In or Out of Control: Spill

Most recently, the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history has been seeping into headlines and into our shared culture. The permanent damage this event will leave economically and environmentally is yet to be seen, but what is known is that 206 million gallons of oil spilled into our oceans. It began on April 20th and was officially declared over on September 19th.

Historical “spills” like this, or even personal upsets in our individual lives, serve as a wake-up call to the fact that the world is never as it seems.

As a noun, “spills” typically refer to negative occurrences. But, flipped on its side as a verb, to spill is not necessarily a “bad” thing. For instance, writers, whether they be of fiction, nonfiction or poetry, are regularly encouraged to spill—their guts, their emotions, their heart, their soul—onto the page.

Why? Because spills are what make our lives interesting and sharing them connects us to others. They generate a mutual understanding between people who would otherwise be more different than alike.

This issue of Sunday Salon takes spillage face on, in its various shapes, forms and interpretations, and peeps through the surface. So read on to find out what’s underneath. We promise you’ll re-emerge in tact, entertained and connected.

We dedicate this issue to you dear Reader.

– Barbara Sueko McGuire & Nita Noveno, Editors

FICTION

Be Careful by William Cass
Empty Pockets by Roof Alexander

NON-FICTION

Wingin’ It by Jessica Machado
Distrust the Inner Voice by Alisa Slaughter
Felicia by Ilana Garon

POETRY

Life Taxidermy by Brie Huling
A Psalm of What Happens When I Submit to Love by Bernadette McComish
Fado de Coimbra (serenade) by Mike Stutzman
Heart Decay by Brie Huling

INTERVIEWS

Ed Pavlic by Nita Noveno
Nancy Martini by Barbara Sueko McGuire