WHISKEY ISLAND โ ข ISSUE FIFTY-SEVEN
Maureen Alsop Amanda Burnham Lee Chilcote Kyle Churney Darren Demaree James Doyle Mike Foldes Molly Gaudry Marie Gauthier Justine Tal Goldberg David Gracie Michele N. Harmeling Fiona Hopper Robert A. Kaiser Elizabeth Kay
David Kirby Susan Levine Amelia Martens Donelle McGee Mary Miller Dan Moreau Andrew Plattner James Reed Erika L. Sรกnchez Steven D. Schroeder Britton Shurley Sarah Sloat Simon A. Smith J. Michael Wahlgren Molly Lynn Watt
WHISKEY ISLAND ISSUE FIFTYSEVEN
A Literary Journal Published By Cleveland State University
FALL 2009
WHISKEY ISLAND
Issue
fiftyseven Fall 2009
© 2009
Cover: "Willy's Parkway" by Amanda Burnham, watercolor and ink on board Thank you for your support: This magazine would not be possible without the support from the Dean of Students, Dr. James Drnek, Budget Officer Marilyn Werner, Media Specialist Dan Lenhart and the students of Cleveland State University, who continue to show interest in the publication year after year. Whiskey Island is a nonprofit literary journal that has been published (in one form or another) by students of Cleveland State University for over thirty years. We welcome poetry, fiction and non-fiction (including translation), and art submissions year round. Reporting time is about six months. Include an SASE for reply. General Submissions: We read submissions year round. Unpublished work only, please. We ask for first English-language print serial rights, with an option to showcase your piece on our website. All rights revert to the author after publication. Payment is two contributor copies and a one-year subscription. We accept simultaneous submissions; if your piece is accepted elsewhere, let us know. Multiple submissions: you may submit in more than one genre, but please send each submission separately. After hearing from us, please wait at least a year before submitting again. Take note that our editorial staff, and therefore preferences, changes yearly. Try us again! To Submit by Email: Place cover letter and contact information in the body of your email. Put "Poetry Submission," "Fiction Submission" or "Nonfiction Submission" in the subject line, and attach the poetry or prose as a Word, Word compatible, or PDF document. Send to whiskeyisland@csuohio.edu. To Submit by Postal Mail: Include a cover letter, SASE, and writer's name, address, phone and email on each piece. If we accept your piece, we will ask for an electronic version.
Mail general submissions to: Whiskey Island Magazine English Dept. Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH 44115 www.csuohio.edu/whiskey_island/
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Whiskey Island Issue fifty-seven • Fall 2009 • Established 1977
Editor-In-Chief: Megan M. Erwin Poetry Editors: Michelle Skupski Bissell Karen Schubert Laurin Wolf Fiction Editors: Baixi-Su Alexander Lori Compton Virginia Konchan Jeffrey Rice Nonfiction Editor: Bonnie Jacobson Art Editor: Leanne Hafer-Dippong Design and Layout Editor: Steve Thomas Web Editor: Steve Thomas
Media Specialist: Dan Lenhart Faculty Advisor: Michael Dumanis Readers: Krysia Orlowski Jeffrey Rice Interns: Brit Charek Nicole Fragapane Josh Kleinberg Liz Newman Diana Mruk Adam Torres Contest Judges: Michael Dumanis Imad Rahman
Contact Information: Cleveland State University Cleveland, Ohio 44115 216-687-2056 whiskeyisland@csuohio.edu.
