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Author Headshot

First Place: K. Vaghela

May 17, 2021/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2021 / K. Vaghela

How does one mourn
a not-dead, a once-here-but
not here?

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/K.-Vaghela-Headshot-scaled-1.jpeg 2560 2023 K. Vaghela https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png K. Vaghela2021-05-17 10:47:172021-06-16 15:46:19First Place: K. Vaghela
Author Headshot

Second Place: Mai Serhan

May 17, 2021/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2021 / Mai Serhan

I make an offering,
mango crescents,
powdered moon,
dipped one in dusk,

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Mai-Serhan-Headshot-scaled-1.jpg 2560 1707 Mai Serhan https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Mai Serhan2021-05-17 10:47:072021-06-16 15:44:31Second Place: Mai Serhan
Author Headshot

Third Place: Rich Pagano

May 17, 2021/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2021 / Rich Pagano

Songs of morning doves
revealed during the lockdown.

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/RGPagano-Headshot.jpg 2422 1582 Rich Pagano https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Rich Pagano2021-05-17 10:46:262021-06-16 15:44:59Third Place: Rich Pagano

Sky Ghost

April 28, 2020/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2020 / Fiona H

Words like vapour from skies redeemed

Enchanted from the start

The nectarous rill of romance.

A perfect Magic.

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sound hour

March 12, 2020/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2020 / Britta Alford

I look out of the small kitchen window

above the table,

and saw the skin of your elbow

hanging from the outline

of a phantom shard glass.

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Britta-Alfordheadshot.jpg 1800 1440 Britta Alford https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Britta Alford2020-03-12 12:18:082020-03-12 13:31:01sound hour

In Passing

January 29, 2020/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2020 / Peter Chiu

re: your temporal lobe/circular breath/first words as
typography/the eye slant/your name/your heritage/how
we cradle our Mother Tongue/the way your back slouches
when dreaming

Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/PeterChiu-scaled.jpg 2560 1920 Peter Chiu https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Peter Chiu2020-01-29 20:11:282020-03-12 13:32:32In Passing

O’Hare

October 8, 2019/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2019 / Mackenzie Moore

It’s always the drive to the airport
when you look at me
merging concern from
the corner of your right eye
in my direction […]

Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MackenzieMoore.jpg 1280 853 Mackenzie Moore https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Mackenzie Moore2019-10-08 12:29:002019-10-08 12:33:32O’Hare

Styx

September 1, 2019/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2019 / Karthik Sethuraman

In this poem, I am an outlaw / though what do
I know about headstones or hemoglobin / my
father promised me that Morricone captured the
most important feature of existence / the whistle […]

Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Karthik-SethuramanAugust_opt.jpg 400 300 Karthik Sethuraman https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Karthik Sethuraman2019-09-01 23:23:012019-09-01 23:24:27Styx

These Boots Are Made for Trauma

August 12, 2019/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2019 / Lannie Stabile

My feet
Are wearied and jaded
As a pair,
one incites the other […]

Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/JulyTwitterPoetry_LannieStabile_opt.jpg 400 300 Lannie Stabile https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lannie Stabile2019-08-12 22:32:452019-08-12 22:32:45These Boots Are Made for Trauma

transgender (adjective)

July 24, 2019/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2019 / Danielle Rose

trans·​gen·​der | \ tran(t)s-ˈjen-dər, tranz-\

Definition of transgender
1. a  : of, relating to, or being a person who is vulnerable : see OTHER

// like a fetus or an orioles’ egg it is fragile & frequently unborn […]

Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DanielleRoseJuneWinner_opt.jpg 400 300 Amanda Lopez https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Amanda Lopez2019-07-24 18:25:042019-07-24 18:35:59transgender (adjective)

Anthem

May 26, 2019/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2019 / Carla Schwartz

We, of the overbearing bosses,
the sovereign bosses
hovering over our desks,
we, just looking to advance our careers,
or seeking guidance, a leg up, […]

Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Schwartz_HeadshotMay2019_opt-1.jpg 400 300 Amanda Lopez https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Amanda Lopez2019-05-26 20:34:442019-07-24 18:35:28Anthem

A diaspora gives birth

April 19, 2019/in Twitter Contest, Twitter Contest 2019 / Alex Luceli Jiménez

Like a whisper caressing the back of our necks / kissing a line connecting sporadic wisps of hair / that’s how we feel it / a promise of a home we ever got to claim / made from bricks the color of earth / as deep and rich and brown as our skin […]

Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Jiménez_Headshot_opt.jpg 400 300 Alex Luceli Jiménez https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Alex Luceli Jiménez2019-04-19 09:31:452019-07-24 18:34:06A diaspora gives birth

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Genre Archive

  • Creative Nonfiction
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Flash Prose
  • Lunch Specials
  • Poetry
  • Interviews
  • Translation
  • Visual Art
  • Young Adult

Friday Lunch Blog

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

Today’s course:

The Many Drafts of My (Writing) Life

September 4, 2026/in Blog / Caren McDonald
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Headshot_Caren-McDonald-scaled.jpg 2560 2048 Caren McDonald https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Caren McDonald2026-09-04 12:05:032026-09-06 17:44:44The Many Drafts of My (Writing) Life

A Love Like No Other

August 7, 2026/in Blog / Claudia Vaughan
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Being A Girl is Hard

November 28, 2025/in Blog / Shawn Elliott
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More Friday Lunch Blog »

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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More Midnight Snacks »

Amuse-Bouche

Little bites every third Friday to whet your appetite!

Today’s plate:

Unraveling

September 11, 2026/in Amuse-Bouche / Jessica Wingate
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Tulip Garden

August 28, 2026/in Amuse-Bouche / Cassandra Baliga
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“Live from the 054 bus in Athens” and “Violanta Biscuit Factory Blast”

August 14, 2026/in Amuse-Bouche / Athena Melliar
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More Amuse-Bouche »

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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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

More School Lunch »

Word From the Editor

Readers,

On December 23rd, 2024, I lost a dear friend of mine, Valerie Goldstein. She was a fellow teacher and writer, and she spent her young adult life being a voice for change. Valerie had organized protests, and her dream was to get into educational policy. When I heard the news of her death, I was grief-stricken. She was so full of life and happiness, and I thought that the world had lost another good one.

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