University of San Francisco's Student-Run Literary Magazine
by Peter Bauer The sun grew fat and sank nearer to the horizon. The desert sky bloomed into oranges and purples. In this desert, hidden in the hills and noble cacti, an unnatural structure protruded from the earth: It was a radio tower, set up alongside a recreational vehicle and an old Subaru, some 20… Continue reading King of the Cacti
by Clay Glaus All Bucko could do was watch the dark silver-colored clouds gather above him and hear the crackle of thunder as a storm began to form, making it too dangerous to fly for the day. He was a Canadian goose who had spent the past couple of days making the journey southward to… Continue reading Lonesome Journey
by Clay Hobson Somewhere at the edge of Virginia, there is a house with faded yellow paint flaking away at the corners. In one of its dimly lit rooms, there is a little boy sitting with his legs pretzeled underneath himself with all the sharp edges of barbed wire, fingers tracing patterns through the carpet… Continue reading Myosotis
by Caitlin Upshall He called it the color of envy. The old tales say that it was once his color. His armies wore it while they conquered the world. But soon, the armies became the rebels, and the world grew smaller behind tall walls. The rebels used the color as the only mockery they could… Continue reading Remember Your Blue
by Daniel Webre Everywhere I looked, I could see ships’ sails. Odd for a parking lot with no water. I thought at first that a show was in progress, like the ones the old men hold on Saturdays with their classic cars. Since these were sails, I’d expected boats, but there were none. Instead, the… Continue reading Sails
by Erik Peters “What are you afraid of?” “Nothing,” I lied. “Then get in the water!” “No, I don’t want to.” The sun beat down from above and the sand radiated heat from below. I was beginning to panic. I wouldn’t have come on the bike ride if I’d known we would end up at… Continue reading Sea Monsters
by Brett Biebel I’d had sex before I met Davey, but not much, and it was mostly unsatisfying. With guys who were real earnest. Too earnest, probably. Like you could tell they prided themselves on respect, but maybe it was all just a pantomime of respect, and they were only doing it so they could… Continue reading The Boy Martyr
by Devan Hawkins Early in the evening, there was never any rhythm. The night of the Redcoat Club Reunion was no exception. A waitress would bring in a tray loaded with plates of uneaten food and crumpled napkins every few minutes, and clearing it was more like reaching for a glass of water at night,… Continue reading The Redcoat Club Reunion
by Simon A. Smith The first eight months of 2019 brought Chicagoans a minor celebrity claiming that he was the victim of a racist hate crime, a five-foot alligator nicknamed Chance the Snapper marooned in the Humboldt Park lagoon, and a summer marred by over 1,500 shootings. It’s hard to say which one got the… Continue reading The Treatment of Injuries
Ignatian Literary Magazine 