Charge Magazine

18/02/2023

“That conversation took place, as Victor recalled, during a long and arduous bike ride that the two of us had undertaken on the towpath of the C&O Canal, a trip that started in Washington, D.C. and ended two days and a hundred and eighty-four miles later in Cumberland, MD. Near the end of the second day, when we were both exhausted and the ambient temperature had climbed to ninety degrees, Victor announced that he wanted to die. His only misgiving about death, he confided, was that he probably wouldn’t – in view of his faithlessness – be eligible for resurrection.”
A thoughtful epistolary essay by Elliot Wilner in this issue. Read and ponder at https://chargemag.org/issueno6unveiled/2023/1/25/resurrectionelliotwilner

18/02/2023

"I’d nearly met my maker
in a wreck on Hwy H
me and Tim and Mary
failed to maneuver a curve
rolled Tim’s truck several times
all of us ejected—
Mary broke her back
I’d gone out the windshield
lay in a field
ribs and collarbone shattered
organs crushed
looking at the stars
unable to move or breathe
knew I was dying
tried to make peace with God
but against the odds
we all of us made it through
so this was a second brush with death—
here lies David Cravens
killed by middle-school girls"

Read the full poem by David R. Cravens here: https://chargemag.org/issueno6unveiled/2023/1/25/americanzencravens

15/02/2023

"river-carved canyon walls are most

auspiciously viewed at dusk"

Auspicious, dusky, canyon-colored poetry by LA Felleman in this issue of Charge. Read more here: https://chargemag.org/issueno6unveiled/2023/1/25/poetrybyla

12/02/2023

“Fire is an interesting ingredient in cocktails, mainly due to its volatile nature and ability to rapidly transform ingredients from one thing to another. Fire brings different aromas, flavors, and textures into the picture that are otherwise unavailable. It also adds a sense of adventure, or danger, depending on how you view the flames. The pine from the génépy plays nicely with the aromatic notes in the terroir gin. Slight bitterness from the Bonal balances with herbal sweetness from the benedictine.” Step up to the fire! Recipe and detailed instructions from mixologist Jaime Rae Jackson, including a non-alcoholic version!
https://chargemag.org/issueno6unveiled/2023/1/25/trialbyfirebyjaimejackson

11/02/2023

“The slant of late summer shadows fell heavily under the pointed arches and ornate stonework. Within the residence halls, across the tables of the dining centers, and within the ordered and numbered rows of classrooms, the intractable buzz of tradition could already be heard: “Who will birth the owl?”’
Read Birthing the Owl, a story of strange tradition and a contagious idea that perhaps believes itself into being. Short fiction by Darek Benesh. https://chargemag.org/issueno6unveiled/2023/1/25/birthing-the-owl-darek-benesh

09/02/2023

“A glass is clinked and the audience turns toward something covered by a sheet. A small speech is made, and a rope is pulled, revealing a new artwork. The people applaud and move closer to see this next stroke of genius. This is much how I hear Miles’s “All Blues.” The song starts as a retrospective tour, of sorts. There are samples and bits of all the styles Miles has dabbled in up to that point. But then, the tone shifts and he begins to display a sound we’d never heard before. In one song, he’s celebrated his past and unveiled the new direction he would travel.”
Read more of Ron Adkins liner notes for this issue’s curated playlist. From Miles Davis to Yellowjackets, you’ll be pulled into the unveiling.
https://chargemag.org/issueno6unveiled/2023/1/25/mixtaperonadkins

09/02/2023

“All of my paintings, whether still life, landscape, bird paintings, or figurative works, are all subtle dramas within their own worlds. I believe we create our own world, which is a combination of the mundane, the magical, the mystical, and the mysterious. We often don’t understand our world and our role in it. It is through painting that I try to gain a greater understanding of my own psyche and my place in the world.”
Meander through the magical, mysterious world of the unveiled and read the full interview with the artist at https://chargemag.org/issueno6unveiled/2023/1/25/bareismoyyadinterview.

05/02/2023

It's here! Issue No. 6: Unveiled.
"...surface pursuits consume the minutes and the hours of our days. What would we find if we pulled back the veils; if we looked beneath the surface?"
We're excited to invite you to come on in and take a look around. Artwork by Arbe Bareis-Moyyad. Music curated by Ron Adkins, drinks by Jaime Rae Jackson. Short fiction by Darek Benesh and Tess Canfield, essay by Elliot Wilner, and poetry by LA Felleman and David R. Cravens.
https://chargemag.org/issueno6unveiled

12/12/2022

Send us your work! We're looking for stories, flash fiction, poems, creative non-fiction, film or music reviews, artwork or other creative pieces that explore the topic "Unveil." Check out the guidelines on our website. Link in bio.

04/04/2021

What better day than Easter Sunday to usher into the world a syllabus on Hope.
Dig deep into the latest issue of Charge with work from artist Kim Martin, UK filmmakers Danielle Imara and Yolande Beker, poet Diane Kendig, art reviewer Max Gruber, stage, screen and radio talent Natascha Graham, and fiction writers Vance Mikin-Laurie, H S Derkin, Gary Campanella, Sara Ray, Rob Yates, and Wendy Cousins-Savage.

https://chargemag.org/issueno5hope

10/03/2021

Congratulations to S. Qiouyi Lu on being nominated for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association’s annual Rhysling Award! Their nominated poem, Budapest, first appeared in Charge magazine's Fall 2020 issue, Essential.
https://chargemag.org/issue-no-4-essential/2020/6/9/poems-by-s-qiouyi-lu

"Budapest" for Lianne 1 You dreamed of this place once when you were a child, and Budapest clung to the page of an old book. That night, you prowled through cobblestone streets, through dusty libraries, and you rested your hand on a verdigris statue. Time runs a line through your