February Spotlight
Yemassee Online’s February offerings of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry explore the contradictions of midwinter– the stillness and transience of both a world at rest and one taking root in order to take flight. Individually, some works may kindle new, compelling imaginings, while others offer respite from the literal and figurative chill that shape the winter season– its discordant days and long, confounding nights. As a curated selection, we hope they remind you of the best qualities literature can offer: small, insatiable lights that shine brighter together, and brightest in the dark.
Poetry: “fence” by Carol Lynne Knight
somewhere I have never been,
you have gone —
the eerie cave of dreamers
set free to roam
the mind’s nether lands.
Poetry: “As Far As I’m Concerned” and “But Understand this:” by Amanda Gaines
Princess Di looked best in bicycle shorts,
carnations are to prom as shame is to sex, &
everything tastes better with garlic.
Poetry: “Dawn and Dead Cherries” by Francine Witte
Smacks of light as pieces of morning
assemble. Dawn turns it all Pangea.
Fiction: “These Are Not My Beautiful Slippers” by Rich Ives
Alberto lives in a cigar tube. He made it himself out of leaves, and he’s sleeping, sheltered from rain and wind and from predators. In color, Alberto is dull. His thick heavy furry body and long narrow pointy arms make his head look as wide as his body, but there’s no illusion here.
Fiction: “Friday Morning, Long Island” by Michael Howerton
Sitting in bed this morning, wrapped in our blue and white sheets, I can see through the window the exact spot in the yard where I plan to build the studio. It will be our club house where I can paint and you can write and we can make love when the house is buzzing with children in the afternoons. We will be able to glimpse the sparkle of the Long Island Sound from the side window.
