What We’re Talking About in Issue 0703 (March 2023)
The complete table of contents
as it appears in the March 2023 issue of Blank Spaces.
from the editor—We Are The Sum of Our Stories
shameless — In The Water That Know Me Best, Jessie Carson explores the loss of her father and how the lake she loves embraces her grief in a way that defies time.
Andrew Lindsay shares a tender recounting of one who remains a pillar of happiness in his life through his tribute piece, Brown-Haired Nostalgia.
In Demons of Damascus, Dennis Stein recounts the powerful and haunting story of a Syrian refugee, told to him after forging a relationship with the local electronics shop owner.
red solo cup — Rob Omura builds a poetic narrative around the 1971 oil on masonite painting in his poem On Kurelek’s Not Going Back to Pick up a Cloak; If They are in the Fields.
One of the most difficult aspects of growth is knowing whether something is a true change within us or if our behaviour is an impulsive, knee-jerk reaction. Paul Edward Costa's poem There’s Wisdom in the Crimson Mural is an attempt to explore this moment of reflection and personal development.
Inspired by a friend's mother and grandmother who, according to them, were just trying to help prepare for the birth of a baby girl, Karen Walker shares her hybrid poem Things Awaiting the Baby.
flash fiction — In Gym Class, Daryl Bruce captures the emotional acceptance of a boy understanding he will never be the son his father wanted him to be.
In Some Books of the Future, Tom Ball allows us to listen to a conversation between a writer and his companion as they discuss books and kindness.
Pauline Shen invites us to experience the childhood adventures that brought two cousins together in her gentle and poignant telling of Jubilee.
fiction — Months after a murder-suicide left him sidelined with PTSD, a seasoned police officer uses Instagram photography as a way to contain his trauma and conquer its source. In Ronald Zajac’s Rembrandt of Raindrops, the closer the protagonist gets to the scene of the crime, the more he realizes another, deeper trauma is embedded in his pictures.
Sad Pictures in Ark of Steel by Jozef Leyden brings us along on a righteous journey as a journalist challenges an eccentric polluter who may just hold the evasive answers to the investigator’s dark family history.
In her unusual fable, The Day Lonnie Saw Three Unicorns, Suzanne Johnston shares a tale about a travelling salesman who is desperate to prove his worth to his adoptive son, finding a glimmer of hope on a hidden farm.
different strokes — A Collection of Rising is the 11th instalment of Erica Helder’s Inks Collection, an ongoing project that seeks to tell the stories that make up the human experience, connecting us to each other through art.
story matters — Regular contributor Gail M. Murray shares her thoughts on book launches as an encouragement to any author gearing up to release a new book in her essay To Launch or Not to Launch.
between the lines — Gail M. Murray brings us a review of The Ex-Boyfriend Yard Sale by Canadian actress, writer, and comedian Haley McGee.
write prompt challenge winner — Write prompt winner Eric Lee presented a strong contest entry with his story We Have Created a List of Things for Paul to Do and There is No Paul, one that the judges called “elegant” and “well executed.”
final word — Through his signature style of ‘not quite poetry; not quite prose’ Tom Reynolds challenges us with his piece, Fancy That, to embrace the value of our voice and story, reminding us that, in the end, it is all we have.
