AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought
"Anyone possessing [a sense of possibility] does not say, for instance: Here this or that has happened, will happen, must happen. He uses his imagination and says: Here such and such might, should or ought to happen. And if he is told that something is the way it is, then he thinks: Well, it could probably just as easily be some other way. So the sense of possibility might be defined outright as the capacity to think how everything could 'just as easily' be, and to attach no more importance to what is than to what is not. It will be seen that the consequences of such a creative disposition may be remarkable, and unfortunately they not infrequently make the things that other people admire appear wrong and the things that other people prohibit permissible, or even make both appear a matter of indifference. Such possibilitarians live, it is said, within a finer web, a web of haze, imaginings, fantasy and the subjunctive mood. If children show this tendency it is vigorously driven out of them, and in their presence such people are referred to as crackbrains, dreamers, weaklings, know-alls, and carpers and cavillers."
- Robert Musil, "The Man Without Qualities"
To imbibe AZURE in a tangible format, consider the following...
AZURE: Vol. 1
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AZURE: Vol. 2
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...Or, enjoy our free online quarterly version below.
Volume 4, Issue 2 (2019)
SHORT FICTION: The Punch-Card Ciphers by DF Short
POETRY: She Was the First to Give a Toast, and the Last to Say Goodnight by Kelli Russell Agodon
POETRY: Hablu L-Waridi (The Jugular Vein) by Jesse Hilson
SHORT FICTION: Sofa, So Good, Sort of (or John Muafangejo) by Remi Ngamije
POETRY: The Key to Dreams by Sean S. Bentley
POETRY: She Was the First to Give a Toast, and the Last to Say Goodnight by Kelli Russell Agodon
POETRY: Hablu L-Waridi (The Jugular Vein) by Jesse Hilson
SHORT FICTION: Sofa, So Good, Sort of (or John Muafangejo) by Remi Ngamije
POETRY: The Key to Dreams by Sean S. Bentley
Volume 4, Issue 1 (2019)
MULTI-FORM PROSE: I Think Outside the Box (and other pieces) by Heikki Huotari
SHORT FICTION: Stamping the Dead by Habib Mohana
PROSE POETRY: Legs & A Footnote on the Baleful Effects of Happiness A. Joachim Glage
SHORT FICTION: Lužánky by V.B. Borjen
SHORT FICTION: Stamping the Dead by Habib Mohana
PROSE POETRY: Legs & A Footnote on the Baleful Effects of Happiness A. Joachim Glage
SHORT FICTION: Lužánky by V.B. Borjen
ARCHIVES
Volume 3
Volume 3, Issue 4 (2018)
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POETRY: Tales Unsuitable for Children by Devon Ortega
POETRY: Wake Up (and other poems) by JayJay Conrad POETRY: Among the Men is April by Logo Wei POETRY (CONTEST WINNER): Black Roses by Osamase Ekhator POETRY: Meet Me Tonight on Metaphor Street by Vivek V. Narayan |
Volume 3, Issue 3 (2018)
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NOVELLA: Menage A Trois, With Horse by Don Dussault
PROSE POETRY: Blue Sky Language by Christien Gholson POETRY: Un Detective Viejo by Franco Strong PHILOSOPHICAL RUMINATION: The Black by Ben Colandrea |
Volume 3, Issue 2 (2018)
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POETRY: Pantoum of the Meat by Ouita Rogers
SHORT FICTION: The Cleansing by Linda Dennard POETRY: Shuffle by Debbie Fox POETRY (CONTEST WINNER): Did you fall or rise from the cloud of unknowing? by M. Ann Reed NOVELLA EXCERPT: The Philosopher and the Pornqueen by Omar Sabbagh POETRY (CONTEST WINNER): Kigali Memorial by Carlos Andrés Gómez |
Volume 3, Issue 1 (2018)
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SHORT FICTION (a journey in footnotes): Pointless Mr. Probst by Beatriz Seelaender
POETRY: Less' More by Twixt ESSAY: How to Write a Biography by Joanne B. Mulcahy SHORT FICTION: Protocol Nine-Nine-Nine-Nine by Kenneth Hanes |
Volume 2
Volume 2, Issue 4 (2017)
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SHORT FICTION (CONTEST WINNER): Claimed by the Sea by Sam Reese
PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAY/APHORISMS: Sylvan Passages by Dan Wood POETRY: Sister Alone by Janet M. Powers SHORT FICTION: Century 2.1 by Alan Flurry |
Volume 2, Issue 3 (2017)
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SHORT FICTION (CONTEST WINNER): Crosshatching by M.K. Rainey
SHORT FICTION: Lullaby by Barbara Daddino PROSE POETRY: Housemouth (and other poems) by Anhvu Buchanan and Brent Piller SHORT FICTION: The Residue in Public Tea and Coffee Cups by V.B. Borjen POETRY: Syzygy (and other poems) by Malorie Seeley-Sherwood |
Volume 2, Issue 2 (2017)
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ESSAY: And Richard Burbage Had a Sister by Freya Shipley
SHORT FICTION: The Watchers by M.K. Rainey POETRY: Jazz Interaction With Symbols by Sarah T. POETIC ESSAY: Dragonflies: A Discourse on Anxiety by Lara Lillibridge POETRY: Spider (and other poems) by Natalie Crick |
