By Andrew Nickerson In military tactics/strategy, many names have risen to prominence, only to fall later. However, one name has remained prominent for millennia: Sun Tzu, ancient general/tactician/strategist and author of The Art of War. This masterpiece has been venerated by everyone from students to teachers to historians, not just for its commonsense approach to … Continue reading Sun Tzu and Entertainment: Dennis the Menace’s Garden Party
You Will Scream It At The Clouds If You Don’t Say It
By Heather Box I've been to what feels like too many whiskey-drenched nights, filled with shock, loud laughs, tears, subtle nods, and people collapsing in their grief. The way people work to create a silver lining so immediately after someone dies hurts so bad. In all the deaths I’ve seen, I have yet to find … Continue reading You Will Scream It At The Clouds If You Don’t Say It
“B is for Bath” : An Alphabetical Retelling of the Bath School Massacre and its Legacy
By Abbey Toner A: Alphabet During elementary school, kids are aged 5-11. All elementary schoolers should, in theory, know how to read. They should learn the alphabet in preschool, at the ages of 3-4. In the 1920s, schools often combined all grades. During elementary school, kids would have been aged 5-14. Psychologists would say that … Continue reading “B is for Bath” : An Alphabetical Retelling of the Bath School Massacre and its Legacy
12 Days of the Holidays: “Christmas in Venice” by Benedicte Grima
The sirens began sounding at midnight, and then again at 6AM. I was in Venice, where my aunt Adelaide – aka Tadé - had invited me to spend Christmas with her and her Venetian friends. It had snowed heavily the previous day, so that San Marco’s Square was thickly carpeted, as were the red tile … Continue reading 12 Days of the Holidays: “Christmas in Venice” by Benedicte Grima
Neomedievalism: The Contemporary Era in Medieval Reflections
By Antonio Ambrosino When history repeats itself, the Middle Ages return in 2025 In the silent flow of modern days, a strange echo rises — as if the past, long buried, were whispering through the cracks of our present. Despite scientific and technological advances, our society reveals unsettling similarities with the medieval past. From Berlin’s … Continue reading Neomedievalism: The Contemporary Era in Medieval Reflections
My Time As A Hermit
By Michael Barrington After ten years as a busy religious missionary priest in Africa, I was driven by an internal compulsion to spend some time in silence, prayer, and solitude. I had spent three of those years in Nigeria, witness to unspeakable horrors and atrocities during its civil war. Delivering aid was a matter of … Continue reading My Time As A Hermit
November “The Thursdays” Contest: Silver Winner: “The Long November” by Ken Gosse
Dontcha just hate when Thanksgiving is latebecause Friday the First means the calendar’s cursedbut you’re so hurly-burly you start a week earlythen sit at the table and wait, wait, wait, wait! Ken Gosse usually writes short, rhymed verse using whimsy and humor with traditional meters. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, his … Continue reading November “The Thursdays” Contest: Silver Winner: “The Long November” by Ken Gosse
November “The Thursdays” Contest: Bronze Winner: “Pets” by Oleg Daugovish
The camp fire dies down, and so does the conversation. The darkness blacks out the imperfections of the dusty Californian chaparral. Under the Big Tree, four slumped silhouettes sit, dissolving the week’s worries with cold brews. “Woof, woof, woof!” cry chops the stillness, urgency increasing with every bark. “Where’s that dog’s owner?” Maura’s logic becomes … Continue reading November “The Thursdays” Contest: Bronze Winner: “Pets” by Oleg Daugovish
Born to die
By Erni-Szakács Szilárd Life and death are connected. They do not exist alone, only together with the other. Somebody who is born must die. This is the rule of life. But why are we born? And what is life? Life is a gift or a punishment? Why are we born without being asked? What is … Continue reading Born to die
13 Days of Halloween: Mannequins in the Hobbit Barn by S.G. Benson
When I purchased the old Shepard Place—one hundred sixty acres in northern Nebraska—I felt as if I’d stepped back in time. In 1925, Old Man Shepard ordered a house kit from the Sears & Roebuck catalog. It came by rail, arriving at the depot in town, about twenty-five miles away. Mr. Shepard and his brother … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: Mannequins in the Hobbit Barn by S.G. Benson
Academy of the Heart And Mind 