by: Kim O’Connell My mother’s kitchen is small and worn, like she is. Splatters from long-ago meals speckle the walls, in the places her arms can’t reach. The cupboards are packed with impractical pots she never uses, ones she got on sale in the back row of the Asian market years ago. Every counter is covered with sauces and spices, utensils and bags. In the middle of it all is my mother, her back curved like a spoon, her black…
by Dina M. Di Maio In the 1860s, there was a civil war between the North and South. Of Italy. The famous General Giuseppe Garibaldi led his troops through Southern Italy to liberate the people. However, revisionist history is showing that they didn’t necessarily want to be liberated. Many felt their homeland was under attack, and they fought to remain part of what was known as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. However, they lost, and the Northwestern region of…
by Lauren Jonik Warm amber light filtered through the trees creating a dappled pattern of light and dark on the road. The surface of the street was no longer smooth—I could never remember a time when it was. My feet had memorized every nuance of these back country roads that I had been traversing since I was a small child. My dad frequently had taken my younger brother and me for strolls after dinner. He pointed out the shape of…
by Fahrin (FAH-reen) Kermally “What was that? FEY-rin? Fey-REEN? Fah-RIN? Can you repeat that, please?” I always hated the first day of school. Not because I was worried about having friends. Not because I was scared I would flunk out. But because I dreaded listening to the teacher mispronounce my name. And then continue to mispronounce it, not trying to get it right, and just settling on saying it wrong for lack of effort and interest. I danced this dance…
by: Patricia Jonik Stein Though she arguably was the most famous, Cleopatra was not the only fascinating and powerful woman from the ancient world. The adage that behind every powerful man, there is an equally powerful woman was certainly true of Justinian, Emperor of Byzantium during the 6th century. His wife, Theodora, wore many different hats throughout her lifetime. She was a feminist, an actress, an acrobat, a religious zealot, a mistress, a wife, a mother and most importantly, an…