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Contents: Issue Fifty-Seven From the Editor……………………………………………………………… From the Editor
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Poetry David Kirby
What Are You Going to Do?…………………… 7 The Kind of Person Who Comments on YouTube………………………………… 10 Holy Grail ……………………………………… 13 To My Enemies ………………………………… 17
Darren C. Demaree
OHIO #50 …………………………………… 27
Erika L. Sánchez
Earthquake ………………………………………32
James Doyle
The Tax Collector Laments His Bunion………… 34
Donelle C. McGee
Threesome……………………………………… 35
Molly Gaudry
Parts …………………………………………… 38
J. Michael Wahlgren
Stilt …………………………………………… 47
Steven D. Schroeder
Their Sons Grow Suicidally …………………… 48
Kyle Churney
Jawbreaker Triptych …………………………… 49
Molly Lynn Watt
The Vertigo is Back ………………………………53
Britton Shurley
Eleven steps to Becoming a Poet of the T’Ang Dynasty ………………………… 64
Suzanne M. Levine
Diptych ………………………………………… 65
Marie Gauthier
Rerouting the superhighway …………………… 67
Sarah Sloat
To Long Division ……………………………… 68 Riding Backwards on the Train ………………… 69
Elizabeth Kay
The good mother ……………………………… 70
Maureen Alsop
Winter Archive in the Double Mirror ………… 74
Amelia Martins
The Doppelgangers’ Daughter gets her First EKG……………………………… 75
Mike Foldes
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letter to joe……………………………………… 76
Fall 2009 Fiction Andrew Plattner
28 Decade…………………………………………
James Reed
Viewing……………………………………… 33
Justine Tal Goldberg
43 The Pill…………………………………………
Mary Miller
Painted-Up Girls………………………………58
Dan Moreau
Challenger…………………………………… 66
Robert A. Kaiser
An Arm and A Leg……………………………71
Simon A. Smith
Have You No Eyes……………………………… 77
Art David Gracie
Light …………………………………………54 Boombox …………………………………… 55 Branding Iron #3 …………………………… 56 Right of Return ………………………………57
Amanda Burnham
Willy's Parkway………………………… Cover
Contest Winners Michele N. Harmeling Poetry Fiona Hopper Fiction
On Learning to Fend for Ourselves ………… 88 Selected by Michael Dumanis Anodyne ………………………………………89 Selected by Imad Rahman
Book Review Lee Chilcote
Lies Will Take You Somewhere Sheila Schwartz (Etruscan Press,2009)……… 96
Contributors…………………………………………………………… 98
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From The Editor
Dear Reader, I am so proud and so happy that this issue, #57, is now a tangible, beautiful thing. The stories and poems that the editorial staff chose delighted and surprised me, and I have a feeling you’ll appreciate them too. David Kirby will make you laugh. James Reed will make you cry. Robert A.Kaiser and James Doyle wrote some characters you’ll want to avoid and I want Simon Smith’s Joshy to be my new best friend. The artwork by Amanda Burnham and David Gracie is wonderful. Thank you to all the contributors. When I first read these poems and stories, I was thrilled such wonderful work was sent to us. Thanks to Steve Thomas for the design and layout of this gorgeous book, and for always answering computer questions. Thanks to faculty advisor Michael Dumanis, media specialist Dan Lenhart, and those that stepped in to help read when the slush pile was too high. Finally, many thanks to former editor Karen Schubert for her guidance, support, and vision. Without the work she did on the infrastructure, this journal wouldn’t be here. Enjoy,
Megan M. Erwin Editor-In-Chief
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LIGHT by David Gracie Dimensions: 22''x 26''
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Attributes: Oil on board
BOOMBOX by David Gracie Dimensions: 19''x 23''
Attributes: Oil on board
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BRANDING IRON #3 by David Gracie Dimensions: 8''x 10"
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Attributes: Oil on board
RIGHT OF RETURN by David Gracie Dimensions: 27''x 32 1/2"
Attributes: Oil on board
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WHISKEY ISLAND โ ข ISSUE FIFTY-SEVEN
Maureen Alsop Amanda Burnham Lee Chilcote Kyle Churney Darren Demaree James Doyle Mike Foldes Molly Gaudry Marie Gauthier Justine Tal Goldberg David Gracie Michele N. Harmeling Fiona Hopper Robert A. Kaiser Elizabeth Kay
David Kirby Susan Levine Amelia Martens Donelle McGee Mary Miller Dan Moreau Andrew Plattner James Reed Erika L. Sรกnchez Steven D. Schroeder Britton Shurley Sarah Sloat Simon A. Smith J. Michael Wahlgren Molly Lynn Watt
WHISKEY ISLAND ISSUE FIFTYSEVEN
A Literary Journal Published By Cleveland State University
FALL 2009