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Best Poem Winner: 99% of the Bootstraps Modeled after Matthew Olzmann’s poem “My Invisible Horse and the Speed of Human Decency” by Jonathan Krystopolski
Best Short Story Winner: grocery shopping by Kelleigh Stevenson
Best Essay Winner: I hate translating. by Elizaveta Skulskaia
From the Fallout Shelter
Penn State Harrisburg's Literary Arts Magazine
Current Issue
From the Managing Editor, Cayla Garman
2023-2024 Visual Arts
2023-2024 Nonfiction
Best Nonfiction Winner: Sassafras by Amy Colleen
2023-2024 Fiction
Best Fiction Winner: Beyond the Veil by Noah Massari
A Day in the Life of a Teenage Addict by Emily Lynne Keim
2023-2024 Poetry
Best Poetry Winner: Growing Poor in the House My Father Built by Matteo Ginder
Academy of American Poets Prize Winner: Remembrance by Caitlyn Henzie
Academy of American Poets Prize Runner-Up: Dawn by Ashon Calhoun
Academy of American Poets Prize Honorable Mention: James by Christen Heiser
Academy of American Poets Prize Honorable Mention: A Favorite Book by Kyle Love
Academy of American Poets Prize Honorable Mention: My 6 x 8 Foot Life by August Mallott
Academy of American Poets Prize Honorable Mention: 5¢ Cigars by Alden Murphy
A Little Girl and Her Duck Against the World by Danika Kuraica
A Steamfitter’s Early Morning in NYC by Kyle Love
An Unfamiliar Path by Angelina Memmi
Comfort by Angelina Memmi
Crestfallen by Emelia Heisey
Devout by Emelia Heisey
El Perro de Piedra by Carolina Hernández
Forgotten Pages by Kyra Hill
I see you in by Elizaveta Mikhailovna Skulskaia
i was a girl by Elizaveta Mikhailovna Skulskaia
Memories in Hue by Angelina Memmi
My solitude is not one of a loner by Elizaveta Mikhailovna Skulskaia
Ode to the Monster Living Under My Bed by Kaitlyn Klein
Of those who lost and those who never have by Elizaveta Mikhailovna Skulskaia
Reflective by Angelina Memmi
Reminiscing and Other Things to Do at a Thrift Store by Caitlyn Henzie
Salk is an artist by Nico Acabajon
Taking up space by Ashon Calhoun
The World Just Watches by Sumana Moosavi
Thinking about the Concept of Grecian Fate while Dooming My Friend to Death in Dungeons & Dragons by Nico Acajabon
Watermelon by Ava Amato
Wounded by Aniya Williams
2023-2024 Contributors’ Notes
Past Issues
2022-2023 Issue
2022-2023 Visual Arts
2022-2023 Visual Arts Editor’s Statement
Best Visual Arts Winner: Disturbed Individual by Logan Schweiker
Alien by Long Nguyen
Anime Girl 1 by Abhishek Mahakal
Eyes by Ashon Calhoun
Idle Cows by Ryan Mellinger
Nostalgia by Wanhua Cai
Opportunity by Long Nguyen
The Orange Ocean by Wanhua Cai
The Shadow by Long Nguyen
Waikiki Sunset by Justine Shultz
2022-2023 Nonfiction
2022-2023 Nonfiction Editor’s Statement
Best Essay: Imagine a Horse by Amy Colleen
The Unattainable Luxury of Home by Elizaveta Skulskaia
2022-2023 Fiction
2022-2023 Fiction Editor’s Statement
Best Short Story Winner: When it Rained in Berlin by Chandler Dugal
Eau de Violence by Luke Foster
Fine China You Never Use by Lauren Krakowski
Forget Me Not by Emily Keim
One Small Step for Dog by Angelina Memmi
Rules of the Woods by Ashley Green
2022-2023 Poetry
2022-2023 Poetry Editor’s Statement
Best Poem Winner: Wind-Up by Samantha Knipple
Academy of American Poets Prize Winner: At the Skeet Shoot the Day After Sandy Hook by Cayla Garman
Academy of American Poets Prize Runner-Up: Dreadful Wait by Aleksa Ley
