Amarillo Bay Contents
Volume 14 Number 1
We are pleased to present the first issue of our fourteenth year, published on Monday, 6 February 2012. We hope you enjoy browsing through our extensive collection of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry! (See the Works List to discover the over 500 works in our collection, including the ability to search through the issues.)
Fiction
Agnes at 100
by Richard Luftig
Richard Luftig
Richard Luftig is a professor of educational psychology and special education at Miami University in Ohio. He is a recipient of the Cincinnati Post-Corbett Foundation Award for Literature and a semi-finalist for the Emily Dickinson Society Award for Poetry. His stories have appeared in numerous magazines including Bloodroot, Front Porch Review, Silkscreen Literary Review, and Pulse Literary Journal. One of his published short stories has been nominated for a 2012 Pushcart Prize.
When I was a girl, out of curiosity, I wanted to see what God intended for my face. More than anything, I wished to look like my mother, your great-grandmother. You may not know this, but she was beautiful.
I knew, though, that was never going to happen. "You're so plain," she told me throughout my childhood. "I don't know how you'll ever attract a man."
Yet, it turns out I'm the spitting image of her after she became old. I hope she and God both appreciate the joke.
You see, I'm 100 today, but I don't understand this fascination folks have with that. It's as if I've done something special, something talented, by living so long. And I'm expected to be wise to boot.
Well, it doesn't work that way. We're pretty much the same when we're old as when we were young. Just more so. Continue…
And the Part of Me Will Be Played by Marilyn Monroe
by Alice K. Boatwright
Alice K. Boatwright
Alice K. Boatwright's fiction has appeared in journals such as Mississippi Review, Marco Polo, Beloit Fiction Journal, America West, Storyglossia, and Stone Canoe. Her first book, Collateral Damage, will be published by Standing Stone Books in 2012. This is her third appearance in Amarillo Bay.
Johnny Depp will play my first husband, Thomas, because he's lean and dark, with crazy sexy eyes. When Thomas comes to town, Jackson—he's my husband now—just melts out of sight. Thomas pulls up in front of the house and, no matter what car he's driving, I know who it is. Like birds before a storm, children, dogs, and cats grow quiet.
Then in comes Thomas. He strides across my freshly waxed linoleum floor with his dirty boots and throws his arms around me. I put down my dishcloth and we kiss. For a few hours, we are sixteen again and very hot for each other. Continue…
Appearances
by John Danahy
John Danahy
John Danahy resides in New Hampshire. He enjoys writing, reading, photography, and traveling with his wife, four children, and nine grandchildren. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Aim Magazine, Art Times, Desert Voices, Forge, Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, The MacGuffin, North Atlantic Review, RiversEdge, Salt River Review, and The Griffin.
In spite of this and for no reason he could name, Matt felt a sense of obligation and had always responded to Dave's efforts to keep their connection intact.
"How was your day?" Julie asked as Matt arrived home late Friday afternoon.
"Hectic," Matt said. "Meetings all day."
"With your new boss?"
"Uh-huh."
"What's he like?"
"Let's forget about the office and just have a good time this weekend with Dave and Marilyn."
"Fine with me," Julie said, forcing a smile. "I hope you can relax." Continue…
Farewell to Paradise Lane
by Howard Waldman
Howard Waldman
Born in New York but long a resident in Paris, Howard Waldman taught European History for a France-based American university and later American Literature for a French University. His short stories have appeared in numerous publications. He has published four novels, all available on Amazon: Back There, Time Travail, The Seventh
Candidate, and Good Americans Go to Paris When They Die.
"Good riddance" said Francine.
"If I'd known, I'd have worn black this morning," said Paul.
An hour later as he was unloading his shopping cart on the checkout belt, Francine spotted the pre-wrapped hamburger lying next to Marvels of India, her latest travel book purchase. The couple scorned hamburgers, as they did most of the century's gimmicks. She stared at the distasteful thing, then at him, tragically.
Summoning a tight smile, he restored it to the meat counter. Continue…
Negotiating the Terms
by Gretchen Johnson
Gretchen Johnson
Gretchen Johnson received an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Texas State University in 2006. She currently lives in Beaumont, Texas, and works as an English Instructor at Lamar University. Her work has appeared in The Blue Bear Review, Poetry Harbor, Spout Press, The Sow's Ear Poetry Review, Words of Wisdom, and The Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry.
"I've been thinking about it, and I want a cat," she says.
