In the event it became necessary to start the new origin of life, we observed the machine. To disguise the machine, we filled the aboveground area (the machine was of course built underground), an otherwise abandoned field, with three hundred sky-blue dumpsters. The dumpsters were not dumpsters of refuse, butContinue Reading

She was sitting behind the receptionist desk, reading a book about a waitress in New York. The novel centered heavily on food, and she could feel every morsel of it on her tongue. Her stomach growled and she salivated. She hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days. Maybe it wasn’tContinue Reading

First, there was the Void. And the Great Mother swam through the sea of nothing and was cradled by the Void. And the Void sang to Her. The Mother described the Void, and all the infinite they contained. And their love was eternal because there was no time and soContinue Reading

1.-waters-We swam in the river eighteen times last summer, The waterfalls washed our exhaustion away,And the current carried us through our griefs.  We took the bridges over the river,Back and forth, up and across, high skyscraper, and arms length over.  We took buses and trains, bikes and automobiles,But every time we walkedContinue Reading

“From the Dao there comes one. From one there comes two. From two there comes three. From three there comes all things.”– Daodejing He loves routines; he has many and they share a few. A favorite of hers is watching the migratory flight of crows over downtown on their sharedContinue Reading

translated from Arabic by Essam M. Al-Jassim I was driving the other day, and the weather was getting hot, so I rolled up the window and turned on the air conditioning. Nothing unusual happened until a fly inside the car began buzzing frenetically in all directions. As if that wasContinue Reading

Do you remember the day you died? I do. It was that fateful night I stood watch atop that cliff. The cliff I had fond memories of from childhood. It overlooked the sea. The sound of waves cracked at the base as the wind howled below with the sharp scentContinue Reading

Roger Camp is the author of three photography books including the award-winning Butterflies in Flight (Thames & Hudson, 2002) and Heat (Charta, Milano, 2008). His work has appeared in numerous journals including The New England Review, New York Quarterly, and the Vassar Review. He previously worked as a reference librarianContinue Reading

My Father My father is an outsider. One day he wandered into the neighborhood.  This is hard, to a degree, because he is likable, and I am not. He goes around to everyone’s house and you can always hear his name. I stay inside. My mother stays inside. My motherContinue Reading

Roger Camp is the author of three photography books including the award-winning Butterflies in Flight (Thames & Hudson, 2002) and Heat (Charta, Milano, 2008). His work has appeared in numerous journals including The New England Review, New York Quarterly, and the Vassar Review. He previously worked as a reference librarianContinue Reading