The Rumen is a collaboration between writers and poets from a variety of demographics and backgrounds. Like the guts of an ungulate, we want The Rumen to be a space for ideas and experiences to digest, ferment, and transform.
Latest Publications:
Crack
Tears roll down his cheeks, as Ray stares at the uneaten cheeseburger, cold and congealing on his plate
The Long Arm of the Past Hangs on Forever and You Are with Me Still
By Cecil Morris
The embryo that bloomed ectopic in the wife // who left me would be 45 this year and lives // in the cryogenic regions of my brain
Kinship of Sesame
My Thaathaa - grandfather in Tamil - is dozing off as I complete a set of ritualized breathing exercises while quietly chanting in Sanskrit.
Your Destination
By Peter Rustin
Thirty minutes ago: the calm droning of the red-eye from JFK to Los Angeles. The cabin lights dimmed. Two teenage sisters sleeping, in pastel sweatshirts, heads nestled, sharing a pair of earbuds linked to an iPhone.
Humming and Taking the Old Birdie Out for a Spin
The antique store hides // a portal to the underworld // behind a wall of maps // of places that don’t exist.
Human Pastoral Brick and Two Other Poems
By Chris Corlew
willow-white duck // the blistered // spigot squirts not only for you // but for my irradiated necktie
Netherworld
By J. A. Hersh
They were driving straight down a dark road, their little green car bumping on the potholes. It wasn’t a long drive back to their apartment. Fifteen minutes or so.
Submissions
Have a poem, short story, or piece of creative non-fiction that you'd like to share with the world? Visit our submissions page to learn more about contributing to The Rumen.