Academy of American Poets Prize Runner-Up: Ladies love puncture-hole pink by Lauren Halbruner
Academy of American Poets Prize Runner-Up: Securing Our Spots by Andi Moritz
Concrete Haiku 1 by Timothy David Smith
Edolie by Kaitlyn Klein
Film by Yusri Zafri
Gold by Elizaveta Skulskaia
I’m Learning Your Language by Elizaveta Skulskaia
Misery Loves Company by Samantha Knipple
One-Night Stands by Nathaniel Price
S T A I N E D by Nathaniel Price
The Common Courage by Chandler Dugal
The Day Before by Nathaniel Price
The Landlord Special by Ashley Green
2022-2023 Contributors’ Notes
2021-2022 Issue
2021-2022 Visual Arts
2021-2022 Visual Arts Editorial Statement
Best Visual Arts Winner: In Her Mind by Wiam Charioui
A Day in the Meadow by Heather Witherow
Bamboo Guru by Heather Witherow
Below a Tree by Oscar Cartagena
Checkmate: A Companion Piece to the Scholar’s Mate by Brendan Christ
Honest Abe by Heather Witherow
Might of Kokuryu by Dyani Kennedy
Oh Captain, My Captain by Heather Witherow
Oh Deer . . . I Was Spotted by Heather Witherow
Peace Pole by Oscar Cartagena
Sereni-Tree by Heather Witherow
Tall Tower by Zachary Neal
The Oasis by Zachary Neal
Wings of an Angel by Heather Witherow
2021-2022 Nonfiction
2021-2022 Nonfiction Editorial Statement
Best Essay Winner: I hate translating. by Elizaveta Skulskaia
Musings of an Atheist’s Daughter by Kelleigh Stevenson
2021-2022 Fiction
2021-2022 Fiction Editorial Statement
Best Short Story Winner: grocery shopping by Kelleigh Stevenson
Best in Breed: A Mimic of “Mazes” by Ursula K. LeGuin by Angelina Memmi
Dog on a Leash by Dustin Hyder
Excerpt from I Wanna Be the Hero by Dyani Kennedy
Wait Till It Blooms by Zian Lyu
What’s Your Major? by Ashleigh Cummings
2021-2022 Poetry
2021-2022 Poetry Editorial Statement
Best Poem Winner: 99% of the Bootstraps Modeled after Matthew Olzmann’s poem “My Invisible Horse and the Speed of Human Decency” by Jonathan Krystopolski
AAP Prize Winner: A Bicycle Complaining about its Underusage by Alain Izabayo
AAP Prize Finalist: Coming of Age During a Pandemic by Cayla Garman
AAP Prize Finalist: Holistic Care for Unwell Girls by Kelleigh Stevenson
AAP Prize Finalist: In Vino Veritas by Carolina Hernández
AAP Prize Finalist: Poem for Geisha by Emily Pettet
AAP Prize Finalist: Scapegoats by Munachiso Nwachukwu
AAP Prize Finalist: Whale Shark by Sophie Bond
a tale of two rosebuds after Salvador Dali’s My Wife Contemplating Her Own Flesh, 1945 by Kelleigh Stevenson
Authors by Kyle Loucks
excerpts from the letter i never sent by Maddie Steverman
Final Watch by Eric Pochodzay
Grandpa by Jonathan Krystopolski
How to Make a Quilt by Emily Pettet
Ignite or Extinguish by Myah Koepfer
In a World of Shadows by Kelleigh Stevenson
In Dedication to Strange People by Jesse Cristoforo
In Silent by Ena Tafur
My Mind is a Forest of Thoughts by Angelina Memmi
Nacimos para ser libre, no para ser asesinadas (We were born to be free, not murdered) by Carolina Hernández
Our Bread and Butter: The Grocery List by Carolina Hernández
Thanks Dad by Jonathan Krystopolski
The Bed Room Modeled after Shara McCallum’s poem “The Art Room” by Emily Pettet
The Grass Whistle War of 2009 (Colorized) by Jonathan Krystopolski
The Idealist & The Realist by Myah Koepfer
The Scholar’s Mate by Brendan Christ
The Summer We Di(et)ed by Kelleigh Stevenson
They/Them by Elizaveta Skulskaia
To that light by Ena Tafur
