April 30, 2025

FC’s 2025 National Poetry Month Roundup

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…

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April 28, 2025

I am Conscious, Therefore I Am

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…

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April 18, 2025

National Poetry Month – 2025

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.

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March 31, 2025

PS Conway Named Prez!

PS Conway Named Prez!

by The Fictional Cafe Editorial Staff It was an exciting – may we say shocking? – weekend when every minion of the current US Administration resigned in protest, followed by the entire Congress and Senate! (Note: what the current news-for-sale media won’t publish is they also resigned at gunpoint.) Oh My Gosh! It seems everybody who is – was? – somebody wanted a Control-Alt-Delete change in guvva-mint, and Fictional Cafe is delighted to announce that PS Conway, our current Fearless Leader and ruling Poetry Writer in Residence, has, as of today, April Fool’s Day, been selected (note: removing the s is your prerogative)! Of course, Fictional Cafe Baristas were quickly appointed to all the significant positions of governmensch but now it looks like the whole nation is celebrating! In live interviews on the Washington Memorial…

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February 6, 2025

8 Art Pieces by QQ Yi

8 Art Pieces by QQ Yi

*Curated by Fine Arts Barista, Yucen Yao* We have another set of art pieces this week, this time featuring QQ Yi. It is clear that QQ is a talented artist in many of its mediums: from painting, to writing, and music as well. I hope she shares her work with us again in the future as she continues to grow as a person and an artist. Artist Statement: I enjoy smearing words on your face, just like spreading paint on a canvas. What is medium, truly? It is the essence of mountains, kiwis, books, melodies, winds, birds, dried fragments of skin, dumplings, Sichuan peppercorns, the passing of three birthdays, nocturnal pathways, the inexplicable affection for another, stones, Pat Martino’s guitar riffs, chairs, a light bulb cradled in a pillowcase, the hummingbird outside my window, the…

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January 24, 2025

10 Collage Pieces by Joe Suh

10 Collage Pieces by Joe Suh

We have something special for you all on FC this week. Our Arts and Design barista, Yucen Yao, has been working hard since she joined, and we finally have a chance to show some of the work she has curated for us. First up, we have a set of collage pieces by Joe Suh. I especially resonated with Joe’s artist statement because I feel like it embodies what Fictional Café stands to be – a creative space for artists to express and share their passions. I’m happy Joe decided to share his work with us, and I hope he shares more of his creations with us in the future. Artist Statement: My personal practice focuses on the physical and meditative exploration that comes from creating physical collages in a digitally dominated profession. As a contrast…

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January 7, 2025

8 Poems by John Grey

8 Poems by John Grey

*Featured image courtesy of Tama66 on Pixabay* Happy New Year! Let’s kick it off with a wonderful set of poems from longtime FC contributor, John Grey. CAR NERD  On his wall, he’s hung a poster  of an automobile cutaway.  It’s his version of Miss August in a swim-suit.  The poster’s so detailed you  can see the ball joint, the bushings,  tie rod, disc brake rotor, universal joint.  The tiny boxes with the arrows are unnecessary.  He knows each part by name and function.  I’m a book worm. I accept that.  But he’s this other kind of worm,  hatched in floor pans, fed on exhaust,  dressed in STP.  And, on his dresser, there’s this photograph  of a bright red mustang circa 1965.  One loving glance at it  and he’s on the highway,  foot to the floor, …

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December 9, 2024

“Ashes to Ashes” by Brian O’Dea

“Ashes to Ashes” by Brian O’Dea

*Featured image courtesy of MiVargof on Pixabay* We start off strong this week with a very unique piece from Brian O’Dea. “Ashes to Ashes” is Brian’s first work on FC, and I sincerely hope he creates another great piece for us to read in the future. Ashley Fetterman   When she checked ‘yes’ on the note I slid into her locker, I knew I’d finally found the feeling all the songs and movies promised. Before Christmas break, we were married behind the swing sets in sacred preteen ritual before our teary eyed classmates. Her blue eyes watered as we swore to one another to always share our snacks, to always sit by one another in assembly, and to never let a teacher, principal, or any power pry our hands apart.  After just one semester of elementary…

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December 1, 2024

Does Not Want the Hill to Die

Does Not Want the Hill to Die

Featured Image photo courtesy of Mandana-r at en.wikipedia A Short Story by Fereshteh Rostami We’re pleased to introduce a new voice from Iran to our international Coffee Club membership. Fereshteh Rostami’s native language is Persian, but she wrote this transcendent story in English . . . with a little editorial help from her husband. “Does Not Want the Hill to Die” is a very contemporary narrative, yet one which explores some of the oldest and most fundamental issues humans confront: the nature of life, the delicacy of our relationships with other people, and our responsibility to the land on which we live. Does Not Want the Hill to Die Forestgirl knows that she is gnawed bit by bit; not just her, everything, from the time she was a little girl, she knew. That time things…

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November 3, 2024

COUNTRY, CURATORS & CONSTABLE: Political Thoughts & the Fitzwilliam Museum – By Steve Sangapore

COUNTRY, CURATORS & CONSTABLE: Political Thoughts & the Fitzwilliam Museum – By Steve Sangapore

Hampstead Heath | John Constable | 1820 | On Display at the Fitzwilliam Museum Steve Sangapore was recently featured on FC not too long ago, but with Election Day on the horizon for Americans, we felt like we needed to share this excellent piece as well. Like all of Steve’s previous pieces, he sparks a very insightful discussion on an incredibly complex topic. Take a look, and remember to vote if you haven’t already! I am a firm believer in the fundamental message of Dr. Martin Luther King. An individual’s character is the true measure of a human being, not our superficial branding that is a matter of the universe’s roll-of-dice like ethnicity, gender or place of birth. Our virtue, character and morality are what we have the power and freedom to control. Equally, I…

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