2020-08-27 20:10
I know how it feels to be overwhelmed by the darkness and to hide in the warmth of its claws. It can all be shifted in the moment...
The post Dear Friend appeared first on Dreamers Creative… Read More
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2020-08-27 19:59
This is the great unhappening. If a tree falls in the woods if no one is there to hear if your only child dies a mother unmothered. You sold the van. They are going to set your baby on fire… Read More
2020-08-11 13:27
Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 Dreamers Haiku Contest! Once again, hundreds of haiku were submitted to this year's contest...
The post 2020 Haiku Contest – The Winners! app… Read More
2020-08-07 13:29
Markus stood by the closed gate. The airport had been busy that day. He had arrived in plenty of time, gone to the lounge, read the paper.
The post An Inch of Life appeared first on Dreamer… Read More
2020-07-30 14:06
“Am I dying, Mir?” he asks me, as we lie together in the narrow hospital bed, holding hands in the darkness. I sit up and turn to him. "Yes," I say simply, "You are, Bri."
The p… Read More
2020-07-24 14:25
The gully behind my aunt and uncle's new house intrigued me. It was deep and wild, and resembled a small canyon, with lots of wooded areas for city children...
The post Exploring Canyons app… Read More
2020-07-24 13:47
I stopped ignoring him on a frozen February morning. It was the kind of Monday I pictured postal carriers calling in sick. Five seconds out the front door of my apartment...
The post ITCH ap… Read More
2020-07-24 13:03
Thank God things are quiet. I guess it’s medication time everywhere in the hospital, the same way it can be Christmas everywhere in the world.
The post Thank God Things are Quiet appe… Read More
2020-07-12 12:25
...attempting to find the answer to “what do you write about” is quite possibly the most frustrating pursuit for me. I sometimes see other writers replying to this...
The post Th… Read More
2020-07-12 12:04
Our emotions are raw Kept tightly wrapped We talk of friends, the weather Never, what if………… Waiting this time is like watching for a birth
The post Modern Medica… Read More
2020-07-06 15:29
It was unusual for Aaron to call so I always answered the phone when he did. These conversations were cerebral and sometimes hard to follow...
The post Sibling Madness appeared first on Dre… Read More
2020-06-30 13:51
My Gran was born Florence --Imagine a baby in the 1920s With such a serious name--Burdensome, so she went by another But we never forget...
The post Florence, By Any Other Name appeared firs… Read More
2020-06-23 02:19
I often take pride in the testimony that I never wore dresses as a kid. But that’s a lie. At age 5 I wore one dress - a single dress and that dress only.
The post My Purple appeared fi… Read More
2020-06-23 00:55
I’m trying to get into our new safe deposit box, but I haven’t brought the key with me. “Can’t you open it with yours?” I ask. She gives me a quizzical look.
T… Read More
2020-05-29 13:38
I saw my father in the mirror. The eyes within the glass— The same shade as an Oak cascaded in moss— Are an uncanny reflection of his own.
The post What the Mirror Says appeared… Read More
2020-05-25 13:07
Check out this guide to Canadian literary submissions, which includes submission information for 90 Canadian literary journals, magazines and websites.
The post 80 Places to Submit Literary… Read More
2020-05-20 01:49
Shapes of Native Nonfiction delivers 27 lyric essays from 18 indigenous authors. The essays are grouped into four sections—technique, coiling, plaiting, and twining.
The post Book Rev… Read More
2020-05-18 19:35
“Can we pray for my brother?” She asked as I petitioned the class for prayer intentions. “We just found out he is going to be incarcerated...”
The post Same Like Me… Read More
2020-05-18 00:34
Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 Dreamers Stories of Migration, Sense of Place and Home Contest. This contest honours the term “Dreamers”...
The post Results of the 202… Read More
2020-05-17 23:56
A heavy weight presses down on my chest. It feels like a chasm is forming under the breastplates covering my heart. I take a moment...
The post Oralia appeared first on Dreamers Creative Wri… Read More
2020-05-17 23:33
I hold the paper in my hand. My case worker is friendly, not callous or distant. I ask him to decode the letter I have received in the mail. I think it says what I hope it says...
