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Elvis Has Left the Building

May 7, 2016/in CNF, CNF, Summer-Fall 2016 / by Eric Day

The second I escaped high school, I went to work at my father’s full-line music store in the little corner hovel called the M.I. department, which stood for Musical Instruments. There wasn’t much to do but restock the clarinet reeds and trombone grease, make sure the ¼-size violins had bows in their cases, and dust […]

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Down in the River to Pray

May 4, 2016/in CNF, CNF, Summer-Fall 2016 / by Lois Ruskai Melina

This is what I knew: My nephew Benji graduated from drama school. When he crossed the stage to accept his diploma, he wore a sultry Lauren Bacall wig and a cream-colored satin evening gown with padded shoulders. His make-up was perfect, his lips the color of blood and desire. My mother told me he looked […]

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The Half-Buttoned Effect

May 3, 2016/in CNF, CNF, Summer-Fall 2016 / by Saeide Mirzaei

I want to reach out and slide the button back in the buttonhole. She’s standing right in front of me, wearing a light green dress with buttons on the back. A row of buttons, like a dotted line drawn from her nape to a random point halfway down her spine. I count the buttons: one, […]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png 0 0 Sherrye Henry https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Sherrye Henry2016-05-03 17:09:162023-08-11 10:41:42The Half-Buttoned Effect

Nothing Beats a Beergut Breakfast

May 2, 2016/in CNF, CNF, Summer-Fall 2016 / by Genevieve Morck

After I pass through security, I’ll have left them. Beergut, Special Son, and I hang out in a loose triangle several feet away from the glass doors. Nothing left to say or do, the time of my flight to Seoul heavy and ticking. I avoid Beergut’s icy gaze, look to metal crossbeams. The airport houses […]

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Home is Home

April 30, 2016/in CNF, CNF, Summer-Fall 2016 / by Suzanne Ushie

The car goes around a bend. The windows are up, the air cool, and we are hemmed in from every angle by the afternoon sun. In the back seat, my mother clasps my palm, as though to assure herself that I am really here. We ease onto IBB Way. On either side, the town lies […]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png 0 0 Sherrye Henry https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Sherrye Henry2016-04-30 17:07:372023-08-11 10:42:18Home is Home

Issue Archive

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Friday Lunch Blog

Friday Lunch! A serving of contemporary essays published the second Friday of every month.

Today’s course:

Being A Girl is Hard

November 28, 2025/in Blog / Shawn Elliott
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Diagnosis: Persisted or Silent Inheritance

November 7, 2025/in Blog / Paula Williamson
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The Queer Ultimatum Made Me Give My Own Ultimatum

September 26, 2025/in Blog / Lex Garcia
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Midnight Snack

Take a bite out of these late night obsessions.

Tonight’s bites:

The Lilac and The Housefly: A Tale of Tortured Romanticism

October 24, 2025/in Midnight Snack / Nikki Mae Howard
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Dig Into Genre

May 23, 2025/in Midnight Snack / Lauren Howard
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The dreams in which I’m (not) dying

April 25, 2025/in Midnight Snack / paparouna
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Amuse-Bouche

Little bites every third Friday to whet your appetite!

Today’s plate:

I Try So Hard Not to Bite Off His Tongue & One Poem

November 21, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Sheree La Puma
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Those from sadness – Found Poem

November 14, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Yirui Pan
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Pan_headshot.jpg 1707 1280 Yirui Pan https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Yirui Pan2025-11-14 11:00:102025-12-11 17:48:51Those from sadness – Found Poem

My Town

October 31, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Shoshauna Shy
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Shy_headshot-2.jpg 1091 862 Shoshauna Shy https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Shoshauna Shy2025-10-31 11:00:372025-12-11 17:48:51My Town

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School Lunch

An occasional Wednesday series dishing up today’s best youth writers.

Today’s slice:

I’ve Stayed in the Front Yard

May 12, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Brendan Nurczyk
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A Communal Announcement

April 28, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Isabella Dail
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SL-FB-Isabella-Dail.png 788 940 Isabella Dail https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Isabella Dail2021-04-28 11:34:132021-04-28 11:34:13A Communal Announcement

Seventeen

April 14, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Abigail E. Calimaran
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SL-Insta-Abigail-E.-Calimaran.png 1080 1080 Abigail E. Calimaran https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Abigail E. Calimaran2021-04-14 11:22:062021-04-14 11:22:06Seventeen

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Word From the Editor

Editing issue 28, I felt something similar to the way I feel near water: I dove into my own private world. The world above the surface kept roaring, of course. The notifications, deadlines, the constant noise was always there. But inside the work, inside these poems and stories and artwork, there was a quiet that felt entirely mine. A place where I could breathe differently.

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