An organized spaghetti of scrawls
Hasanthika Sirisena is the author of the short story collection, The Other One, which won the 2015 Juniper Prize for Fiction. She is also an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Susquehanna University and an associate fiction editor for West Branch literary magazine. Her essays and stories have appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, WSQ, The Kenyon Review, Glimmer Train, Narrative, and recognized by Best American… Continue reading An Interview with Hasanthika Sirisena
This is something very new (and kind of scary) that I'm planning on doing. Anyway, this past summer, I had the chance to study memoir and creative nonfiction at two different writing workshops. Namely, the KWH Summer Workshop (July 5-15th, 2020) and the Susquehanna Summer Writers Workshop (July 19-25, 2020). It was during this stretch… Continue reading A Bit About these Interviews
Well, there really is no way around this American rite of passage for millions of high school students, is there? I feel like I've missed out on a lot of things part of the so-called "High School Experience" (at least, that's what I call it in my head based on what I've gleaned from movies… Continue reading College Apps… the torture has begun
Let's be real: If the quarantine never happened, today wouldn't be August. It awes and scares me how fast time flies by. Remember when I was still stressing that it was May? Sometimes I just want to reach out my hand to stop the flow of time, but I'm beginning to learn that if time… Continue reading The KWH Summer Workshop: A Reflection
Well... ignore the fact that it has been 3 weeks since I've last said anything. I've found that my mind has lately been restless, aloof, unable to sit still and actually get down to writing something. However, within these couple of days I've been really compelled to post, less of the fact that I haven't… Continue reading A Thank You to the Humans that Actually Read my Posts
You know, I never know how to deal with the news of winning an award after I've placed in a writing contest or some other thing. My reaction always comes in two stages: first, of course, there's always that sharp intake of air followed by the jolt of adrenaline and pride. I always do it… Continue reading Learning to Be Satisfied
Now that I've begun submitting to literary journals, I've realized the process of writing cover letters and short, third-person bios can be an exercise in humility. It can be a bit disheartening to read the stacked list of magazines and contests (i.e. Scholastic, YoungArts, [blank] Journal, [blank] Review) in so many fellow writers' bios and… Continue reading Third-Person Bios Oh My
After dinner I ate a grapefruit."It's so sour," my dad saidAs my teeth cleaved the juice vesiclesThat crowded the walls of each slice, Unleashing a flash of heatThat peeled across the cut on my lip. The way my now-long bangsLean limply on my cheeksIrritates me. I put my hair up.The now-long bangs slither from The… Continue reading Bits Gleaned
It's May and I can't believe it. The sun came out and stayed like a pat of butter smeared on the treetops until eight pm. Mother rolled open the deck door and the slow rumble it made, of grooves slightly rusty from winter, reminded me so much of summer. All that was missing were the… Continue reading The Stress is Starting to Settle in
The awaited time had finally come. As soon as the calc zoom call was over, I reached for my phone in my sweater pocket, fingers sliding over the phone screen fluidly and burning with anticipation. I didn't even stop to think about it, pause to prepare myself for acceptance or rejection. As soon as I… Continue reading Some Good News
jooce journal 