No. 25

may 23, 2024

Issue cover featuring the title "headlight 25" written in a circular form, with light shining from the center. — *Cover design by Théo Pagé-Robert*

foreword

Alex Affonso, managing editor:

The 25th time something happens is always special. It’s often an excuse for a big celebration, or an anniversary edition, or a nostalgic recollection of the past 24 occurrences. But issue 25 of Headlight is not special because of the 24 that came before it. It’s special because of the people that made it happen—from our editors to our designers, our contributors to our readers. All of you play a crucial role in bringing a new issue of Headlight to life. This year, our amazing team of volunteers did an excellent job putting together the captivating stories and compelling poems written by our incredible contributors, all so we can share them with you, our beloved readers, now. We hope you’ll enjoy this issue. As you immerse yourself in these diverse perspectives—watching an episode of Britain’s Got Talent or a 60-year-old video of your father’s untimely death, or looking for Alison in a party or for God in a nightclub—laughing and crying along the way, we want you to consider how the pages of this journal frame (and are framed by) the status quo.

Misha Solomon, editor-in-chief:

Status Quo is in fact our theme for the issue, a theme our editorial team reverse-engineered after having selected the poetry and prose for Headlight 25. It’s a theme with a wink, an acknowledgement that status quo doesn’t sound like the most exciting or compelling theme for a literary journal, but that the status quo also runs counter to our society (we do, after all, live in a society), which seems more ever-changing than ever before. Each contributor has their own status quo, their own bubble, and, by sharing their words and worlds with us here, they’re bringing us in, thereby disrupting both their status quo and our own. It’s a little act of magic, and what could be more exciting or compelling than that?

contents

Poetry

Jessie Jones ● Urgency era
Meryem Yildiz ● Self-Portrait as Winter Bird
Gage Michael Wheatley ● Corona Borealis | I Give Myself to Him Daily
Carlos A. Pittella ● Calum
Louise Carson ● Night driving | On waking
Laura Mota-Juang ● loud noise covering any doubts
Olive Andrews ● prophecy sonnet
Syd Lazarus ● to be fingers
Daryl Bruce ● A History of Gay Mating Ducklings
Kasia Van Schaik ● Carolyn Says
Emma Moss Brender ● At the Janet Werner Exhibit
Dru Gary ● If you can’t find God in a nightclub, you’re not looking hard enough

Fiction

Kate Brooks ● Penny Loafer
Alana Dunlop ● Alison
Ennie Gloom ● Ukrainian Dancing
Gladwell Pamba ● Omnipresence

Nonfiction

Miranda Eastwood ● The Rats Are Gone
Amelle Margaron ● Reflexology for Sickos
Sharman Apt Russell ● The Desert Dreams of Flying to the Moon

EDITORIAL TEAM #25 (2023-2024)

Misha Solomon. editor-in-chief
Alex Affonso. managing editor
Ariella Ruby. senior fiction editor
Paz O’Farrell. fiction editor
Tina Wayland. nonfiction editor
Julie Triganne. poetry editor
Constantina Gicopoulos. poetry reader
Xander Simmons. sound editor
Dimana Radoeva. social media manager
Simone Donders. copyeditor
Théo Pagé-Robert. graphic designer
Yara Ajeeb. web designer