food

Story·Eliana Vitti — A red hen stops laying eggs to prevent them from being stolen, leading to her selection for the farmer's New Year's Eve dinner.

Poetry·Zar Rezwan Pavri — A meditation on water transforms from stillness to boiling, from possibility to necessity, as the speaker makes soup from nothing but water itself.

Story·Naaman Garcia — A farmer discovers a mysterious seed that grows into a tree bearing giant blocks of cheese, builds a cheese business with his neighbor, then loses everything to lightning.

Story·Emily Beltramo — A teenage street musician teaches guitar to a young thief who tried to rob him, and together they land their first paying gig at a local restaurant.

Poetry·Holly Jane Doyle — Men with feathered heads descend to a berry bar, dollar in hand, seeking berries the size of bunny tails in this surreal prose poem.

Personal Narrative·Viviana Perez — A girl says goodbye to her great-grandmother's apartment in Michigan, cataloging memories of family gatherings, walks to the lake, and the feeling of having a family home.

Story·Nate Varga — A lost British soldier stumbles upon a Bedouin camp in the Arabian desert and is led to witness the rare blooming of the Queen of the Night flower, triggering memories...

Story·Translated from Urdu by Zahraa Haq, Art by Karuna Yang — A forgetful servant trying to remember the word for salt keeps adopting new phrases from people he meets, creating misunderstandings until a cobbler accidentally reminds him.

Personal Narrative·Misha Joksic — A boy experiences sudden, severe stomach pain that turns out to be appendicitis, leading to an experimental treatment at NYU Langone Hospital instead of surgery.

Personal Narrative·Marti Wong — A girl navigates language barriers with grandparents on two continents, discovering how gifts, food, and gestures become their shared vocabulary of love.