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MacQueen’s Quinterly: Knock-your-socks-off Art and Literature
Published: 7 Jan. 2026

Contents: Issue 31

New Book
From MacQ
 
Fiction Ekphrastic Works Humor Flash
(501–1,000 words)
Micro
(up to 500 words)
Faction Bio Notes Essays, Etcetera Statistics Visual Arts Poetry & Hybrids Cheribun Ekphrastic Works Haibun Haiga Humor Micro-Poems Poetry: Lineated Prose Poems Tanka Prose

Content Warning: MacQueen’s Quinterly (aka MacQ) contains an eclectic range of literary and artistic works that may deal with difficult and emotionally charged topics. Thus, many works that appear in MacQ are suitable only for mature adults. However, an “[R]” after titles below simply indicates reprinted work (or, more accurately, republished work, since MacQ the journal is published online and not in print).

Some of the more sexually explicit pieces may be designated as erotic, but not always. Overall, MacQ’s publisher prefers to avoid flagging individual titles with content warnings, because they tend to ruin any surprises within the works.

Unless otherwise noted, all works published in this journal are copyrighted by their respective authors and artists, and may NOT be reproduced without written permission from individual copyright holders. Thank you for respecting copyrights.

Works by an individual may appear under multiple genres below. For a complete list of works by each person, see Index of Contributors.

 
:: 31 ::
Cheribun
Dotty LeMieux Tiger Tales
:: 31 ::
Ekphrastic and Related Works
Please do not copy images and/or image URLs from this website without written permission from the copyright holders. Unless otherwise noted, all works in MacQueen’s Quinterly are copyrighted by their respective artists and authors. Thank you for respecting copyrights.
 
Mikki Aronoff Looking Back [microfiction], after René Magritte
Pictor in Tabula [microfiction], after a painting by Pieter Claesz
John Brantingham Turner’s Yellow [zuihitsu: poetic nonfiction hybrid]
Cherie Hunter Day J’ai fait juste un bisou [prose poem], after the artist Rindy Sam
Robert L. Dean, Jr. Jesus vs. the Aliens [prose poem], after a photograph by Jason Baldinger
Lorette C. Luzajic The Night of the Red Birds [flash fiction], after a painting by Daria Petrilli
Marjorie Maddox Inner Sanctum [poem], after collage artwork by Paola Jo Corso
Rhythms of Diamond Lace [poem], after B&W photograph by Paola Jo Corso
Memory of Monarchs [poem], after composite photograph by Karen Elias
Robbi Nester Festival of Lights [poem], after a painting (1970) by Marevna
North Korean Workers at a Chinese Seafood Factory [poem], after anonymous photograph
 
Note: If you’re interested in submitting ekphrastic works to MacQueen’s Quinterly, wonderful! We hope you’ll take a few minutes to read Ephective Ekphrastics: A Guide for Verbalizing Art, tips by Jack Cooper and Clare MacQueen in KYSO Flash which include additional examples of what Clare’s looking to publish here in MacQ as well. See also the excellent recommendations from Robert L. Dean, Jr. in his essay on craft: Finding the Door: One Writer’s Approach to Ekphrasis (MacQ-13, May 2022).
:: 31 ::
Essays, Etcetera [nonfiction forms]
John Brantingham While the Walnuts Are Still Husked Green [zuihitsu: poetic nonfiction hybrid]
John Brantingham See also Ekphrastic Works above.
Kendall Johnson Finding Hope in Darkness: Looking, Acting, and Telling (Part 2 of Writing for Light series) [essay, with artworks by three artists]
Writing Fire (Part 3 of Writing for Light series)[essay and artworks]
Gary Lemons Sinkhole: The Sister Pantoums by Alexis Rhone Fancher [chapbook micro-review]
Darlene O’Dell By Any Other Name [CNF: personal essay]
Marianne Paul Crazy Bitches, selected haibun [R] by Roberta Beary [book review]
 
Note: An “[R]” after a title above indicates republished work (aka reprint).
:: 31 ::
Fiction: Flash and Micro*
Mikki Aronoff See Ekphrastic Works above.
Guy Biederman MBAs at 13 [micro]
Stupor [micro]
Two Atomic Tales [micro], with photographs
Guy Biederman See also Humor & Wordplay below.
Eugene Datta The Death of Günter Jung
Gary Fincke Gnats [flash]
Jennifer L. Freed Boxed-up Things [micro]
Charlotte Hamrick Laying Out ’74 [micro]
Lorette C. Luzajic See Ekphrastic Works above.
Kate MacQueen Tidal [flash]
Alexis Rotella Throne of Leather [micro]
Daryl Scroggins Bright Forms on Black Felt [micro]
Knapping in a Metropolis by the Sea [micro]
Daryl Scroggins See also Humor and Wordplay below.
Stuart Watson See Humor and Wordplay below.
 
