5 Years of Philly Lit (Plus: Cake)
As we contemplate the New Year, we’re tying up loose ends. This fall we had the privilege of celebrating our 5th birthday with Gigantic Sequins, a fellow Philadelphia literary magazine, with cake, a reading and a writing contest at Temple Contemporary.
The contest highlighted the cross-pollination that occurs between writers in Philadelphia. We love us some collaboration! We asked attendees to take inspiration from a favorite piece in APIARY or Gigantic Sequins, and to remix the piece into something new and original.
Kimberly Ann Southwick of Gigantic Sequins & Lillian Dunn of APIARY Magazine
Here, we present the contest winners. Thank you for celebrating with us, and we look forward to mixing it up in the new year!
POETRY TO FICTION WINNER: EMILY BOLEN
CONVERSION OF “APRIL 15: WEED ON CREDIT, OR, WORD IS BOND” BY BRANDON HOLMQUEST
APIARY MAGAZINE
She ripped a rhinestone from the front of her notebook and glued it to the front of her notebook; she wanted her words to move. Her Saturday mornings were impossible. Cartoons held her attention and doodles found themselves on the palms of her hands. She could never eat toast without honey. Coffee hung to her breath and clung to her intolerable musings; those were Saturday mornings. Postcards lined her bedroom walls. She has never left the country, nor the state. She orders postcards on eBay and collects dirt from the sidewalk because it is fleeting. (S)aturday (h) mornings ar(e) impossible.
FLASH FICTION TO POETRY WINNER: JESSICA SMITH
CONVERSION OF “MERMAIDS” BY JUSTIN LAWRENCE DAUGHERTY
GIGANTIC SEQUINS 4.1
Beneath
Something from Beneath calls to me
Blinding white diamonds dance
On the water’s surface
As I dig my toes into slick sludge
And fight the rocking waves.
With eyes closed I fight the urge
To shiver in the frosty green
Millions of goosebumps line my skin
And my forehead pinches tight & red
As a hazy sun stares down.
I life my feet and float in silence
Tendrils of hair spread out like eels
My mermaid locks, my father said
And I think again how lovely to be
In debt to no one but the sea.
Come on, they call impatient
From a hot, dry place miles away
If only I could swim miles below
And never surface or hear or see
Those far away, muted whines above me
Something from Beneath calls to me
Something inside of me answers.*
