Main Content
POETRY
don’t look just pray
by Natalka Fydyshyn
the eyes on my knees get misty and cruciform from so much time shit-eating at the pew. by pew i mean my two favorite bathroom tiles, by pew i mean any god’s green my eyes can get a good grip on. the shit-eating is an ancient agreement that stipulates i don’t get a say in […]
My Socks at Night
by Celia Easton Koehler
i take my socks off, ball one inside the other, and tuck them under my pillow. i like that in the morning, i can put my socks on before getting out of bed. i dread feeling cold & the cold’s emphasis on maintenance or covering up, which is a form of separating oneself from the […]
FICTION
Stealth Autopsies, Every Damn Friday by Dane Rook
Agarwal kept a signed Yankees baseball bat hanging on the wall in is his office, and whenever he needed to concentrate, he’d take it down and fondle it, like those little stones that dufuses keep in their pockets, for when they get worried – and worried is exactly what all of us junior guys at […]
When You Reach Out to Touch Me
by Mona Lisa
“Oh, Lee!” Nina cheered, throwing her lanky arms toward the spotless sky, “I’m in love!” I watched from the shore as she submerged herself in the Atlantic. Hunched over, I held my forearms in front of my frayed string bikini top. Nina rose from the water, singing incoherent joy as water from her bangs cascaded […]
NONFICTION
The Squirrels and the Pecan Tree
by Elizabeth J. Wenger
We wanted the pecans. The squirrels also wanted the pecans. And therein, as they say, lay the problem. Let us start another way. Say the pecan tree is a symbol sprouting in the grassy lawn of my youth. A symbol of what? you ask. Let’s say a symbol of my family’s dominion. Our domain. Our […]
My Other Sister: Understanding My Mother through her “Forgotten” Pregnancy
by Delia Lloyd
In November 2017, I stumbled upon a photo of a person I didn’t recognize. Buried amongst my mother’s socks, it was a picture of a baby girl in a white, ruffled dress. The girl—I’d guess she was about a year old—was seated alone in the middle of a long, mid-century vinyl sofa with brass buttons. […]
TRANSLATION
Jalebi
by Zekeriyya Sükkerî El-Bosnavî, translated from the Ottoman Turkish by Denis Ferhatović
Nedür ol kurs-ı müşebbek-endâm Zann ider anı gören bedr-i temam Zerd-rû itmiş anı pûte-i kâl Regleri olmış anuñ halka-misâl Katre-i ter iken ol sîm-ı mûzâb Görinür sûziş-i ğamdan pür-tâb Çıksa bâzâra ger ol puhte-dimâğ Sürh u rengîn ider anı sabbâğ Bedr iken olsa şikeste fi’l-hâl Yerine hâsıl olur niçe hilâl What is that round thing, […]
The Hill
by Yuriko Miyamoto, translated from the Japanese by Joanne Dare
Translator’s Note The three years Yuriko Miyamoto (1899-1951) spent in Moscow had a profound effect on her life and work. Although still in her twenties, she was already an acclaimed novelist when in 1927 she set out for the Soviet Union with her female lover Yoshiko Yuasa (the “friend” mentioned in the text). She returned […]
REVIEWS
Review: tommy wyatt blake’s MIASMAMIST: a poetic display of egoist anarchy
by mk zariel
This review is a reprint. It was originally published by fsm. Review: tommy wyatt blake’s MIASMAMIST: a poetic display of egoist anarchy As the narrative begins, a nameless figure hands over their business card, yet no name or job title appears—instead, the card bears a grimly honest statement about the reader’s life: “trust me, i’m […]
Review: Fatemeh Shams’s Hopscotch
translated from the Persian by Armen Davoudian
by Mahdi Ganjavi
In The Beginning, There Was Translation Hopscotch (Falschrum Books and Ugly Duckling Presse, 2024) is a collection of 13 poems in Persian by Fatemeh Shams, accompanied by their English translations by Armen Davoudian, and a series of evocative photographs by Stefan Maneval. This collection delves deeply into the themes of exile, memory, and the internal […]
CULTURE
Christian Nationalism and the Dubious Possibility of Change
by McKenzie Watson-Fore
This essay is written by MAYDAY magazine’s Critic in Residence For the previous three pieces in this critical residency, I’ve focused on evangelicalism, the intersections of Christian and mainstream literature, and the collision of pop culture and evangelical subculture. For my fourth piece, I want to turn the lens toward an expression of evangelicalism more […]
MAYDAY Staff Survey: The Best Reads of 2025
by MAYDAY Staff
2025 was another fantastic year for literature, and the team at MAYDAY enjoyed classics and new publications alike. Every year, we survey the team to see what their favorite books of the year, whether they’re new releases or just new to them. And this year, we had the privilege of welcoming in new team members. […]
