Dear Fictional Café Habitués, In this Merry Month of May, thirteen years ago, The Fictional Café began publishing your works of fiction, poetry, fine arts and photography, audio stories, and other delightful creative works. It’s been so much fun, so rewarding to publish your creative expressions. You have shown us the world as it is – and how it ought to be, as it is in your thoughts and soul, then shared in our ‘zine untarnished by the pursuit of money. We ask you to suspend submitting your new work with us until we let you know we’re back up and running. That said, we urge you with all that is good to continue creating and never stop. But for us, we need a break and hope you will forgive us for it. Our loyal and devoted…
3 Poems by Michael Bruebach
*Featured image courtesy of Kie-ker on Unsplash* A Grove Near Maggie Daley Park Don’t dream the day is still in front of us. all light in the grove; dead grass like sand all over the threadbare grounds, this hollowed clearing in the urban forest, ancient orchard obstructs the concrete sky. The Man who sits across the grounds has hands like a prophet, they are massive and awash in sunlight. twice, He kneels down into the sandpaper grass, throws His hands together toward the sky, and cries out. begs. wails. my shoulders shake out of reverence or fear. twice, He resumes reading when there is no apparent answer, licks His thumb and turns the page with a grin I am trying to stomach. my bare feet hold the dirt in some old form of offering. it…
FC’s 2025 National Poetry Month Roundup
Thanks to Vera West, our Poetry Barista, Malik White, Managing Editor, and PS Conway, Poetry Writer in Residence, for their most excellent curating of poems for this, our fifth April National Poetry Month. And a special thanks for recognizing our support to Ricardo Maldonado of Poets.org. We had so many poetry submissions we couldn’t publish them all individually, so here is a roundup of all the fine poets that could still be published during NPM. And if you submitted to PS Conway’s NPM 5 contest, we’ll be announcing the three winners shortly. Each will receive an autographed copy of his beautiful book – both in words and art – Echoes Lost In Stars. Salvatore DiFalco Lost Among Pines The pines know where they are, perfuming the air between them or exchanging subtle communiqués in a…
I am Conscious, Therefore I Am
Thoughts On Why We Are Conscious, by Steve Sangapore *Featured image courtesy of geralt on pixabay.com* What is consciousness? How did life originate? Are we alone in the universe? What is the solution to the marriage of general relativity and quantum mechanics? These are, among many others, some of the deepest wonders the human mind grapples with. Some are fairly recent to our catalog of existential mysteries while others have been with us since our ancient ancestors first gazed up at the heavens. In our modern time, these great questions have been left at the foot of the scientific enterprise as we patiently await new progress and developments that bring us closer to resolving these mysteries. One of them, however, is not like the others. Consciousness and conscious experience are understood as the subjective, intrinsic qualities…
National Poetry Month – 2025
*Featured Image courtesy of Christy Mandin and Poets.org* Fictional Cafe celebrates National Poetry Month for the fifth year in a row. We’re celebrating National Poetry Month once again! If you’d like to participate, feel free to submit your poetry here. At the end of the month, our Baristas will get together and vote on their favorites, with the top 3 poems earning a featured spot on the website. In addition, the winners will receive a free copy of our poetry writer in residence’s book – Echoes Lost in Stars. Good luck, and happy writing! National Poetry Month additional info: here.