Nonfiction | JOYLAND

The First Taste

Jo Barchi -

It’s the fall of 2013 and I just found out I’m a faggot. Henry isn’t supposed to be a part of...

The One With Naked Friendsgiving

Edgar Gomez -

The only rule listed on the Naked Friendsgiving event website, italicized and in all-caps beneath a brief schedule of events—come watch movies, play games, eat yummy...

Man, Alone At Movies

Frankie Allegra -

I am afraid of getting murdered at the movies. Allow me to rephrase: I am afraid of getting murdered by men at the movies. Men...

Through the Cracks

Yvonne Conza -

Legend has it that three panthers “with slow and sullen steps” once roamed the countryside where I grew up. Landscaped by sweeping farmlands and rolling hills...

Chinatown of My Dreams

Bonnie Chau -

“...according to the myth it is a town that has existed in many different parts of the world in many different time periods…” This is what...

Bleakness. Laughter. Liberation?

Alicia Louise Merchant -

The second time someone told me I was dying I was 30 years old. The first time I was 23, but I was living...

Tangled

Laurie Stone -

Richard and I were in Maine visiting our friend Josey, who had restored a building beside a swing bridge. The building had at various...

The Blond Inside Me

Emily Schultz -

Seven years ago I settled into the hydraulic chair at Shampoo, my regular salon in Kensington Market, turned to my hairstylist, Laura, and said,...