Transactional by Elizaveta Skulskaia
Welcome to Covid College Inspired by Julia Kasdorf’s “Nights Like This” by Alaina Moran
2021-2022 Contributors’ Notes
2020-2021 Issue
2020-2021 Visual Arts
2020-2021 Visual Arts Editorial Statement
Best Visual Arts Winner: My Power by Aliza Jane
A Nostalgic Drive by Heather Witherow
The Rainbow Quilt by Teagan Nevada
Feminists in New Age by Yan Qu
Harry Pastel Potter by Heather Witherow
Our Serene World by Dhanvi Meda
Encounter by Jesse Goranson
Hidden Expression by Urwah Chaudhary
An Ex-Seal-Ant Mug by Heather Witherow
Sheikah Link and Zelda Cosplays by Koen Zimmerman
The Beauty Above by Jailyn Figueroa
Space Doggo by Aliza Jane
Feast and Famine by Julia Wanner
2020-2021 Nonfiction
2020-2021 Nonfiction Editorial Statement
Best Essay Winner: The Dauntless Explorer by Tammy Drager
A Thank You to the Person Who Broke Me by Mary Kate Penczkowski
Against the Tide by Kelleigh Stevenson
2020-2021 Fiction
2020-2021 Fiction Editorial Statement
Best Short Story Winner: The Escapists by Emily Dempsey
The Party by Evan Attivo
Saturday, 6:15 a.m. by Brieanna Carr
It’ll Work by Brieanna Carr
Falling Into Winter by Caitlyn Ross
Atrophy of a Marriage by Caitlyn Ross
Dead to Me: A Bluebeard Retelling by Kristina Stokes
East Coast Swing by A.L. Wright
2020-2021 Poetry
2020-2021 Poetry Editorial Statements
AAP Prize Winner: Dance to the Music of Justice by Nabin Adhikari
AAP Prize Runner-Up: Save the Date by Madaline Hoy
AAP Prize Honoree: Out Like a Lamb by Kelleigh Stevenson
AAP Prize Honoree: What Was I Supposed to Say? by Brieanna Carr
AAP Prize Honoree: Run Us Justice Not Death by Tyreese Christopher Smith
Best Poem Winner: As You Wish by Emily Dempsey
❚❚ /▲ by Brieanna Carr
An open letter to my [role unspecified] by Naomi Detwiler
Omission by Madaline Hoy
What Muse by Aliza Jane
Scents of You to Make Sense of You (and the fake flowers on my kitchenette) by Myah Koepfer
Pencils by Myah Koepfer
I Kiss the Sky by Luke Kohutiak
Give me Something by Jonathan Krystopolski-Czernics
Sleepfull by Jonathan Krystopolski-Czernics
Chromatic by Jonathan Krystopolski-Czernics
Questions from a Heavy Hand by Tristan Shaffner
The First Official Letter to the Baby I Didn’t Carry by Justine Shultz
Yurievitch by Elizaveta Skulskaia
They’re Fighting Again by Elizaveta Skulskaia
My Tricolour by Elizaveta Skulskaia
Second Person Singular by Elizaveta Skulskaia
An Opened Book and A Conservative Book Burner by Kelleigh Stevenson
A Pisces’ Place in the Sky by Kelleigh Stevenson
This is Never Going to Work but You’re a Masochist and I am a Piece of Paper by Julia Wanner
2019-2020 Issue PDF
2018-2019 Issue
POEMS
Editorial Statement from Poetry Editor Kenneth Nolan III
AAP Prize Finalist – Achromatopsia by Rachel Lenich
AAP Prize Finalist – Thoughts of a Flower by Devita Mohandeo
AAP Prize Finalist – Where Do Forsaken Dreams Go by Elizabeth Bell
AAP Prize Runner Up – Medusa Speaks of Jealousy by Leisa Kilby
AAP Prize Runner Up – Scarecrows Have Sticks Up Their Asses by Emily Dempsey
AAP Prize Winner – Father Figure by Emma Bankert
Awareness by Elizabeth Lynch
Burnt Out Christmas Lights by Austin Shay
Cherry Blossom by Kelleigh Stevenson
Dexter’s Jungle by Leisa Kilby
Don’t Say It: A Villanelle by Kristina Stokes
Inside the Walls: A Sestina by Kristina Stokes
Little Fire Rat by Valerie Frigerio
Love Poem by Madaline Hoy
My Child by Alex Hedly
