Category: publication

“Merely Missing” in JMWW

On By Katie RobinsonIn Creative Nonfiction, publication

TW: domestic violence.

I am happy to share my CNF flash piece (“Merely Missing“) and a photograph of my late sister are featured in JMWW today.

I aim to allow my work to stand on its own without an explanation; however, this piece has been shaped by the horrific loss of my sister and the nightmarish circumstances surrounding her death. I believe that these issues demand awareness and attention. My sister was a victim of domestic violence. In the morning, she sent photographs of herself battered. We called the police.

This story takes place in a dream of those nine hours between the time when we discovered she was missing and when the police updated us in the evening that her body had been found in her backyard with a bullet in the middle of her forehead. In that time, hope still simmered. Maybe she was hiding at friend’s house. Maybe she was waiting in my aunt’s driveway. Maybe she was standing in my grandparents’ field. Maybe she was safe. She was not.

Like many of you, I try to process the world (and figure out what I’m even thinking) through writing. This story provided me with a chance to convey the devastating aftermath of loss in a way that I hope will resonate with others so victims can find the strength they need and supporting friends and family can come to understand what those victims endure.

Chelse Widen Foundation

Resources for victims of domestic abuse and violence

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
Text: BEGIN to 88788
Website: https://www.thehotline.org

HER Shelter

Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance

North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Release Day for Last Light: Apocalypse Poems

On By Katie RobinsonIn anthology, Poetry, publication

Today is release day for Last Light: Apocalypse Poems, an anthology edited by Alan Parry and presented by The Broken Spine. I am very thankful that my prose poem, “Facing Ruin with Dutiful Companionship,” was included in this book.

“This collection offers a haunting exploration of apocalyptic themes through the eyes of diverse, contemporary poets. The works within navigate the fragility of existence, environmental collapse, and the profound sense of finality that marks the end of worlds, both imagined and real.”

You can purchase your copy on Amazon.

“Our Collective Permanence” in Heimat Review

On By Katie RobinsonIn fiction, publication, Writing

Heimat Review released Issue 8: What I Wish You Knew today, and I am honored to be a part of this issue. My flash piece, “Our Collective Permanence,” is my first published work with a speculative/sci-fi bend.

“Our Collective Permanence” looks at memory, identity, community, shared trauma, and reliance on technology while windmills stir off-shore. As my grandmother’s memory deteriorated from Alzheimer’s over the past decade, I grappled with questions of identity and self-awareness in relation to memories. How important are memories in defining ourselves, and should we go out of our way to preserve those memories? Or should we trust a natural process that forces us to let go? While the piece does ponder innovation to address the problem, it is not intended to be anti-medical science, but instead leery of the artifice of technology—& maybe subscription services.