Volume 2, Issue 1 (2017)
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SHORT STORY: Echoes by Daniel Freeman
POETRY: Maps, guided thought tape #30, & guided thought tape #5,723 by Susan Brennan SHORT STORY: Edgar's Father's Magic Words by JWM Morgan POETRY: Lockjaw: In Two Acts, Pyramids of Complex Thought, & A Comet's Return by James Blevins NOVEL EXCERPT (CONTEST WINNER): What the Living Do (Chapters 1 & 2) by Susan E. Wadds |
Volume 1
Volume 1, Issue 10 (2016)
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NOVELLA: Susurros de Recurrencia by Franco Strong
NOVEL EXCERPT: The Old Man from Deep Rooted Cane by Sarah T. POETRY: Permutations, With Thyme, & Listening by Laura Cesarco Eglin POETRY: World Peace 3 & Visitation by Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca |
Volume 1, Issue 9 (2016)
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SHORT STORY: Little Ghost by Danny Judge
SHORT STORY: The Last Allusionist by Sakina B. Fakhri POEM: Church by Diana McClure |
Volume 1, Issue 8 (2016)
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POETRY: Devil in a Blue Dress by Nancy Flynn
EKPHRASTIC PIECE: What I Couldn't Say by Erika Ranee (visual art) & Diana McClure (poetry) NOVEL EXCERPT: Zixin at Dinner from The Speech of Flowers and Voiceless Things by Sakina B. Fakhri |
Volume 1, Issue 7 (2016)
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JANUARY 2016 CONTEST - WINNING ENTRY: Brass Tyrant and the American Thirst by Kirk Marshall
EKPHRASTIC PIECE: Clap, Clap Back / Cafe Society by Diana McClure (poetry) & Anders Jones (photographs) SHORT FICTION: Lady Killer by Monika McGreal Viola SHORT FICTION: The Ribbons by Ferguson Williams |
Volume 1, Issue 6 (2015)
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SEPTEMBER 2015 CONTEST - WINNING ENTRY: New Age Uncaged by Frank Light
EKPHRASTIC PIECE: Immigration/Integration by Diana McClure (poetry) & Jaret Vadera (visual art) AZURE ORIGINAL SERIES - INSTALLMENT 3: Aurelia: A Ballet in Prose (Act 2 - Part 1) by Sakina B. Fakhri |
Volume 1, Issue 5 (2015)
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NARRATIVE VERSE: The Trials of Tobit by Joseph Lisowski
POEMS: Like Many Giant Footprints (and other poems) by William Doreski AZURE ORIGINAL SERIES - INSTALLMENT 2: Aurelia: A Ballet in Prose (Act I) by Sakina B. Fakhri |
Volume 1, Issue 4 (2015)
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FEATURE STORY: Wardencliff by Barbara Daddino
JUNE 2015 CONTEST - WINNING ENTRY: Better Living Through Chemistry by Reg Darling AZURE ORIGINAL SERIES - INSTALLMENT 1: Aurelia: A Ballet in Prose (Libretto) by Sakina B. Fakhri A COLLECTION: A Verse, 2 Poems & A Thought by Diana McClure |
Volume 1, Issue 3 (2015)
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"WIKI" FICTION: Lawton, Oklahoma by Mark Lawley
FLASH FICTION: Tweety Bird's Grace by Diana McClure FLASH FICTION: Contagion and the Dinner Guest by Sakina B. Fakhri POETRY: On Poetry and Prose by Sakina B. Fakhri |
Volume 1, Issue 2 (2015)
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Re: Seasons on a Gravestone by Alex Mosiak
NOVEL EXCERPT: Chapter 1 (from The Speech of Flowers and Voiceless Things) by Sakina B. Fakhri SCENE: A Conversation by Diana McClure EXPERIMENTAL SCREENPLAY: Two Mice in a Black Box and the Deconstruction of Language by Sakina B. Fakhri |
Volume 1, Issue 1 (2015)
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SCENE: Cocktail Party by Diana McClure
SHORT STORY: Seasons on a Gravestone by Sakina B. Fakhri CHARACTER SKETCHES: Professor Charlene Cox & Nicky Paul by Diana McClure NON-FICTION: Vocabulary, the New SAT, & Algerian Post-Colonialism by Sakina B. Fakhri |
Our mission: We love work that is linguistically, intellectually, and emotionally demanding of the reader. We want literary fiction that grows in complexity upon each visitation. All writers tend to develop a scrap heap of brilliant writing - sharp dialogue that has been cut in service of a plot, a philosophical tirade that can't quite be couched in a narrative, a stunning imagistic landscape of linguistic pyrotechnics that seeks an audience... Literary beauty exists in more than the conventional narrative, we believe, and the most cerebral moments cannot necessarily be expressed in more than bursts and fragments. We seek to provide a space for those portions of works that have been cut away through no fault of their own as well as for those who have achieved a more traditional fruition.
Every piece published in AZURE appears alongside a customized black & white sketch that is devised and executed by our in-house illustrator, Evgenia Barsheva.
Every piece published in AZURE appears alongside a customized black & white sketch that is devised and executed by our in-house illustrator, Evgenia Barsheva.
Customized illustrations for all published pieces are provided by Evgenia Barsheva.