What We’re Talking About in Issue 0601 (September 2021)
The complete table of contents
as it appears in the September 2021 issue of Blank Spaces.
from the editor—If You Can Dream It, Do It
shameless — In a tale from her childhood, M J Malleck shares the experience of crossing the Rainbow Bridge with her clever mother and sisters in Border Crossing.
— Hit the road with Meaghan Hackinen as she explores the therapy of cycling against the backdrop of fall in Autumn in the Prairies.
red solo cup — In his poems, Little Izzy from Poughkeepsie and Siberian Folk Dances, Salvatore Difalco mourns the distance a pandemic and a broken relationship has put between himself and his niece before having his sleep disturbed by the rude vehicles beyond his window.
— Penny L. Ferguson explores missed opportunity, mindfulness, escape, and writing in her lyrical poems, Silent Sax, Within, Through the Stars, and Winged Words.
flash fiction — Palm of My Hand by Cheryl Skory Suma captures the tender, teachable moments between a grandfather and his granddaughter.
— Brigid Cami's The Little Speaker proves that one man’s trash is certainly another man’s treasure.
— In The Drummer Boy, Melodie Corrigall presents a surreal scene that will leave you questioning what is real and what is imagined.
fiction feature(s) — Gabriel Munro invites us on a heartbreaking journey as a plague rages and insects mock the living in his tragic story, Abra-Cadaver.
— The Lift by Rod Carley delivers a humorous and strangely moving view of congregational and family drama as two brothers fight church politics to care for a lonely old woman ready to knock on heaven’s gate.
— Step, Swing, Slide, Stomp: The Tree Planter Returns by Jennifer Turney is a celebration of family and a glimpse into the lifestyle of northern tree-planters so visceral you can almost smell them and their hard work.
— Mark Halpern puts eccentric westerners in the east, using colourful characters to show what it means to embrace life and explore new possibilities in The G-Man, a fun story that celebrates unlikely friendships.
different strokes — Meditative Muses by artist Nicole Kagan is a powerful, limited-edition, hand-detailed series of prints that asks the viewer to pause, to reflect, and to breathe.
food of love — This Ain’t Cornball Crap by Paul Ruta shares the moment the author discovered country music had more to offer than twang and how his proclivity to rock and roll was forever changed by an introduction to the music of the late John Prine.
more than words — Amber Phillips combines her love of photography with a vulnerable telling of her journey through depression and anxiety in her photo essay/shameless article, The Compassion of Strangers | Out My Window.
make art not war — In Defining Space, interdisciplinary artist Emily Conlon uses shapes and patterns to express how memories are recalled: non-linear, ever-changing, and fragmented.
between the lines — Gail M. Murray brings us a review of To Kill a King by Canadian author, W. L. Hawkin.
write prompt challenge winner — Jennifer Turney presented a powerful and intimate contest entry with her story Flip It, one that the judges called “strong and memorable.”
