Sworn Virgin

When she looked down at her husband the downpour had become a drizzle. Oltana didn’t…

After Hours Elsewhere

I aim for bed, the bar is on the wayAnd you. I know that bright…

The Fifth-Grade Lesbian

I was christened a lesbian when I was ten years old. My two best friends…

Bending | The Spring 2024 Issue

We are thrilled to share our Spring 2024 issue, Bending, curated by Angie Cruz with drawings by Laylah Ali and writing by Victoria Chang, Caro De Robertis, Julian Delgado Lopera, Jaquira Díaz, Patricia Engel, Courtney Faye Taylor, Nimmi Gowrinathan, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Chinelo Okparanta, Shana L. Redmond, Lilliam Rivera, and Alejandro Varela.

Call My Mother

Sometimes I think I should call my mother less often because she’s going to die. She’s neither well nor unwell, but statistically speaking, I’m not wrong to worry.

CAFETERIA TRAVESTI

Most people knew her for her iconic arroz con pollo, the raspy voice, the baggies of crystal, her cig dangling from mouth, chopping plátano, setting down paper-plates on the plastic table in her living room for the hungry travestis to eat. 

#3

Sometimes, my words come at the same time as seeing. The idea that one is not interior to the other.

Bending Over Backwards

“Why don’t you show me what you can do?” the boy asked the girl.

still here

Kajol lines swept under an angled eye in a singular motion: inherited muscle memory. Deep inhales stop working for childbirth and fear. Pain sneaks in.

Green

Can it be feminist, she wondered as she spread her thighs, to want this? Can I still be on the side of liberation?