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A Note from the Editorial Staff

One Twenty-One is BACK and we are so thrilled to bring you ISSUE THREE! This year, we saw a lot of amazing poetry, fiction and even some...

If You Write a Great Script

By Amber Bacote, Virginia State University INT. RICHMOND APARTMENT - MIDNIGHT AMBER (22) sits on her couch, inside her messy apartment...

Birdcage

By Mykhia Thorpe, Virginia State University Kioni wound the gauze tight around her knuckles, flexing her fingers to ensure the wrappings...

Dopamine

By Michelle Allette, Virginia State University It's gonna be a great day! I'm so excited–don't know what to expect– but fun! I might try...

The Diary of James Abrem

By Ezra Finn, Virginia State University Photo 6635851 © Tombaky | Dreamstime.com October 12, 2017. So I’ve decided to start keeping a...

Don't Believe Whatever You See

By Artis Jenkins, Virginia State University Photo 149047289 | Abandoned Office Building © Emanuele Ripamonti | Dreamstime.com At 1:27 AM,...

The Poetry Plot Thickens

By Janise Johnson, Virginia State University Photo 82322765 © Sergii Gnatiuk | Dreamstime.com There you go again, just like before...

Gwendolyn Stitch

By Aniyah Barnette, Virginia State University Photo 170305092 © Zeljko Vranjkovic | Dreamstime.com Beep, Beep, Beep. Gwendolyn Stitch...

The Life Cycle

By Shamia Thompson, Virginia State University Photo 15005262 © Elena Ray | Dreamstime.com Start at the end. Where all my dreams and...

I'm a Mess

By Janise Johnson, Virginia State University I am a mess Both inside and out Contradictions run amuck Who I want to be Conflicted with...

Escape

By Mystique Meredith, Virginia State University Photo 194609647 © Florin Lupsa | Dreamstime.com I sit in a dimly lit boudoir, as "Feeling...

Byrds of a Feather

By Amber Bacote, Virginia State University Photo 92655474 © Carol Bell | Dreamstime.com 1. FADE IN: OVERLAY OF WHITE TEXT THAT READS:...

New Hire

By Mystique Meredith, Virginia State University I am Matthew Payne, an Anglo Saxon from millennia ago. Standing at a modest six foot, two...

What Happens When You Coddle a Child?

By Janise Johnson, Virginia State University Do they still aspire to be the greatest versions of themselves? Do they make intentional or...

Pleasure

By Mystique Meredith, Virginia State University Photo 173658006 © Liudmyla Ivashchenko | Dreamstime.com “Good morning.” I stir awake,...

Be All You Can Be

By Janise Johnson, Virginia State University “Cheyenne, why does this keep happening? Why do you always have to sit facing the door? No...

Only Little Girls Cry

By Michelle Allette, Virginia State University Only little girls cry, And I have aged. I was always told Dry your eyes only little girls...

Untitled

By Joshua Branch-Howell, Virginia State University In the shadowed halls of chance, my mother roams, Her eyes ablaze with hope but empty...

Grab My Thighs

By Yana Harrison, Virginia State University Grab my thighs while you look into my eyes. Now these thighs aren't your typical type of...

He’s Eleanor’s Weapon, Not Her Son

By Brandon X. Givens, Virginia State University He’s born strong, handsome, and of high status. Pretty as a peach. Perfect to the...