Oklahoma (1888) by Jane Hammons Before her mother died, Estelle Bow Kerchee asked about her name. She knew Bow and Kerchee came from her father’s people. Comanche. Her mother’s name was Buena Vista Redbird Billy. Estelle wanted to know about…
BackStory: Six Questions with Lita Kurth
BackStory: Six Questions with Lita Kurth Author of The Revolutionary’s Brother What inspired you to write ‘The Revolutionary’s Brother’? How much research did you do while writing and editing, and did you discover anything that surprised you? I had read…
The Revolutionary’s Brother
The Revolutionary’s Brother by Lita Kurth Oh Sasha, Sasha. Your black hair. When they came to the back door and whispered that your protest hung from a noose, in the centre of the city, I said nothing and did not…
BackStory: Four Questions with Sudha Balagopal
BackStory: Four Questions with Sudha Balagopal Author of Samyukta What inspired you to write ‘Samyukta’? I have always wondered about the power of a love that could impel someone to swoop into a crowded wedding hall and literally take off…
Samyukta
Samyukta by Sudha Balagopal I’m thinking of Prithviraj the whole time: when my father, the King, places a garland laden with roses in my hands, when their nauseating fragrance wafts through my bridal veil, when I sneeze and let the…
BackStory: Five Questions with Tracy Fells
BackStory: Five Questions with Tracy Fells Author of Palindrome What inspired you to write ‘Palindrome’? I am fascinated with the history of relics and superstition, particularly around childbirth. The image of a birthing amulet, grasped in the hand of a…
Palindrome
Palindrome by Tracy Fells When it was time for her confinement the women took possession of his wife. Amongst his estate workers and the village menfolk, he asked God for a son, a longed-for heir, forcefully declaring his prayers out…
BackStory: Five Questions with Helen Chambers
BackStory: Five Questions with Helen Chambers Author of Evie Girl What inspired you to write ‘Evie Girl’? A photo of a window with four panes, with a small, ragged hole in the bottom right hand corner and cracks spreading throughout…
Evie Girl
Evie Girl by Helen Chambers The hole in the kitchen window is shaped the same way Daddy writes the ‘v’ in my name, Evie, like a heart. Mammy says we can’t afford to fix the window, so she’s stuck brown…
BackStory: Five Questions with Slawka G. Scarso
BackStory: Five Questions with Slawka G. Scarso Author of 54.7754° N, 31.7890° E, April of 1940 What inspired you to write ‘54.7754° N, 31.7890° E, April of 1940’? This piece was inspired by the massacre of Katyn, which took place…