The post H… Read More
2020-05-17 22:47
The Sunday I first went to the quarry was after I made Tito choose. He’d been back in the States a few weeks. This is what his mother...
The post Under Water appeared first on Dreamers… Read More
2020-05-15 20:57
I arrive late at my writers group, stepping into the quiet swish of pens on paper, of fingers tapping on keyboards. I love that look of concentration...
The post Mumina, the Mouse and I appe… Read More
2020-05-15 19:37
Two days before the bicentennial and Madeline Harper’s tenth birthday, someone rowed an eighteen-foot Statue of Liberty constructed entirely of Venetian blinds...
The post Bring Me You… Read More
2020-05-13 06:07
Instantly, the first chapter of Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi introduces a peculiar, dissociative predicament, “By the time she (our body) struggled out into the world, slick and louder… Read More
2020-05-08 01:08
I hold the paper in my hand. My case worker is friendly, not callous or distant. I ask him to decode the letter I have received in the mail. I think it says what I hope it says...
The post T… Read More
2020-05-07 23:34
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about sunflowers—the kind that kept Van Gogh tethered to his body and that convinced Hannah Gadsby that human connection can shield us...
The pos… Read More
2020-05-05 23:08
The room is small, jail-like, with windows high in one wall. The air is humid. Breathing requires deep heavy intakes of energy. The bits of daylight filtering through...
The post The Babies… Read More
2020-05-02 23:13
It was a delight to discover Tammy T. Stone’s Formation. In this collection of poetry written left aligned and in fairly loose form...
The post Stone’s “Formation” a… Read More
2020-04-27 21:46
Over the last twelve months of life at the Alvarezes, from fall of ‘65 to fall ‘66, the seasons gained momentum. The autumn equinox passed.
The post Our Institutions appeared fi… Read More
2020-04-17 03:21
Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Dreamers Flash Fiction and Nonfiction Contest. In a flash story, it’s important to make every word count...
The post Results of the First Dre… Read More
2020-04-17 02:03
My father left his barbershop to work in construction years before I was born, yet he never stopped cutting hair. If you knew Gennaro well enough to visit his Italian home in the inner city… Read More
2020-04-16 20:33
Some days are yellow, some are blue. I know by heart my two-year-old’s favorite Dr. Seuss book and the rhymes repeat in my mind...
The post The Memory Box appeared first on Dreamers Cr… Read More
2020-04-16 19:57
“You need to choose which memories you want to delete,” the doctor said as she clasped her hands behind her head and tried to appear calm and confident...
The post Delete. appear… Read More
2020-04-16 19:05
A chick on a board. Rise, drop, hot wheels singin’, the wind in her hair. Ready for Scarecrow man – break on your board, slide under his skinny arm.
The post An Uncaged Bird ap… Read More
2020-04-16 13:49
Jane raced around her apartment leaving chaos in her wake. She was like a whirling dervish of manic energy. She always worked herself into a state...
The post Sheets appeared first on Dreame… Read More
2020-04-11 02:05
I’m pleased to announce the release of Issue 5 of the Dreamers Magazine. In this issue you’ll find...
The post Dreamers Magazine Issue 5 appeared first on Dreamers Creative Writi… Read More
2020-03-31 01:52
I have already decided: Today is the day I will kill my mother’s boyfriend. Mama's loaded shotgun has been leaning against her old dresser...
The post Eliminating Rahiem appeared first… Read More
2020-03-31 01:21
and every day my mother, who is every day a mother, looks down defeated by her hands the hands that are her mother’s hands the gnarled strega nonna branches
The post STILL appeared fir… Read More
2020-03-18 00:47
The Narrator’s cane taps an uneven rhythm against ancient stone tiles as he hobbles through the library. There is almost no light to see by, but this does not slow his pace.
The post A… Read More
2020-03-17 23:23
Clouds under stars, and the stars move superior to the clouds. I open my eyes to the sound of horses, peer up from a slit in my blankets.
