, the thin rubber soles on the wood parquet—some of the women woke up. Leaning slightly to-ward the window, the nun . . .
Read MoreEditor’s Note: The Dalai Lama celebrated his ninetieth birthday on July 6th and will observe the next twelve months as a “year of compassion.” The Massachusetts Review shares today an excerpt from contributor Amy Yee’s narrative nonfiction book, Far From the Rooftop of the World: Travels among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents . . .
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When she was 28, Jessica Slice quite literally stumbled into disability while on a hike in Greece with her then-husband. Tired and hot after an hour-long trek, they turned a corner and were confronted by a pack of wild dogs. Though they managed to avoid attack by backing away and scrambling up . . .
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