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The Marvel of the World
The running feet belong to the little boy in the drab tunic. He runs past them all, then stops and turns. He runs to Innocent and looks up at… More
Somewhere Between
A lone figure on the yard: an Orderly pushing a sheet-covered body on a gurney. The gurney hits a bump on the sidewalk. An arm pops out from beneath… More
Catherine Wagner: Two Poems
Robins and cardinals blurt between furrows of storm. / A way energy has of being. It can caress itself. More
The Stew of Discontent
Part of the perennial problem with the Texas prison system stems from an inherent comprehension deficit. To use an idea of Alexander Solzhenitsynts, it seems we’ve lost capacity for… More
Illinois Abolishes the Death Penalty
The governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, argued in 2007 that the money could be better spent on providing drug treatment or extra police, which actually prevent crime. Such an… More
Commissary Day
The unthinkable happens: They call for another shot. There are not even ten people in the hyena den to fill a shot. All of us are either stack-holders or… More
Three Poems
With PEN’s Poetry Relay, a series of readings and conversations, we hope to trace the topography of influence that connects contemporary poets to their peers and predecessors. The relay… More
A Good Dude
The whites are loosely arranged by hometown and run together as a car, or collective. It’s like a gang, but with no real structure. White power inmates largely call… More
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