Author: mehdiokasi

  • Issue 17 is Here!

    —

    by

    mehdiokasi
    in

    We are excited to share the online publication of Issue 17 featuring new fiction, poetry, nonfiction, & art, including the winners of our inaugural writing contest on the theme of home.

  • I Don’t Read Aloud: An Excerpted Interview with Lydia Davis

    I Don’t Read Aloud: An Excerpted Interview with Lydia Davis

    —

    by

    mehdiokasi
    in

    By Kukuwa Ashun and Edyn Getz Purchase College welcomed MacArthur Fellowship Award winner Lydia Davis to campus on Thursday, September 24th. Before hosting a public reading and campus wide Q&A, Professor Okasi’s Editing & Production class had the opportunity to sit down and interview the author. She answered questions about the intimate literary world, her…

  • Female Representation in YA Literature

    Female Representation in YA Literature

    —

    by

    mehdiokasi
    in

    By Maggie McEvoy Young women are a driving force of the market, especially when it concerns Young Adult (YA) literature. When I think of YA literature, images of screaming fan-girls, Katniss Everdeen with her bow pulled taut, and Barnes & Nobel shelves filled with bright pink binding come to mind. When girls—especially teenage girls—love something,…

  • The Power of Image in Photography and Poetry

    The Power of Image in Photography and Poetry

    —

    by

    mehdiokasi
    in

    By Danielle McCormack Photography has been a continuous influence in my life. At a young age I would follow my mother around as she would take photographs of family occasions and weddings. Nowadays, everyone with an Instagram account and a smartphone considers themselves a photographer, but when I was twelve and first exploring the art…

  • Chasing the Muse (Without a Chaser?)

    Chasing the Muse (Without a Chaser?)

    —

    by

    mehdiokasi
    in

    By Kevin Domanski The link between writing and drinking is a tradition that has spanned centuries. Most writers are well aware of the tales of Hemingway drinking his way from Havana to Paris, Carver and Cheever spending more time at The Mill Bar than teaching at Iowa, Bukowski stumbling into and through readings; I could…

  • The Intersection of Rap and Poetry

    The Intersection of Rap and Poetry

    —

    by

    mehdiokasi
    in

    By James Siegel When asked about the biggest influences on my poetry, a few names spring to mind: Hart Crane, Berrymen, Dickinson, Stevens. But that response feels academic, the expected answer rather than the true one. That’s not to say that they did not actually influence my work, because they certainly did. It’s just that…

  • Young Adult Literature’s Race Problem

    —

    by

    mehdiokasi
    in

    By Ajani Bazile-Dutes Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, the author of the extremely popular novels, “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” hosted the National Book Awards last year on November 19th 2014. At the awards ceremony, he announced that Jacqueline Woodson had won in the category for young adult literature for her book, Brown Girl Dreaming,…

  • Summer Reading: Slowly & Scarcely

    Summer Reading: Slowly & Scarcely

    —

    by

    mehdiokasi
    in

    By Christopher Stewart Children all across America thrive in the summer time. It is a three-month break from classes, teachers, cafeterias, but not reading. Year after year American students save their assigned reading till the very last minute and proceed to exchange essays and SparkNote links before the first day of school, resulting in a…