My brother and I came upon a shrine in Okinawa where miko still make kuchikamizake. Here—sipping rice wines fermented in the cheeks of virgins, is the closest I’ve ever come to intimacy. I want to…
Posts Published by Guest Contributor
For over sixty years, Portland Review has been supported by contributions from writers, editors, readers, and advocates of the literary arts. The journal is produced by the graduate students in the English Department at Portland State University, which is a nonprofit public institute.
The Brunch Complex by Matthew Springman
One year earlier they had been rushing toward a break. She had gone so far as to complicate things by hiring a lawyer. But things had calmed and the last three months had been focused…
Scare Baby by August Clarke
At first, I hide the zigzag. I feel that people will misunderstand. I wear my mother’s enormous sweaters, the long-necked ones, and I keep my sleeves unrolled so that my wrists are lost in the…
Holdfast by Jeanine Pfeiffer
I. Mendocino headlands, 6:20 a.m. Muffled grey skies, finger-chilling breeze, salinity infusing nostrils and eyes. The rhythmic whoosh and sigh of waves engulfing, abandoning, then reclaiming landfall with the fervency of ambivalent lovers. We have one…
Aubade from Voyager 1 by John Paul Martinez
Aubade from Voyager 1 Houston i am grazing inside the deep field only with the telescopes will you observe my lilting all i hear for now …