The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Sparks, Rainbow Waterfalls, and Invisible Closets: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Coming Out
By Ren Martinez
QuailBellMagazine.com
I never realized I needed to come out of the closet. For most of my life, I didn’t even realize there was a closet.
Only that it was really dark in there. In the United States, there is nothing quite so rampant as sex. Next to Ford trucks and Law & Order episodes, sex is the most plentiful thing to be found, from billboards to commercials to movies to music. Even when I didn’t know what sex was, I knew it sold and everyone was looking to buy. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Sylvia's Storm
Words and Image by Christine Skelly
QuailBellMagazine.com
“I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.”
The calmest way Sylvia Plath described her life was with one of the most destructive forces of nature. An unstoppable storm which cannot be controlled, and one can only wait until it has finally passed through. I’ve had my own storms. Racing thoughts, emotions, feeling, and urges that my body conjured without my consent. I have felt more like a bird trapped in a tornado, flying and fighting to barely keep up with the maelstrom for a moment. And through the years of fighting my own body, feeling a lack of control over what my mind dictated, all I could take solace in was art. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Legendary Frost
Here's one interpretation of Robert Frost's legendary poem called "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." This poem was written in 1922 and is considered one of Frost’s seminal pieces of work. Its delicate beauty was recognized when Frost won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1923 for its creation. In case you need a reference, see the poem below:
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
I'm Nothing in Israel
By Mari Pack
QuailBellMagazine.com
Like many American Jews, I have a non-Jewish parent. My mother never converted, but she organized two B'nai mitzvahs, held fast over Yom Kippur, kept kosher for Passover and cooked Shabbat dinner. She raised two dark haired Jewish children. When our community shamed her for keeping a small Christmas tree through December, she took it down. No fuss. No drama. My mother forced my brother and I to attend Friday night services in a language she did not understand for almost twenty years. She gave my father the great gift of raising children in his own religion.
In short, she made us Jewish. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
"Death of a Mockingbird"
By Alex Carrigan
QuailBellMagazine.com What else is there to say about To Kill a Mockingbird? The 1960 novel by Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize and numerous other awards and is considered one of the greatest novels of the 20th century and the source for one of the best films of the 1960's. The novel, following young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in her small, Alabama town in the 1930's, was praised for its depiction of childhood, racism, and justice in a time where prejudice and segregation were the norm. The novel was also famous for the character of Atticus Finch, who became an ideal for “the good lawyer” and for being a good father. Lee was adamant to write a sequel, causing the public to view her as a prime example of a one-hit novelist. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Cyber Bullying: Mackenzie Motola
By Gillian Ludlow
QuailBellMagazine.com *Editor's Note: This is a part of a series of articles called "Fight Against Bullies" by Ms. Ludlow as a part of her capstone project for graduate school under the same name. For the first two, click here and here.
Mackenzie Motola, 16, is just your typical girl; she lives at home in with her mother in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and attends Midlothian High School. She is the youngest of four, and her three older brothers attended and graduated from Midlothian High School.
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Healing on the Tip of My Tongue
By Colleen Foster
QuailBellMagazine.com *Editor's Note: First appeared on On the Grid Zine March 5th, 2015.
When it comes down to the crumbly, excruciating essence of it, eating disorder recovery is about letting go. Not in the Frozen, Idina-Menzel-magically-belts-on-an-iceberg way, though there are certainly metaphors to be thawed out there.
But it’s about somehow letting go of the maladaptive disease that has lurked for too long. Except for a few spurts of asymptomatic détentes, it has been a ten-year war now. Winding in and out of academic institutions and jobs, even crossing international waters, like a particularly sad scene involving boxes of alfajores in a bathroom stall in a Buenos Aires airport terminal. Battles ending in loss, win, and stalemate with some dogged resiliency beneath the surface. On a good day, we call it being a “survivor.” On a downer, the label is “chronic” or “revolving-door case” of what currently is termed binge/purge anorexia but has diagnostically shifted over time. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
We, Who?
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” - Orwell "Everyone's a little bit racist." - Avenue Q We, as a nation, do not value all human life the same: Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, North Carolina; Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray and so many others; North Carolina’s drama around taking down the Confederate Flag. Privilege comes in many packages, but few so clear and tidy as whiteness. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
How I Survived the Hornet's Nest
By Gretchen Gales
QuailBellMagazine.com *Editor's Note: First appeared on Life in 10 Minutes on May 22nd, 2015.
“Touch it.” she demanded. It was 2nd grade and I was with my friend in the bathroom and there was a dead hornet hanging from an abandoned spider web. I was shaking, scared out of my wits, stomach churning. It didn’t matter whether it was dead or alive, I hated bees, wasps, hornets, whatever.
