2025
Editors’ Note
Over the past eight months, our staff of undergraduate
students wore various hats and took on many roles, and are now
thrilled to present Volume 60. We began working on this issue
amid the uncertainty of the 2024 presidential election, and we
understand that we remain in unstable times. With this knowledge,
we are more conscious of the media we are publishing and the
messages we give the world. As a staff, we have carefully selected
thought-provoking pieces which are not linked by theme, tone,
or genre, but instead mirror the unpredictability we are currently
experiencing. We applaud our writers and artists for their courage
to create in this moment.
The publication before you is the end of a journey that
began in many minds across the world. It started when the author
opened their laptop, the poet picked up their pen, and the artist
took up their brush. It continued when they found the courage to
press “submit” and when their work passed through our hands and
lingered in our thoughts. Now, our journey concludes with you, but
as you see the stories, poems, and artwork within these pages, know
that this is truly only the beginning.
Art is the bridge between reality and the surreal, the
impersonal and the personal. It can ground us when we lose
ourselves in what could be, and it can help us understand the
world as it is. We read, observe, and analyze not because we can,
but because we must. This volume reflects the modern world
around us, and as a result it contains mature themes and topics. We
recognize that they may be heavy for some readers.
We are proud to present Volume 60 to you. We wish to
acknowledge the hours of work and dedication that went into this
volume, including behind-the-scenes production, editing, design,
and marketing. A special thank you also goes to Michigan State
University’s Department of English, as well as our professor,
Dr. Tim Conrad, whose guidance and wisdom were invaluable.
However, this magazine would be nothing but blank pages if it
were not for the imaginative minds who shared their creativity with
us. We are incredibly grateful to all the talented writers, poets, and
artists for sharing their work with Red Cedar Review.
Happy reading,
Red Cedar Review
Table of Contents
Prose
Fold – Bill Brymer
A Good Sister – Josefa Corpuz
Duck’s Wings – Elena Stolberg
Wild Bill – Nathan Nichols
Eye in Heart in Mouth – Adelina Rose Gowans
The Elevated Table – Phil Keeling
Hospital Bracelets – Sara Hendricks
The End of Days – Riley Letendre
Poetry
Where the Wild Things Are – Peter Kent
An Ill Thanksgiving For Authors – Anna McManus
Chattering Class – Brandon Marlon
Searching for Red – Helen Fay Ying
Hecatomb – Divya Gottiparthy
Green Card Dress Blues – Dally Du Mez
Quarter-Life Crisis – Paul Hedges
Heartline Hexed – Jawn Van Jacobs
This Miserable Frame – Maeve Sheridan
Breakdown of a Pantoum – Lauron Cox
The Shadows of Hickory Trees – Samuel McFerron
Night Wind Woman – Maureen Schirack
2.a.m. at the speakeasy – Jane Amstutz
Visual Art
My Mama’s Purse – Quel Hynson
Past the Cliff – Lara Maun
Baba – Marium Zahra
Pride & Joy – Quel Hynson
UpSilo 1 – DL Pravda
Victory for the Bent Up and Broken – Reilly Stasienko
Charon Working Through Lunch on the River Styx – B. A. Kocsis
Vanity of Faith – Robb Kunz
Mercury Ascendant 2 – GJ Gillespie
