Featured Works: Week of Sep 28 (Survival)

By on Sep 26, 2020 in Issue Archives

Tree and wall at Okehocking Preserve

Tree and wall at Okehocking Preserve, photo by Alyce Wilson

In tough times, the resilience of the human spirit helps us to rise against the most difficult circumstances, whether it be war, childhood trauma, crime or natural disaster. This week’s contributors show us the wide range of coping mechanisms that help us to survive. 

In “Cohen’s Resurrection” by J.D. Chaney, set in post-World War II-era South America, an unlikely relationship forms along a path to redemption.

Black” by Don Stoll takes us on an adventure with a man who still struggles with childhood fears.

Cold” by Bob Blundell depicts the paralyzing effects of survivor’s guilt.

The protagonist in “Both Sides Now” by Beatriz Seelaender discovers herself, ironically, through becoming someone else.

The humorous poem “The Termagant and the Task Force” by James B. Nicola shows how female strength can be misconstrued.

About

Alyce Wilson is the editor of Wild Violet and in her copious spare time writes humor, non-fiction, fiction and poetry and infrequently keeps an online journal. Her first chapbook, Picturebook of the Martyrs; her e-book/pamphlet, Stay Out of the Bin! An Editor's Tips on Getting Published in Lit Mags ; her book of essays and columns, The Art of Life; her humorous nonfiction ebook, Dedicated Idiocy: How Monty Python Fandom Changed My Life, and her newest poetry collection, Owning the Ghosts, can all be ordered from her Web site, AlyceWilson.com. In late 2019, she published a volume of poetry by her third great-grandfather, Reading's Physician Poet: Poems by Dr. James Meredith Mathews, which also contains genealogical information about the Mathews family. She lives with her husband and son in the Philadelphia area and takes far too many photos of her handsome, creative son, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda.