The Fall 2018 Still Point Arts Quarterly is a special issue titled "Four Freedoms Reinterpreted." Editor Christine Brooks Cote writes in her introduction that the concept was inspired by Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 speech in which he specifically identified freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. She explains:

"Two years later The Saturday Evening Post  published four paintings by Norman Rockwell, each devoted to one of the Four Freedoms. There were accompanying essays written by respected writers of the day. Now seventy-five years later, it seems appropriate to revisit these 'essential' freedoms and think about where we stand today. . . This special issue is filled with art and writing from people who have something to say about freedom. It is both a celebration of who we are as a country and a cry for attention to the ways in which the foundations of our country are threatened. I hope you will be moved by this outpouring of love for our country and concern for our future."

Readers can view a generous sample of the publication here.

Teachers and mentors to young readers and writers, check out the NewPages Young Writers Guide, a listing of publications written for and accepting submissions by young writers as well as contests for young writers. This is an ad-free space and all listings are vetted for ethical treatment of minors submitting writing for publication and contests and using the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act guidelines. If you know of a publication or contest we could list here, please contact us. Encourage young writers to read and submit their writing!

There's something just quintessentially summer about the Cut Bank 88 cover, with artwork by David Miles Lusk, "Beach Snack." Indeed!

The Main Street Rag Summer 2018 cover continues the summer theme - at least for us here in Michigan, motorcycles are not year-round. Photo by Editor M. Scott Douglass.

And, perhaps a farewell to summer, this beautiful photograph on the cover of the summer 2018 issue of Able Muse: A Review of Poetry, Prose & Art, "Young Dragon's Flight" by Anja Osenberg, is just one of the works for this issue's featured art, "A Flight Theme."

I can't look a the cover of the September 2018 issue of Poetry Magazine without the intro riff to "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix cuing up in my head. Sweetly enough, the inside front cover features a tribute quote from Donald Hall (1928-2018): "The world is everything and that is the case. / Now stop your blubbering and wash your face." (Poetry, February 1979)

Keeping with colors, I love how Issue 20 of True Story: 6'3" Man with Doritos by Matthew Clark is actually the color the cheesy Doritos dust leaves stuck to your fingers long after eating them (illustration by Lucy Engelman). So, no problem munching on a bag while you read this issue!

The Missouri Review Summer 2018 cover features the unique photography of Libby Oliver from the Soft Shells series. Visit her website, and check out the Sidewalk Series - slightly disturbing but mostly funny as hell.

Broadsided Press has recently added a section to their site: Teach. It's a growing area of their work and will feature lesson plans for teachers interested in using broadsides in the classroom. It currently includes plans for Grades 6-8 and Adults/University: "Broadsides as Adventure and Architecture," "Writing a Photographic Poem," and "Graduate Poetry Workshop - 4 Weeks on Ekphrasis." The content is appropriate for working in a structured educational setting or in a community center or other organization of writers. For teachers, Broadsided Press welcomes you to share your lesson plan/article for publication consideration.

Edify Fiction is seeking submissions for two upcoming themed issues. For the December 2018 issue, they are accepting pieces surrounding the topics of Christmas, holiday, and winter. Their January 2019 issue looks at all things teen - from teen writers to bullying, peer pressure, emotions, first love, best friends - and more.

When I asked Edify Fiction Editor Angela Meek [pictured] about the teen-themed CFS, she replied, “I was inspired recently to make a themed issue about teen concerns because of a story we recently accepted that incorporated the author's own experiences as a teen and how those challenges shaped him. As a mom with a teen who is starting to stretch those wings and find her way in the world, I thought it would be a good time to have a dedicated issue.”

The call is a broad one, and Meek says they want it that way: “We're pretty open as long as it is has a teen flavor to it - growing up, relationships, bullying, sports, siblings, dealing with parents, dealing with living in a divorced family, acceptance, school - you name it. As long as it is related to teens in some manner, any topic is welcomed. We also would love to feature as many teen writers as possible - from never-been-published to those writers who know their way around the writing world.”