*Note: At MacQ, Flash Fiction = 501-1,000 words, and Microfiction, no more than 500 words. Word count of each piece includes the title and any epigraphs.
:: 31 ::
Haibun [prose + haiku]
Cynthia Anderson Memento Mori [haibun story]
Untimely End
E. L. Blizzard Devil-Reds [haibun story]
Parking Lot
psalms
What I Want to Remember
Cherie Hunter Day Fog Catcher
Jennifer L. Freed Failed Connection
Kirk Lawson Fifteen Minutes of Fame
Dotty LeMieux See Cheribun above.
Bob Lucky Family Dynamics
International Relations: The Malta Incident, Spring 2025
On Omens
Kate MacQueen Unbuttoned
Elaine Mintzer Waste Not
Kala Ramesh Wooden Axe Handle
Kala Ramesh See also Tanka Prose below.
Bonnie J. Scherer Honeymoon Suite
Lew Watts The Lamby
:: 31 ::
Haiga & Related Forms [poetry + visual art]
Please do not copy images and/or image URLs from this website without written permission from the copyright holders. Unless otherwise noted, all works in MacQueen’s Quinterly are copyrighted by their respective artists and authors. Thank you for respecting copyrights.
 
Darlene O’Dell Untitled (first line: “ninth inning”) [shahai]
:: 31 ::
Humor and Wordplay
Roy J. Beckemeyer Trivialities [sonnet]
Guy Biederman Bacon-Wave [microfiction]
Bob Lucky I Bet John Donne Didn’t Even Have Running Water [poem]
Gary S. Rosin Goose Patrol [micro-poem]
Daryl Scroggins Not Asking for a Miracle [microfiction]
Stuart Watson Mona Mona Mona [microfiction]
Jonathan Yungkans after reading Bukowski’s “fencing with the shadows” [poem]
:: 31 ::
Micro-Poems*
Roy J. Beckemeyer Refrigerator Art
Goran Gatalica Three Micro-Poems:
(“a trail”) [senryu]
(“melted snow”) [haiku]
(“my mother’s careful”) [senryu]
Peter Jastermsky &
Stephanie Zepherelli
See Poetry: Lineated below for their senryu sequence.
Marjorie Maddox See Ekphrastic Works above.
Elaine Mintzer Fear of Parking: Street, Parallel, Narrow
Gary S. Rosin See Humor and Wordplay above.
Daryl Scroggins Two Micro-Poems:
(“ants spelunking”) [cherita terbalik]
(“I’m weeding and near my hand”) [cherita terbalik]
Scott Wiggerman Measures of Distance
The Starter Marriage
Scott Wiggerman See also Poetry, Lineated below.
 
*Note: Beginning with Issue 7 of MacQ, micro-poems are no longer than 51 words each as counted by Mac Pages (the approximate equivalent of 280 characters, i.e., the former Twitter limit), with each word containing an average of 5.5 characters. The limit of 51 words includes punctuation, spaces between words, and the title if the micro-poem has one. Individual haiku, senryu, cherita, and tanka, for example, do not have titles. (Sequences of such micro-poems do have titles.)
:: 31 ::
Poetry: Lineated
Doug Anderson Small Gifts
Roy J. Beckemeyer See Humor & Wordplay and Micro-Poems above.
Eugene Datta Portrait
Robert L. Dean, Jr. Pandora
Gary Grossman March Pears
Snail Mail
Charlotte Hamrick Incendiary Vices [cento]
Peter Jastermsky &
Stephanie Zepherelli
Poems of Passion [senryu sequence]
Bob Lucky See Humor & Wordplay above.
Marjorie Maddox See Ekphrastic Works above.
Gary S. Rosin Nuclear Medicine
Replacing the Sky
Gary S. Rosin See also Humor & Wordplay above.
Susan Tekulve Sachet [with watercolor painting]
Scott Wiggerman Long Distance
Jonathan Yungkans thrill
Jonathan Yungkans See also Humor & Wordplay above.
:: 31 ::
Prose Poems
John Brantingham See Ekphrastic Works and Essays, Etcetera above for two of his zuihitsu.
Cherie Hunter Day See Ekphrastic Works above.
Robert L. Dean, Jr. See Ekphrastic Works above.
Charlotte Hamrick Eyeballed at the County Fair
Oz Hardwick The Myodesopsia Drift
Once Upon a Not-Quite Time
The Traveller’s Tale
Dotty LeMieux Two Ginsberg Poems
Jessica Purdy Hypnopompia
Why I Can’t Write About Sometimes Wanting an Early Death
Susan Tekulve Iced Lavender Latte
:: 31 ::
Tanka Prose
Kala Ramesh We’ve Come a Long Way, Girl
:: 31
Visual Arts
Please do not copy images and/or image URLs from this website without written permission from the copyright holders. Unless otherwise noted, all works in MacQueen’s Quinterly are copyrighted by their respective artists and authors. Thank you for respecting copyrights.
 
  Part 1:
 
David Kimball Anderson Bakersfield Spur [R] [sculpture, 2022]
 
Guy Biederman See Fiction above for two photographs with atomic tales.
 
Wes Hurd Meet Me in the Silence [R] [painting, 2016]
 
Kendall Johnson See Essays, Etcetera above for his essays which include artworks.
 
Darlene O’Dell See Haiga & Related Forms above.
 
Part 2: Inspirations for Ekphrastic Works
 
Jason Baldinger Hannibal, Missouri (2023) [B&W photograph]
 
Pieter Claesz Vanitas with Violin and Glass Ball [R] [painting, ca. 1628]
 
Paola Jo Corso Inner Sanctum [R] [mixed-media collage]
Rhythm of Diamond Lace [R] [B&W photograph]
 
Karen Elias Memory of Butterflies [composite photograph]
 
 
*Note: An “[R]” after titles above indicates republished works (aka reprints).
 
 
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