Issue 55

Red Cedar Review, Volume 55

Dear Readers,

The production of Volume 55 of the Red Cedar Review took place during a year of many changes, for both our journal and our world. Some were planned, as we continued through a period of transition for our journal; others were not­. When we started reading submissions last fall, none of us could’ve imagined what it would be like to publish the issue this spring amidst a global pandemic. Despite a world filled with constant upheaval and a never-ending cycle of frightening news—not to mention the practical shift to distance learning, video conferencing, and working in pajamas—our team continued working to put together this final product. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished this year.

In an effort that has been many years in the making, the entirety of the Red Cedar Review archive is now accessible online. Every issue dating back to 1963, representing decades of undergraduate literary publishing, is now available through the MSU Libraries website. Special thanks for their contributions to this process go to Claire Walsh, Emma Langschied, and Jarrett Greenstein, as well as Shawn Nicholson, Robin Dean, and the MSU Libraries Digital Repository team. You can visit the archive by going to https://d.lib.msu.edu/rcr.

At the same time as we’ve been reflecting on the history of the Red Cedar Review through the archival process, we’ve also been navigating a major transition for the journal’s future. I’m excited to announce that this is the first issue of the RCR to be published completely digitally. With our new website, we hope to continue publishing innovative undergraduate literature for a national audience while providing room for more experimentation in content and form.

I’d like to thank all of the many people who collaborated in the production of Volume 55: first of all, thank you to our talented contributors, dedicated readers, genre editors, and social media team, as well as Assistant Managing Editor Jacob Largen, whose help in leading the journal this year was invaluable. Special thanks go to the ENG 492 students, led by Kurt Milberger, for their hard work editing and putting together the final product. As always, we’re grateful for the wise leadership of Dr. Robin Silbergleid, our faculty advisor. Finally, I’d like to thank everyone at The Cube, especially Dr. Kate Birdsall and Sam Bloch, for bringing our vision for a new website to life.

I hope you’ll continue to watch the journal change and grow in the coming years; I’m certainly excited to see what’s to come. Most of all, I hope that the stories which we’ve collected here can do what literature does best: bring comfort, hope, and joy to the world in times of fear and uncertainty. These pieces certainly did so for us.

Sincerely,

Katherine Stark

Managing Editor

Table of Contents

  1. PLUMERIA by Haley Winans
  2. TRAILER NO. 7 by Amanda Piekarz
  3. ONE WEDNESDAY, OVER WHATSAPP, MY EX CALLS ME A HEARTLESS ASSHOLE by Emily Rose Miller
  4. THE OBSERVER by Hayden Froehlich
  5. MENTAL HEALTH DAY by Heather Truett
  6. ARS POETICA by Heather Truett
  7. CITY DELIGHTS by Hugh Cook
  8. I LOVE YOU, I’M SORRY by Phoenix Kendall
  9. GREEN GIRL by Martha Rose
  10. I’LL PLAY JOHN by Corinne Davenport
  11. WHOLE DAMN HEAD by Corinne Davenport
  12. IV TRIP by Razeen Ahmed
  13. DRAGON by Connor Crowley
  14. EVERYBODY LOVES BABY by Connor Crowley
  15. INFINITE BLUE by Allison Craft
  16. I WILL SHOW YOU FEAR IN A HANDFUL OF DUST by Emily Baker
  17. BEAUTY IN UGLY PLACES by Emily Baker
  18. FRAGILE AS A BEETLE’S WING by Emily Baker
  19. BEACH EULOGY by Violet Mitchell
  20. DID YOU KNOW by Violet Mitchell
  21. IF KITES WEREN’T ATTACHED TO STRINGS, THEY’D FLY AWAY FOREVER by Damian Wang
  22. 4:52 AM IN A TAIWANESE MOTHER’S SANCTUM by Damian Wang
  23. BORDERLINE BORDERLESS BORDERING by Damian Wang
  24. CLOCK IN by Lewis Smith
  25. BLINK by Christine A. Mackenzie
  26. REMIND ME OF THE RENAISSANCE by Allison Craft
  27. ON WHEELS by Nicolas Stevens
  28. COULD YOU PULL OVER HERE? by Henna Ahmed
  29. WAR by Shelby Weisburg
  30. LENTICULAR by Shelby Weisburg
  31. HOME by Nicole Puscas
  32. USER’S MANUAL, 2009 HONDA ACCORD by Taylor Anne Thackaberry
  33. (ON BEING) A (SOFT) PLACE TO LAND by Katlyn Furlong
  34. BLOOD FRUIT by Katlyn Furlong
  35. TWOFOLD by Katlyn Furlong
  36. SOFT FALLS OF FATE by Nicole Rico
  37. TRUTH by Julianna Vaughan
  38. WEIGHTLESS by Kayla Simon
  39. A GODLESS ROOM by Kayla Simon
  40. MY GORDIAN KNOT by Rachel Hagerman
  41. FOR THE HENS by Ellis Gibson
  42. EMMA WATSON by Lucas Curtis
  43. BATTERY ACID by Kyle Wright
  44. I AM NOT THE MOON, NOR A STAR by Kaitlin von Behren
  45. BOYS OVERHEARD WHILE PLAYING A VIDEO GAME by Kaitlin von Behren

Staff

Katherine Stark
Katherine Stark

Managing Editor

Jacob Largen
Jacob Largen

Assitant Managing Editor / Poetry Editor

Claire Walsh
Claire Walsh

Prose Editor

Anusha Mamidipaka
Anusha Mamidipaka

Art Editor

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