The post In the Cypress Hills appeared first on Drea… Read More
2020-03-06 17:43
I was there to induce labor at 22 weeks’ gestation. I was there to end my pregnancy. To have a late-term abortion...
The post Doll appeared first on Dreamers Creative Writing Read More
2020-02-21 20:20
Three of Jake’s buddies flew directly from Afghanistan into intensive rehab for amputees. Jake got dropped off back home with a medal...
The post Fishing appeared first on Dreamers Cre… Read More
2020-02-18 02:01
Some days are yellow, some are blue. I know by heart my two-year-old’s favorite Dr. Seuss book and the rhymes repeat in my mind...
The post Some Days Are Yellow appeared first on Dream… Read More
2020-02-17 18:02
You loved the rose-scented soap in my bathroom. You would rub it all over your body in the shower, and I would flinch, and think 'is that even hygienic'?
The post Rose-T(a)inted appeared fir… Read More
2020-02-02 18:51
Run. Twirl. Swing. Dash out the door. Hop around squares. Kneel on the floor. Jump through two ropes that are turning. All as natural as a bird taking wing.
The post Breathing; Love These Li… Read More
2020-02-02 17:06
We're hosting a writing retreat in Hepworth, Ontario, Canada! Join us July 17-20, 2020 at the Dreamers Writing Farm near beautiful Sauble Beach in the Bruce Peninsula.
The post Dreamers Writ… Read More
2020-01-26 15:09
Gerry has a busted face. We could all see it coming, standing at the bottom of the hill, looking up at him hurtling down on his snow saucer.
The post Gerry’s Ride appeared first on Dr… Read More
2020-01-26 14:51
I never knew how my mom would answer the question that I’d pose to her each morning when I’d call at 6:45. It was the same question every day...
The post Who I Am appeared first… Read More
2020-01-22 02:47
It was the first beautiful Sunday of spring. You know that smell the air gets when the sun finally comes out? That’s what that day was. Winter had been grueling.
The post Sunday Drive… Read More
2020-01-13 20:43
What I want the surgeon to know is not included in the pre-op interview, where my life of pain has been reduced to color-by-number shades: a lavender 4 to get out of bed, an orange 7...
The… Read More
2020-01-13 03:21
Stepping out of autumn-chilled water, sun still warming my bare skin, I glance back at the lake wondering, will this be my last swim of the season?
The post You Never Know, and More…… Read More
2020-01-06 02:28
What brings you here? I ask. My name badge tugs at my thin floral blouse asking me the same question. My name has sorrow...
The post The Identified Patient appeared first on Dreamers Creativ… Read More
2019-12-31 01:53
When my grandmother died, my mother reported that her last words were: “Is that all?” Although I was not present at her death, I doubted this.
The post Here At Home appeared firs… Read More
2019-12-31 01:29
apprehension caused by awareness that a crucial detail has been left out | fear of putting into words things felt intuitively | fear that ...
The post Compendium appeared first on Dreamers… Read More
2019-12-31 01:04
It was an accident, he didn’t mean to, I forced him, I provoked, I should have kept my distance, should have shut up when told...
The post An Accident appeared first on Dreamers Creati… Read More
2019-12-31 00:27
The pale-blue sky stretches to the horizon, broken up here and there by tendrils of white scudding along like wispy phantoms.
The post Danny’s Song appeared first on Dreamers Creative… Read More
2019-12-26 03:36
My daughter, now eighteen, is vibrant and healthy. Julia Rose has wild curly blonde hair that frames her face like a lion’s mane.
The post Preemie appeared first on Dreamers Creative W… Read More
2019-12-22 15:28
Each day he packs. Takes pictures off the walls, adds the dish that held his morning toast. The crumbs too. One slipper goes into his bag. One stays under the bed.
The post A Kind of Poetry… Read More
2019-12-20 12:53
“It’s him - I’m sure of it.”
“Lizzie, I think your imagination is working overtime. It’s not him.”
The post Lipstick on a Cigarette appeared first o… Read More
2019-11-19 21:36
I walk into my parents’ home to pick my mom up for a family gathering, and like most days over the past few weeks, palpable sorrow greets me at the door.
