When I grip the hot neck between fingers and thumb as Doña Margo shows me, the chicken wakes, blinking and fluttering its wings.
Translating the Transnational: An Interview with Mike Fu
A discussion with the translator of Stories of the Sahara (Bloomsbury, 2020) on navigating between languages.
The End of the Beginning
Bats are the only mammals who have adapted to true and sustained flight. While their flying looks frenzied, it is, in fact, radically precise.
Snip
I sob for a moment into the nubby polyester and consider sucking my thumb. I try it but get no satisfaction.
Of All the Things I Cannot Do
A year is a long time in baby time. I’ve seen her go from a babe-in-arms to a proficient crawler to a walking machine.
Inferma
Not long ago and without notice I crossed the threshold between Miss and Ma’am.
A Month of Two Suns
I’m always breaking up with my boyfriend whom I love because I think I might want to be with a woman.
Milky Ways
When you were young, your mother would squeeze your breasts in the bath, ask if there was any milk while you shrieked.
Keep What You Have
I find that I can no longer recall the pitch of his voice, precisely, only those words on which it halted.
See the Memes, Cancel the Rent
I had just been laid off from my job, my roommate had bolted to his home country, and April rent was seeming dire as ever.
Between Screens: My Bathroom Desk
I didn’t choose the bathroom for its grandeur. The room is narrow and yellowed with a bathtub against the wall and cobwebbed windows above the toilet and sink.
Call for Submissions: Special Issue on UPRISING
Columbia Journal wants to read and publish your best work on the theme UPRISING. Submit!