January House
-
Concession
by Robert Schiff The speech is drafted—brief, polite, gracious. Tradition calls for writing two. One for victory. The other for this. Two are not necessary tonight. Twenty five years ago: The last Fall practice wrapped. Jordan packed up gear. That was the freshmen’s job. Coach coming over. Jordan saw and walked the other direction. Coach… Continue reading
-
Ghost Wedding
by Xingyu Zhao After Boey Kim Cheng’s Clear BrightnessApples, persimmons, and orange sponge cakesShining under halogen glare, and mother and IWatch Bai Wuchang toss his divining blocks, Inviting the spirits to enter papier-mâché Dolls dressed in red silk robes. Peachwood Tablets sway above their heads in humid wind, Pregnant with the scent of lilies and… Continue reading
-
Directive 23
by Jack Tisdale Belknap House. The Abner L’Argent Psychic College for Pantisocracy, Aspheterism, Benevolence, and Civil Liberty DE DESPERATIONE, FORTITUDO Staff Directive 23, October 5. From: Director Barringwell Re: Certain Items. Certain items have been brought to my attention. I address them here in no particular order. Were you therefore to read this from the… Continue reading
-
The Trophies in the Brother Mausoleum
by Emma Lagno wink their gold heads and smooth mouthless faces and flat fingerless hands. On the shelves, softback books on baseball and the wilderness crackle. They say how to be a boy when the plane goes down in the woods. How to hold a hatchet. How to swing a bat. It’s the inside of a basketball in here. The air brrrings… Continue reading
-
Two Poems by Charlie Brice
Winter Walk in PittsburghBlizzard so bright the sky turned dark.Pleasant-sting of flakes against cold-flushed cheeks. A parka-bundled neighborshovel-scrapes his front walk. We gesture to the snow, palms up, as if in prayer. I love it, I yell. Me too, he says. Cold-mist erupts from our mouths—incense to the gelid gods. I get worried, I say,… Continue reading
-
Wish List
by David Rodriguez Whether it’s one year or five decadesbefore we board an ark of silica ceramics,of flexible insulation blankets or whateverwe have (oak timber and tallow, like do-it-yourself Vikings), may I be donewith all my pettiness and grief,all my lists of tired resentmentsand whimpering dreams of renewal,bedside medicines, phone calls tono one and profile… Continue reading
-
Contributor Book: M F Drummy
Contributor M F Drummy, another of our Best of the Net nominees, has a debut poetry collection coming out in September/October. The book is available for pre-order at a discount through Main Street Rag bookstore: https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/perdido-m-f-drummy/ Advance praise for M F Drummy’s Perdido: Now and then you read poems that remind you how irreducible and… Continue reading
-
Two Contributor Books: Michael Dwayne Smith & Jeffrey Heath
Contributor Michael Dwayne Smith, recently selected as one of our Best of the Net nominees, has a new poetry collection coming out in September from Sheila-Na-Gig Editions. The book is available for pre-order now (20% off through 8/15!): https://sheilanagigblog.com/shop-sheila-na-gig-editions/michael-dwayne-smith-music/ In Shaking Music from the Angry Air, Michael Dwayne Smith keeps poems close to their source: mortality,… Continue reading
-
2026 Best of the Net Nominees
January House Literary Journal is excited to announce our nominations for the 2026 Best of the Net anthology. The Best of the Net is an awards-based anthology designed to grant a platform to a diverse and growing collection of writers and publishers who are building an online literary landscape that seeks to break free of traditional publishing. Congratulations and… Continue reading
-
Conversations With My GP
by Letty McHugh Would you describe your experience as dizziness, light-headedness, or vertigo? My brain has broken and now I’m constantly aware I am a stationary body on a spinning planet in a spinning galaxy in a spinning universe. I would describe it as that bit on a roller coaster when you pass the peak… Continue reading
January House Literary Journal 