Column
Philadelphia Stories is excited to share the winning poem in this year’s National Prize in Poetry!
Poetry
In the boat of the Buick, lake of ice glinting in front of us like a tarnished mirror—
Poetry
Tía rebuilds her house as she snores
You stand from the crumbling rooftop as she scours adobe, surveying the conquistadors’ stamp
Poetry
If the Elevator Tries to Bring You Down, Go Crazy
When Prince sings I Would Die 4 U I know he’s singing the number 4,
Poetry
The pile of dishes in the sink piled up for months until the drain was clogged and the sink became a pond.
Poetry
Underground Parking in Tehran, 1984
“We must take shelter darling,” my mom whispered in my ear at 2’oclock in the morning.
Poetry
This discarded fence-post piece will become a bird. Out of all of Audubon’s dogeared pages
Poetry
the body remembers everything it has ever been
and by this I don’t mean the eggs in me that grew inside the fetus that was my mother inside her mother’s womb
Poetry
She told me her brain was a barn on fire, horses hammering at the stalls, beams ablaze
Poetry
We saw a goose in the courthouse yard. Then more flew in and settled on the grass.
Poetry
When I scan your letter, left to right, seeking light between spaces,
Fiction
Swinging his skinny legs out of his narrow bed, Olyinyk sat on the edge, momentarily suspended in the dream space between prayer and sleep.
Non-Fiction
Finding Parking, a Purple Couch, and a Home in Philadelphia
Antonio and I arrived in Philadelphia on August 5, 2014.
Interview
Jenny Lowman is a true advocate for literacy. She has worked in the nonprofit arena of Philadelphia for over 15 years, having served as the executive director for the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC).
Review
REVIEW: Sink by Joseph Earl Thomas
Navigating life in Philadelphia never came easy for Joey, the protagonist of Sink by Joseph Earl Thomas.
Review
REVIEW: Phedippides Didn’t Die by Autumn Konopka
Pheidippides Didn’t Die is a captivating romance novel that Autumn Konopka sagaciously weaves topics of grief, mental illness, and trauma into a heartwarming love story.
Review
REVIEW: The Elephant’s Mouth by Luke Stromberg
“The Elephant’s Mouth” is Luke Stromberg’s much anticipated debut poetry collection, defies conventional poetry.
Review
REVIEW: At the Seams by Pamela Gwyn Kripke
In the novel, At The Seams by Pamela Gwyn Kripka, a feisty eight-year-old Katie learns from her mother that years ago, her grandmother had a baby that died under mysterious circumstances.
Review
REVIEW: An Oral History of One Day in Guyana by Shannon Frost Greenstein
In “An Oral History of One Day in Guyana,” Shannon Frost Greenstein begins her story in 2018 with Aisha Allen, sitting down with a reporter after 50 years of silence on the subject that changed her life, Jonestown.
Review
REVIEW: Scrape the Velvet from Your Antlers by Kelly McQuain
In his full-length poetry collection Scrape the Velvet from Your Antlers, Kelly McQuain presents an identity shaped by the flora and fauna of West Virginia and the dreams and responsibilities of family and community.