Oxygen Therapy by Emily Dempsey
September 2nd, 2007 by Kenneth Nolan III
The Garden of Two Eves by Kenneth Nolan III
Tillie Klimek’s Protégé by Leisa Kilby
We’re Open by Elizabeth Barrantes
Worth by Raymond Lehman
Winner – Bitter Cold by Cassidy Snyder
Rebirth by Camryn Shope
ARTWORK AND PHOTOS
Editorial Statement from Visual Arts Editor Jessica Mele
ESSAYS
Editorial Statement from Nonfiction Editor Jessica Mele
Best Essay – I Started Running by Kristina Stokes
What They Don’t Tell You About Car Crashes by Ariel Gardner
Kikko by Greggory Sullivan
What I Learned While Elbow Deep in A Deer by Valerie Frigerio
SHORT STORIES
Editorial Statement from Fiction Editor Sam Bixler
Best Short Story – Dead-People Eyes by Emily Dempsey
The Process by Mallory McCurdy
Montauk by Kenneth Gatten III
Haven by Sam Bixler
A Social Experiment by Kristina Stokes
…And the Six Dwarves by Ayesha Martin
One Last Dance by Camryn Shope
Relapse by Kaitlyn Dillon
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES
Interview with Kelleigh Stevenson by Poetry Editor Kenneth Nolan III
Entire Issue (Flipbook Version)
2017-2018 Issue
2018 ARTWORK AND PHOTOGRAPHY
ESSAYS
Editorial Statement by Elijah Hayes-Olivera, Essay Editor
ROHI BY SALLY CHOUEKA
BUYING A FIRST HOUSE: SO MUCH MORE THAN A PURCHASE BY CAROL KARL
PRETTY? MAYBE. BY FATIMA KHAN
WINNER- FINDING FAITH IN CHILDHOOD FANTASY BY CAMRYN SHOPE
HIDDEN BEAUTY BY ABBI ST. CLAIR
POEMS
Editorial Statement by Rebecca Bestwick, Poetry Editor
THE YEAR THAT NOTHING HAPPENED BY AUSTIN SHAY
A CHILD’S WISHLIST BY HUZEIFA AMIJI
The Stranger in the Mirror by Kristina Stokes
HERE I SIT BY MASON BRANDT
Race Against the Clock Face by Tyler Treski
AAP WINNER- SATURN DEVOURS HIS SON BY EMILY DEMPSEY
WINNER- N.Y. SEASONS BY ELIJAH HAYES-OLIVERA
SHE BREATHES BY FATIMA KHAN
A MODERN ROMANCE BY DAULTON LEASE
HUNTERS IN THE SNOW BY JESSICA MELE
NIGHTS LIKE THESE BY TRISTAN MOENTER
SUFFOCATE ME BY SAVANNAH MOSS
A PART BY ISIAH SAEZ
FOREST BY SITI NUR HANNANY MD SALEHUDDIN
LET’S IGNORE THE SCIENCE BEHIND THINGS BY SITI NUR HANNANY MD SALEHUDDIN
HURRICANE BY AUSTIN SHAY
I AM THE SUN BY ELLA SIMCOX
SHORT STORIES
Editorial Statement by Greggory Sullivan, Fiction Editor
ISLAND BY MASON BRANDT
GAZEBO BY SALLY CHOUEKA
GLOVES BY SALLY CHOUEKA
STRAWBERRY EYES BY TARA GOLTHI
WINNER-OTTO BY FATIMA KAHN
THE INNOCENT AND THE DAMNED BY JESSICA MELE
DADDY SAID BY CALLIE STOUFFER
ENTIRE ISSUE (FLIPBOOK VERSION)
2016-2017 Issue
Artwork and Photos
2017 Artwork and Photos
Editorial Statement by Kristian Beverly, Visual Arts Editor
Essays
Editorial Statement by Nonfiction Editor Nicholas Hostetter
Winner – An Endless Cycle by Sara K. Stevenson
Itchy by Alexander Brown
Fun Room by Jordan Ehring
Perkasie’s Ghosts by Claire Meler
I Never Saw the Way You Left by Taylor Melhorn
Leap of Faith by Asha Danzot
The Breaking of Everything Else by Maria Wilson
Poems
Editorial Statement by Poetry Editor Maria Wilson
Winner — Broken Bottle by Britney Buterbaugh
Winner, Academy of American Poets Prize — Like Clockwork by Sam Bixler
Honorable Mention, Academy of American Poets Prize — Patrick Bateman is My Hero by Austin Shay
Honorable Mention, Academy of American Poets Prize — Whispers to Perfection by Irenitemi Famaadewa
[26] Jasmine by Alexander Brown
Left to Dry by Jenelle Anareta
Captive by Alexander Brown
Poesy by Sami Kak
Sage City by Joseph Sasu Jr.
