How is it that you appeared in the enameled tin cup that you gave my husband because he said he liked it? This morning, he made coffee in our usual way, handed the cup to me, asked me what it tasted like. The coffee at my parents’ house. The house that has now been…
Serial – Through a Mirror Clear – Ch 1
William knew the voice in his head wasn’t real. The sing-song quality had faded to an echo, but the whispered words were still coherent, still luring him forward like they had years ago. Come here. Bring me the baby. Moving through the dust, the attic looked the same as it did each night in his…
The Same – An Origin Story
I’ve been asked why I decided to start a literary journal written exclusively by women, and I’ve found that it’s impossible to tell the story of how the Same came to be without also talking about my own story. This has made for some awkward, stammering responses when I haven’t really wanted to get into details of…
Book Review – Too Like the Lightning
Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer Perhaps the greatest pull of Too Like the Lightning is its glorious break from the current trend of imagining absolutely dismal futures. Frequently described as “neither a dystopia nor a utopia,” Palmer’s earth of 2454 has not fallen into disaster, but it hasn’t been perfected either—rather, it is…
The Little Things – “Russian Red”
Russian Red Whenever my grandmother presses a smattering of kisses to my face, she leaves behind faint, scarlet smudges that don’t wash off. (There are whole universes of love packed into tubes of old lady lipstick.) Rebecca Cohen is a graduate of the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, where she…
A Word from the Editor
Welcome to Issue 9.1! I am so incredibly excited to share all sorts of exciting news with you today. We have a lot of exciting things coming up at the Same! First of all, I’m excited to announce that, going forward, we will have five days of content on the site. We will continue having our…
Issue 9.1 – Nonfiction
I scribble the directions on a sheet of lined paper. Most of the turns I know, since I regularly drive the first two-thirds of the way to the store. Nevertheless, I’m nervous. If I’m driving some place new, I usually take my husband Richard along. He’s gone today, so I’m making the drive alone. Down…
Issue 9.1 – Fiction
In a motel, outside of Vegas, I lay awake staring at the ceiling. Wes is snoring, curled up with his bunny that used to be mine. I want to turn on the TV but Wes needs to sleep and so do I. Mom says she’ll be home before five. She taught me how to read…
Issue 9.1 – Poetry
This woman, Lily, is long-boned, legs like skewers, empty breasts lying on furrows of ribs. She smiles at guests who kiss, kiss, planting babies in her lap. Food appears – magic; fish is chicken, porridge is soup…and beautiful. The old Lily was hidden in layers of faded muscle, dressed in blue-flowered polyester sacks. Fourteen children…
Book Review – Red Clocks
Red Clocks is the latest work from Portland-based writer Leni Zumas, and has already been compared to the influential writing of Margaret Atwood and Naomi Alderman’s brilliant bestseller The Power. On the front, the cover asks the reader ‘what is a woman for?’ a question that immediately conjures up images of motherhood and all that…
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