"If you want a cat, I'll get you a cat. No problem." She smiles. "I'm really glad we're doing this. I thought about it a lot the last couple of days, and I know we're both going to benefit." She smiles but shifts uneasily in her chair. "We talked before about you being okay with this, but I want to briefly revisit that subject. It's important for me to know that you're okay with this. Is there anything that scares you?"
"No, I'm just still getting used to everything." Continue…
Creative Nonfiction
Echo Fever/Birmingham 1964
by Coral Hauck
Coral Hauck
Coral Hauck is back in school after raising four children. She has gone from writing absence excuses to writing short stories—admittedly, some of those excuses were quite fanciful and inspired. She is a corporate trainer for a security company, working on a degree in Business Communications and English. She enjoys bicycling with her family and daytripping. Her dream job would be to compete on the Food Network's TV's Next Food Network Star program.
Poetry
A Comfortable Place
by James E Cherry
James E Cherry
James E Cherry is the author of four books: Bending the Blues, a poetry chapbook from H&H Press (2003), Shadow of Light, a novel from London: Serpents Tail Press and Honoring the Ancestors, a collection of poetry from Third World Press and nominated for a 2009 NAACP Image Award. His collection of short fiction, Still A Man and Other Stories, was released 2011 from Aquarius Press/Willow Books. His work has been published in literary journals both nationally and internationally and anthologized in Bum Rush the Page (Crown), Beyond the Frontier (Black Classic Press), Roll Call (Third World Press) and Our Common Suffering (China). Cherry is an MFA candidate in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. He is a member of the Tennessee Arts Commission's Artist in Education Roster and resides in Tennessee with his wife, Tammy.
"Vincent's Bedroom in Arles" (1888) link to painting
At any moment, I expect you
to walk through that lilac door
after a day of painting wheatfields
under the Provençal sun, this strange place
refuge from smoke and drink. Continue…
Works List
- Sorted by author name
- Sorted by title
- Sorted by type (Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry)
Useful Links
To find information about Amarillo Bay authors, other literary magazines, and Web sites that might be interesting, see our Useful Links page.
Google™ Search
You can use Google to find works that appeared in Amarillo Bay. (Note that the search results may not include authors and works in the current issue.) You also can use Google to search the World Wide Web.
Works by Issue
Works are published the first Monday of February, the third Monday of May, the first Monday of August, and the first Monday of November.
| 2012, Volume 14 |
Number 1, 6 February 2012 — Current Issue |
| 2011, Volume 13 |
Number 4, 7 November 2011 Number 3, 1 August 2011 Number 2, 16 May 2011 Number 1, 7 February 2011 |
| 2010, Volume 12 |
Number 4, 1 November 2010 Number 3, 2 August 2010 Number 2, 17 May 2010 Number 1, 1 February 2010 |
| 2009, Volume 11 |
Number 4, 2 November 2009 Number 3, 3 August 2009 Number 2, 18 May 2009 Number 1, 2 February 2009 |
| 2008, Volume 10 |
Number 4, 3 November 2008 Number 4, 18 August 2008 Number 2, 19 May 2008 Number 1, 11 February 2008 |
| 2007, Volume 9 |
Number 4, 12 November 2007 Number 3, 6 August 2007 Number 2, 7 May 2007 Number 1, 5 February 2007 |
| 2006, Volume 8 |
Number 4, 6 November 2006 Number 3, 7 August 2006 Number 2, 8 May 2006 Number 1, 6 February 2006 |
| 2005, Volume 7 |
Number 4, 7 November 2005 Number 3, 8 August 2005 Number 2, 2 May 2005 Number 1, 7 February 2005 |
| 2004, Volume 6 |
Number 4, 1 October 2004 Number 3, 2 August 2004 Number 2, 3 May 2004 Number 1, 2 February 2004 |
| 2003, Volume 5 |
Number 4, 3 November 2003 Number 3, 4 August 2003 Number 2, 5 April 2003 Number 1, 3 February 2003 |
| 2002, Volume 4 |
Number 4, 4 November 2002 Number 3, 5 August, 2002 Number 2, 6 May 2002 Number 1, 4 February 2002 |
| 2001, Volume 3 |
Number 4, 5 November 2001 Number 3, 6 August 2001 Number 2, 7 May 2001 Number 1, 5 February 2001 |
| 2000, Volume 2 |
Number 4, 6 November 2000 Number 3, 7 August 2000 Number 2, 1 May 2000 Number 1, 7 February 2000 |
| 1999, Volume 1 |
Number 3, 1 November 1999 Number 2, 2 August 1999 Number 1, 3 May 1999 |