The post Where Courage Lives a… Read More
2019-11-18 20:39
a darkening sky
feeds on a bloodied woman
dawn beckons freedom
The post curled into sorts. appeared first on Dreamers Creative Writing Read More
2019-11-14 21:47
An interview with author, Steven Heighton, featuring writing as re-enaction, exploring obsessions, and the night-mind.
The post An Interview with Steven Heighton appeared first on Dreamers C… Read More
2019-11-11 21:48
While growing up in Spanish Harlem - El Barrio as we knew it during the exhilarating years of the 1970s and 80s - diversity was my monarch, acceptance my culture, and faith my freedom.
The… Read More
2019-11-06 17:58
Social media has provided writers with an abundance of opportunities. From networking to marketing; it's now possible for their work to reach thousands of readers, in just a click of a butto… Read More
2019-10-24 23:51
A new mother doesn't need words to pray. Her body is a pulsing prayer in motion. If there's a part or fiber of her body not engaged in nurturing I don't know of it.
The post The Body as Poe… Read More
2019-10-13 14:23
On a long inland lake shaped like a kidney bean, banked by low cliffs and surrounded by miles of boreal forest, brooded over by a solid grey sky, a lone canoe zigs and zags about the central… Read More
2019-10-02 22:18
in a split second | life shifts | you fall | not sure if | you heard it correctly | sprawled on the ground | truth has you pinned | writing about death | placing it on paper
The post In the… Read More
2019-09-25 00:52
Blame the promiscuous breeze of Chernobyl, diesel fumes, warp-walled genes. Blame payback. Blame the consorts of unhappiness, Freud shouting Get a grip.
The post BLAME appeared first on Drea… Read More
2019-09-20 08:23
Cooler by the lake was no longer heard on the evening news, and in the sunbaked hills that ringed town, the cherries—normally at market by now—clung to the trees like peas.
The… Read More
2019-09-15 23:50
I’m a blondish plucked chicken underneath my burgundy scarf
though I thought I was bold and tough when I cut my hair short weeks ago ready with wigs and peacock-bright coverings
The po… Read More
2019-09-12 12:02
If Lady Liberty could open her copper and iron lips and formulate words, would she emit French, a French accent? Would she say your fatigué, your pauvre, your huddled masses?
The pos… Read More
2019-09-08 01:43
Good friends are hard to find. Some friendships are centred around convenience; we build attachments to those around us simply because they are there.
The post I Will If You Will appeared f… Read More
2019-09-02 01:42
“Nice deep breaths, Mrs. Crandall. In through your nose, out through your mouth…” Helen Crandall was becoming more aware. She was flat...
The post The Nurse appeared first… Read More
2019-09-01 02:30
I am on the second floor of the De Young Museum in San Francisco, California, sitting on a marvelous curved, but slightly uncomfortable, wooden bench...
The post The Transient Nature of Fee… Read More
2019-08-31 13:03
Before they leave, his mother and sister and him, for what will turn out to be their last visit to the hospital, Jake, twelve and a half years old, sits in his father’s office in the b… Read More
2019-08-27 21:08
Two children picked their way down the curve of a beach, in the clear air that follows a storm. The cyclone had strewn junk across their path...
The post The Storyteller appeared first on D… Read More
2019-08-22 18:27
Submit a fiction or nonfiction story of between 300 and 1000 words for your chance to win! The winner will receive $250 CAD and 2 print copies of the Dreamers magazine.
The post Flash Ficti… Read More
2019-08-22 18:09
in the two hour sunset after the eight hour evening I become a goop puddle in your passenger seat. you play that song and I don’t know which words are coming next.
The post in the two… Read More
2019-08-18 16:19
Some human cells adapt to toxic stress by physically becoming other cells. Smoke enough, and tall columns become flat lung lines. Turn 16, and girl lining becomes home-in-waiting. The word f… Read More
2019-08-18 02:36
I am borne of a landscape of freckles. My mother, her father, his mother: the Williams and Shepherds, the English and Welsh. The bounty of peach farms, peace roses and quiet spirituality.
