Issue 86.3/4 Table of Contents

Many readers of this blog know … or at least suspect … that I have a side hustle as editor of the century-old literary magazine, North Dakota Quarterly. It’s not a great hustle, by the way, in that it doesn’t pay me anything, but it’s increasingly become something that I enjoy almost as much as writing this blog.

This week issue NDQ 86.3/4 went off to our publishing partners at the University of Nebraska Press. We’re pretty proud of this issue and excited to get it into the hands of our readers. 

Look for this issue to appear in mid to late November. As a bit of a tease, find the table of contents below, and, if it looks cool to you, consider sharing this on social media or at least telling your friends, partners, colleagues, and random strangers. It goes without saying that NDQ relies on our outstanding contributors, subscribers, and, of course, editors, to thrive.

If you write, please consider submitting to NDQ, if you read, consider subscribing or downloading volume 85 for free.  If you just want to know what’s up, then check out our blog with lots of cool content here.

Table of Contents

Poetry Editor’s Note Paul Worley

Seeking Beatrice Ryan Stander

Therese and Isabelle Rock Isle at Low Tide Patrick Meighan

Pencil Toccata Cicadas Flower of Stone Elina Petrova

Lifeblood Wild Cat Night Candles Scott T. Hutchison

I Was Walking Waking to Winter Becky Kennedy

The rain Marcus Amaker

Weed Matthew J. Spireng

Forgetting John Talbird

Glass Mark Parsons

Hometown Visitor Remembering My Children David R. Solheim

American Bounty The wolves have done their worst John Sibley Williams

How We’ll Walk Kevin Rabas

Waking in the city Ira Rosenstein

The Anna Nicole Smith Poem When Plato Shows Me the Sun Danielle Nicole Byington

Harper and Marisol Megan Howell

After the National People’s Congress Approved the Constitution Amendments, Which Removes Presidential Term Limits and Allows Xi to Rule China Forever Kuo Zhang

A Drone Is Nothing Like the Sun Jeanette Beebe

“Who Am I That I Am Not on Trial or in Prison?” Ace Boggess

Dorothy at Fifty Joel Allegretti

From Recent History David Dephy

Nine Months After the Burning of Club Boccaccio McAllen, Texas (1979) Marlene Galván

Comfort Food Victoria Bañales

Unvarnished Amalia Dillin

Today at the thrift store Bush League in Youth Soccer Kevin J. McDaniel

Jorgia Wants a Chapter Storey Clayton

Faust The Other Sister Harry Newman

This Goes On The Bowerbird Angie Mason

Picture-Happy Mind Ibis Peter Specker

Chameleon Robin Gow

Dead Deer Mattias Carosella

Not a Love Song Cloudscape Donna Pucciani

Homeward Midnight Navidad Lorraine Caputo

Heat Waves in the Ice Age Wind Power Robert S. King

Heat Wave with Sunflowers Michael Rogner

Somnabulant Nation Five and Infinite Precipitation Jane Rosenberg LaForge

Scientific Methods James Sallis

To Call Your Own The Cancer, Mija, is a Revenge on the Body Spanish Lessons/ My Tongue Does Not Form the Shape of My Mother’s Tongue Christine Amezquita

Courageous Living Ella Alkiewicz

Baby Teeth M. M. Adjarian

Stress Test Gaby Bedetti

birthday Corbett Buchly

Conception Jodie Mortag

Cycle Unbroken Anna Whiteside

A Week of Zen Wendy Wisner

Child Who Won’t Sleep Where There Is No Darkness The Voice of Blood Catherine Carter

A Poem to the Killing Virgin Aaron Wallace

There is no beyond This poem is not Here is the watery grave Peter Grandbois

Secreto/Secret Espejo de agua/ Mirror of Water Palpitante semilla/ Pulsating Seed Xánath Caraza (translated by Sandra Kingery)

When the Water Recedes Bonnie Larson Staiger

Byron elégeti Shelley tetemét a tengerparton/Byron Burns Shelley’s Corpse on the Shore Gábor Lanckor (translated by Gabor G Gyukics)

Collection: Yala (Land) For my people Nuestras Abuelas Camino/Way Nii (Hermano Luna) Sue Haglund

Untitled Nate Preus

provenance choose not commandment Ignacio Carvajal

Divide the Days John Leonard

Defunct Gale Acuff

Felix Culpa Virginia Wiles

Saving Eros from the Middleman Miriam O’Neal

The Last Freight Train Lori Horvitz

Dangerous Currency Loose Tooth Sara Dovre Wudali

On Moving Out of My First Apartment Michael Homolka

Stairs Brandon Krieg

The Car Wash Gilian Neiditch

Abel Matthew Sisson

The Museum of Egyptian History Don Raymond

Swallow, Do Not Chew George Ryan

Copper Jazva Elaine Reardon

Semillas de esperanza/ Seeds of Hope Flores para el corazón/ Flowers for the Heart Xun Betan (translated by Sean Sell)

Badlands The knots we knit C. R. Resetarits

Threads from the Heart Sky Michelle Donahue

Playing with Cages #4506 Clelia O. Rodríguez

The Photographer Sofiul Azam

Burst Self-Portrait as ICE as Teenager Little Dream Nicholas Reiner

Lullaby For Bones Saint Pocahontas Trickster Story Jenny L. Davis

Ensnared In Heaven’s Nets Kathleen Gunton

Obelisk Jane Blanchard

We, the Many Marie-Andree Auclair

Anemia Circulating Vivian Wagner

Magician’s Assistant David B. Prather

Brief Elegy for William Harrold Kenneth Pobo

Obituary: Salvatore Cacosa John J. Trause

A short poem for my wife, my mother, and my unborn daughter Special Education, ACT prep, and Hephaestus Writing with the Devil John McDonough

For my daughter Tradition and the Individual Talent Olivia Lawrance

Red Schwinn Nicholas Mohlmann

Wearing Sadness Kip Zegers

Appetite After Chemo Norita Dittberner-Jax

Ordinary Language Philosophy David Hargreaves

critical invitation Carl “Papa” Palmer

Sonnet for a day like today Sonnet at that time of year William Joel

A Tax Thicket: 26 U.S.C. §§ Thomas E. Simmons

End Notes Rob Kenagy