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featuring fiction by Alicia Erian & poetry by Donald Dunbar

ABOUT THE ISSUE           

Issue 2 is full of firsts. In it, we’re very excited to include our first poet, Donald Dunbar, whose first book Eyelid Lick won the 2012 FENCE Modern Poets Book Prize. Another first comes in the interview with Dunbar—a nod to the benefits of LSD. The interview is exciting, because the poet is so candid and thoughtful, uncovering some of the most mysterious processes of generating, revising, and crafting a series of poems. Whether you are working on a novel, short story, play, poem, or memoir, this poet’s advice on writing is helpful and liberating.

We’re also featuring the first story from Alicia Erian’s exquisite collection, The Brutal Language of Love. You might know Erian for her novel Towelhead, which was turned into a movie in 2007, directed by Alan Bell. We were alerted to her short stories by the always fabulous Roxane Gay, and we’re so glad we were. Erian’s stories are combine dark wit, surprising characters and a lot of heart in a collection that’s unforgettable. Standing Up To The Superpowers, in this issue, will probably wind up being one of your new favorite stories, as it has for us.

And finally, draft is featuring writing exercises submitted by our readers for the first time in this issue.