Th… Read More
2019-08-14 20:35
This poem was once a bird | An eagle in fact | Whose span of wing | And accurate sight | Was the stuff that legend makes.
The post This poem was once a bird appeared first on Dreamers Creati… Read More
2019-08-10 20:27
At the Dreamers Writing Farm, we'll be offering writing retreats, self-directed residencies, writing workshops, and general accommodations.
The post Announcing the Dreamers Writing Farm app… Read More
2019-08-07 03:15
I’m holding your drawing. It’s more of a map, really, a magic-marker rendering of your family’s redesign. Embellished stick figures rise...
The post Community Garden appear… Read More
2019-08-04 14:26
Common as pennies, they mob the feeder, empty it in a day— nothing left for finches, wrens, chickadees— birds from the genus Passeridae, meaning flutterer.
The post Because the S… Read More
2019-07-29 16:21
After Birth
– by Kaitlyn Neath –
Siblings
I wonder if your eyes are her eyes the colour of ash(es to ashes) and I hold you a little longer.
Digging
Stop dig… Read More
2019-07-27 16:57
Stay With Me
– Jen Feener –
They say that life has a way of giving you exactly what you need when you least expect it. That when one life ends, another is born. Some even… Read More
2019-07-21 13:42
Semi Colon
– Nonfiction by Cheryl Levine –
Fall 2018
There are days, sometimes weeks, when you don’t even think about it. Then, one day, in front of the bathroom m… Read More
2019-07-20 03:04
Rhythm
– Nonfiction by Jim Ross –
“Wake up! Michael’s stopped breathing. We gotta go.”
The voice seems familiar, perhaps a
childhood playmate’s… Read More
2019-07-17 17:12
Layered Poetry in heft by Doyali Islam
– Book Review by Carole Mertz –
heft, $15.39 CND 106 pages Amazon.ca, 2019
A prolific
history lies behind Doyali Islam and h… Read More
2019-07-17 00:13
I Can’t Even Get to Hell
– Nonfiction by John Mancuso –
After the first of my many cousins died from cancer, the extended family started getting together every August… Read More
2019-07-10 02:29
Inside a Ring of Owls
– Nonfiction by Jenn Ashton –
Last night we stood outside and all around us the owls were calling to each other. It felt like a p… Read More
2019-07-07 01:26
kindled
– Poetry by Nan Williamson –
This morning, my body unfurls from sleep, soft sheets teasing bare breasts, groin thrumming. Outside my window, a go… Read More
2019-07-05 13:36
Of Shoes, Feet, and
Legs
– Nonfiction by by Charlotte Crowder –
My mother had great legs. She passed them on; Nora has them now.
Her shoes were small and wide, like her… Read More
2019-07-05 03:22
Autobiography of a Boob
– Nonfiction by Deborah Morris –
Let’s talk about breasts. We’re all woman here. They are a part of us, sometimes, however briefly, per… Read More
2019-07-01 03:02
2019 Haiku Contest Results
Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Dreamers Haiku Contest!
Small. Mighty.
We had over 600 haiku submitted to this contest. The number and qual… Read More
2019-06-28 21:30
Announcing Dreamers Magazine Issue 3
I’m pleased to announce the release of Issue 3 of the Dreamers Magazine.
In this issue you’ll find the winner and honorable mentio… Read More
2019-06-26 19:51
STAMPEDE
– Fierce Fiction by Lily MacKenzie –
The Calgary Stampede
had roared into town. My friend Sharon and I met at the Fairgrounds’ entrance
at 8:00 PM. We pushe… Read More
2019-06-22 02:51
Leading with My Heart
– Non-Fiction by Virginia Foley – Leading With My Heart
“Leading With My Heart” by Virginia Foley“Well he seemed so low that I could… Read More
2019-06-19 00:27
A Tree with No Roots
– Non-Fiction by Ken Chen –
“A Tree with No Roots” by Ken ChenI am wholly and completely my own person, an
individual defined only by myse… Read More
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