For more information, check out Edify Fiction on Facebook and Twitter. Their general submissions guidelines can be found here, which apply for the themed issues as well. Deadline for both these themed issues is October 31, 2018.

American Life in Poetry: Column 702
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

David Mason is the former poet laureate of Colorado and a professor of literature and writing at Colorado College. His most recent book is The Sound: New and Selected Poems, from Red Hen press. I very much like the way in which the muddy boots both open and close this poem, in which not one but two biographies are offered to us in less than a hundred words.

The Mud Room

His muddy rubber boots
stood in the farmhouse mud room
while he sat in the kitchen,
unshaven, dealing solitaire.

His wife (we called her Auntie)
rolled out dough in the kitchen
for a pie, put up preserves
and tidied, clearing her throat.

They listened to the TV
at six, he with his fingers
fumbling the hearing aids,
she watching the kitchen clock.

Old age went on like that,
a vegetable patch, a horse
some neighbor kept in the barn,
the miles of grass and fences.

After he died his boots
stood muddy in the mud room
as if he'd gone in socks,
softly out to the meadow.

We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2017 by David Mason, "The Mud Room." Poem reprinted by permission of David Mason. Introduction copyright ©2018 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.

CutBank 88 features the winner and runners up of their annual Big Sky, Small Prose Flash Contest, as selected by Judge Zach VandeZande:

1st Place Winner
"Water" by Allie Mariano [pictured]

Read more about Allie Mariano and the judge's comments here.

Runners Up

"A Posture of Grace" by Kim McCrea
"Holding His Fire" by Daryl Scroggins

Big Sky, Small Prose: Flash Contest 2018 is open until September 30. Read the full details here.

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their May/June Short Story Award for New Writers. This competition is held three times a year and is open to all writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation greater than 5000. The next Short Story Award competition will start on September 1: Short Story Award for New Writers. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

1st place goes to Victoria Alejandra Garayalde of San Juan, Puerto Rico, who wins $2500 for “American Dream.” Her story will be published in Issue 104 of Glimmer Train Stories. This will be her first print publication. [Photo credit: Rebecca Titus]

2nd place goes to Jenzo DuQue of Brooklyn, NY, who wins $500 for “How to Harbor an Illegal.” His story will also be published in an upcoming issue, increasing his prize to $700. This will be his first print publication.

3rd place goes to Sena Moon of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who wins $300 for “Sugar.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Deadlines soon approaching!

Fiction Open: August 31 (grace period extends through September 10)
Glimmer Train hosts this competition twice a year, and first place wins $3000 plus publication in the journal, and 10 copies of that issue. Second/third: $1000/$600 and consideration for publication. This category has been won by both beginning and veteran writers - all are welcome! There are no theme restrictions. Word count generally ranges from 3000 – 6000, though up to 28,000 is fine. Stories may have previously appeared online but not in print. Click here for complete guidelines.

Very Short Fiction Award: August 31 (grace period extends through September 10)
This competition is also held twice a year, with first place winning $2000 plus publication in the journal, and 10 copies of that issue. Second/third: $500/$300 and consideration for publication. It’s open to all writers, with no theme restrictions, and the word count range is 300 – 3000. Stories may have previously appeared online but not in print. Click here for complete guidelines.

I think most of us know some old home - a beautiful relic of an era long gone by that we believe holds family stories as well as secrets. And, sadly, we also watch many such structures rot away, lost in court battles or just cost of upkeep, often times being razed with whole histories erased with them. Georgia-based writer and documentary photographer Kathleen Galvin followed one such home for over a decade and tells the story of her attempts to salvage its history in Temptation to Trespass: A Photo Essay published in Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments. Though the end result may not provide all the stories and secrets, such efforts give a last chance, perhaps a final story, to these great community structures.