May 2025
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At Laurel Lake
by Beth Sherman I study Leila’s body as she swims to the raft. Her strokes smooth and sure, her tan arms a promise. Her body zigs away from the shore, her legs a fluttery moth. She is 13, her head filled with Taylor Swift songs and some boy she met at the mall. September. The… Continue reading
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Trastevere
by Nancy Byrne Iannucci He took me to Rome’s 13th rione.Wisteria extended its weathered armslike the candles that dripped onto my birthday cake.We walked and walked the ancient streetsin light, wine-blurry rain. Foggy questions mist-ified my mindas we sat to rest at Piazza Santa Maria.You should see it at night. Bellissimo.I spoke my Neapolitan Italianas… Continue reading
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At the Window
by John Grey Persistent rain,I open the curtains,dunk my facein the streetlight’s perforated glow. This is the wayto infiltrate the outside,with my nose against glass,a yellow-eyed ghost reflection, and half a nugget for a chin. From without,I must look likesome crazed nighthawk,in indeterminate pajamas, and three gold bars for a face. I do nothing to… Continue reading
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It Will Be Like This Forever: Grief’s Snow Days and the Power of Art
by Maggie Russell Yesterday, I found grief in the wordle. It was brief though. The wordle, that is. I guessed grief before I found the puzzle solution, brief. It’s odd that I produced grief first, having spent 20 years writing briefs. Grief has been on my mind lately. Not as much in missing someone, but… Continue reading
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Musings in a Polka Dot Bikini
by Christy Hartman The saleswoman convinced me that women my age could wear a two-piece. Retro-style, black with white polka dots. “You’ve earned those curves, wear them with pride.” Body-positivity is a peer pressure I had not anticipated. This morning I removed the tags from my new loose black cover-up and perched oversized sunglasses on… Continue reading
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Two Poems by Elliott Schwebach
Colorado I am a toddler in the pharmacy aislelooking for my mother on the edge of composureI’m catching bees with my father and baby brother near City Park, I think could that have really happened? I know I’m searching for some matter of fact big enough to hold on to Upon My Earth your affection,… Continue reading
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Call for Submissions
Welcome to January House Literary Journal! We are actively seeking submissions in all categories (poetry, art, and prose) for our Fall 2025 issue. We welcome submissions from writers and artists of all backgrounds, identities, and levels of experience. Whether raw or refined, traditional or experimental, intimate or political, we seek work that speaks with authenticity… Continue reading
January House Literary Journal 