Short Stories
Winner — Finding Her Father by Greggory Sullivan
Butterflies and Chaos Theory by Noah Burger
Shrike by Isabelle Yost
Talking to the Moon by Sam Bixler
Wants by John Fleming
2015-2016 Issue
Artwork
Editorial Statement by Visual Arts Editor Austin Shay
Life In Black and White
Editorial Statement by Editor-in-Chief Claire Meler
Online Exclusives
Meet Sabrina Brody: A Remarkable Artist and Aspiring Engineer
Post-College Creative Writing: Where to Submit to Get Paid for Your Work
Resources for Writers
Writers’ Round Table: How Do You Write?
A Timeline of Female Writers
Fiction
Editorial Statement by Fiction Editor Austin Shay
WINNER, Best Short Story: A Ghost Story
Just Beginnings
We Keep Our Own Cages
Nonfiction
Editorial Statement by Nonfiction Editor Meghan Jones
WINNER, Best Essay: Gears and Beers
Abuelita Otro
Define: Obscenity
White Shirt
Photography
Winner, Best Photo: True Nature
Abandoned
After The Rain
Along The Alleys
An Untold Story
Birds In Flight
Bloom
Cimetière
Collaboration
Emblem
Fall In You
Getting Ready For The Show
Ghosts
Lonely Sprout
Misty
The Gray
Tiger Eyes
To Have Direction
Transported To The Past
Poetry
Editorial Statement by Poetry Editor Sierra Baer
Winner, Best Poem: Melodies of Monster
150 Minutes
An Earthly Eon
Ask Again Later
Bath Bombed Body Unicycling Boldly
Beautiful Bastard
Derringer .44 Caliber
Fooling Around with Joe Canewell’s Daughter
Getting Lost
Leaving Her Lighthouse
Little Hungry Hunters
Memories
Search and Surprise
Senescence
Seraphic Connection
The German Soldier
The Last Visitor
The Star Poem
Two Empty Seats
Writing Takes Courage
2014-2015 Issue
Artwork
Landscape of a Rocky Beach
Red Head on Blue background
Fiction
WINNER, Best Short Story: Importance, Presence, and a Door
Drip
Burning Kettle
Aging
Nonfiction
WINNER, Best Feminist Writing: Rebirth
WINNER, Best Essay: The Burn of Bright Red
A Race to Paper, a Race against Morpheus
The Economics of Happiness
The Pigeon Cometh
Sweet Dreams
There is a Chance that I have Unknowingly Become the World’s Worst Quaker
What’s Old is New Again
Poetry
WINNER, Best Poem: Steer Into the Skid
Hiding Places
Insomnia
add in two sugars instead of one
Amateur Diviner
A Man Alone is No Man at All
Note to My Humanity
Seeing
I Wish I Wasn’t Such a Narcissist
Resilient Wings
Thoughts via Misanthropy
Perfection
Photography
WINNER, Best Photo: Pennsylvania’s Steel History
Cow
Kauai
Patterns
2012-2013 Issue
Special Issues
Fission (Fall 2023)
Fission (Fall 2022)
Fission (Fall 2021)
Fission (Fall 2020)
Fission (Fall 2019)
17: PSU to Parkland (Spring 2018)
Fission (Fall 2018)
Fission (Fall 2017)
About Us
History, Funding, and Selection Procedure
Major or Minor in This!
Major in English: Creative Writing, General English, and Secondary Education
Major in Humanities
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How to Submit Your Work
Writers’ Resources
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2023-2024 Staff
2022-2023 Staff
2021-2022 Staff
2020-2021 Staff
2019-2020 Staff
2018-2019 Staff
2017-2018 Staff
2016-2017 Staff
2015-2016 Staff
2014-2015 Staff
Best Visual Arts Winner: My Power by Aliza Jane
My Power: Eliza Jane
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