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Rated R For "Redemptive"
By Colleen Foster
QuailBellMagazine.com
With a sing-out to “Hello!,” the show’s opening number: Hello! My name is Colleen Foster! And I would like to share with you the most amazing Book!
Ever since they first saw the musical, my older brother (shall I call him Elder Foster?) and his girlfriend have been evangelical in their enthusiasm for The Book of Mormon. If the Tony tally has a golden leg on which to stand, the American Theatre Wing is in agreement: winning nine awards in 2011, the original Broadway production won over its converts. And now, slightly unexpectedly, I count myself among them. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
The Creepy Crawlies: Interview with Musician Robert Gently
The best kind of music is free music. At least that’s what musician Robert Gently lives by. Gently’s music strays far from Top 40 hits with its cryptic lyrics and spooky sounds, enticing listeners to peek into a realm of reoccurring nightmares.
Recently, Gently released his first album Creepy. Creepy is a combination of lo-fi, electronic, outsider music that bottles the essence of what it means to be a social outcast. Encounters listeners will have on this journey are skeleton pirates, threats of suicide, and a rabbit that has a really, really bad day. All of his songs (including the entire Creepy album) are available on his Bandcamp site free to the public for consumption. Gently scarcely reveals his true identity, and prefers to bury himself in the darkness. But today, he emerges from the shadows just long enough to conduct the following interview… The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Cyber Bullying
By Gillian Ludlow
QuailBellMagazine.com
During 1982 in Haverstraw, New York, James Talamini would play with a 10-year-old boy named Jose, whose family was from Puerto Rico. At that time, James said he didn’t know any better; he just played with Jose because it was someone to ride bikes with and James liked him.
One day, when James came home from school, he was on his way out the door to Jose’s when James’ mother told him that Jose had had an accident and that they wouldn’t be able to ride bikes anymore. It was only a few years ago that James found out the truth about Jose. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Panties: Not Just for Prisoners
By Alex Carrigan
QuailBellMagazine.com *Author’s Note: This article contains spoilers for Season 3 of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. If you have not watched the entire season, please do not read this article. Netflix’s hit drama (as the Emmy Awards now consider it) Orange is the New Black has drifted from its source material in a way that none of us could have predicted. Based on Piper Kerman’s memoir, the series, which follows the women of Litchfield Penitentiary, opened its third season by having Litchfield bought out by the private corporation, MCC. One of MCC’s changes to the prison is the installation of a sweatshop, where the prisoners get paid $1 an hour (compared to the 11 cents per hour the other jobs pay) to sew panties for the Whispers lingerie business. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Who Killed Christopher Sloce? A Self-Diagnosis
By Christopher Sloce
QuailBellMagazine.com *Editor's Note: First appeared in On the Grid Zine on June 26th, 2015.
The Sunday I self-diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, it was after I managed to retell the story of me totaling my car twice in one weekend. Once: dry, just a story. The other time, truth or dare when someone asked me if I’d ever nearly died. It was more performative, exaggerated. Well done? Not up to me to decide. After the first telling I said, “Sometimes I wonder if I don’t have PTSD.” After the second one, something clicked in me and I was emoting all over everything all night.
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Hallelujah
Why on earth did we ever stop worshiping the sun, the moon, and the elements? It was simple back then. The sun comes up: hallelujah. The sun goes down: hallelujah. The moon comes up and the moon goes down: hallelujah. Throw in the odd rain dance here and there and Bob’s your uncle - a fully functioning religion. It almost seems sensible to me to pray the sun, the moon, and the wind because those are natural things that we can see and feel. Well, maybe not moonbeams, you have to be a werewolf to feel them.
If I had the time or the inclination I wouldn’t mind travelling down to Stonehenge for a summer solstice or two. I can imagine myself dancing around the fire butt naked at the break of dawn and getting a buzz out of doing it Pagan style. Who knows, it might have been quite refreshing to live in such godless times. However, it’s hard to imagine a world without some kind of god in it, around it, or above it for that matter. I wonder how far back our Christian society would have to go before our current god didn’t exist. I’ve tried researching the subject but even Google can’t answer that question for me. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Dispelling the Ben Franklin Turkey Myth
Here at Quail Bell, we love nostalgia and history. So while most people are off enjoying fireworks, picnics, and parades, I decided to do some research of our country’s history. My search narrowed down to “fun facts” related to our Founding Fathers, more specifically, Ben Franklin.
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
DIY Says RIP to Repair IndustryMy liberal arts education has served me well. It’s true that I’ve never been paid to scan a poem or diagram a sentence, but a writer needs the broad range of knowledge, the critical skills and the ability to recognize what isn’t known (and how to remedy the gap) that all those supposedly irrelevant courses in philosophy, literature and folklore give you. |
|