Issue #4 Contributors
Mohammad Abedi • JC Alfier • Israel Allen • David M. Alper • Swetha Amit • D Anderson • Karen Anderson • Eric Kong Angal • Danny Barbare • Aaron Beck • Zachary Benak • Guilherme Bergamini • Robert Beveridge • Guillermo Bowie • Georgie Brooke • Philip Byrne • Johnny Byutorie • Nathaniel Calhoun • William Carter • Mea Cohen • Curtis Coloma • Matt Cooper • Brian Culhane • Quinn Dankesreiter • Keith Dodson • Helen Dong • William Doreski • Krystle Eilen • Anselm Eme • Sara Etgen-Baker • Zary Fekete • Clem Flowers • Eóin Flannery • A. Z. Foreman • Danielle Foushee • Mike Fox • Tim Frank • Alex M. Frankel • Leo Fulmer • Julian Gallo • Ewen Glass • J W Goossen • Pawel Grajnert • Rebecca Gransden • Phyllis Green • Jason Haaf • Andrew Hanson • Oz Hardwick • Colleen Harris • Scott C. Holstad • Nikki Howard • Damon Hubbs • Susan J. Hudson • Trelaine Ito • Charles Jacobson • Jean Janicke • Ingrid Marie Jensen • Patrick Johnston • Sarah Jane Justice • Karla Jynn • Jeremy Kaufman • Sam Kerbel • Benjamin Kirby • Craig Kirchner • John Kirkwood • Hank Kirton • Allan Lake • Ryan Larson • Gary Leising • DS Levy • James Lilliefors • Alexander Limarev • L. Lois • El Habib Louai • Karen Lozinski • Alexis MacIsaac • Skye Ayla Mallac • Brandon Marlon • James Maskell • Robert McCarthy • Alexis MacIsaac • Keith Melton • N. Mori • Leah Mueller • Robin Munby • Jazmine Munoz • Shane Murphy • Donald Patten • Jen Persici • David Person • Benjamin Pierce • John RC Potter • John Pring • Nazaret Ranea • Dan Rafael • Alexei Raymond • Jenna Resheske • Gabriel Rosenstock • Ron Rosenstock • Tobias Sallewsky • Sumitra Singam • Michael Grant Smith • Emma Snyder • Chrissy Stegman • J. J. Steinfeld • Edward Supranowicz • Angela Townsend • Chase Troxell • 蒢楀栟 Ee Bing Tsu • Rachel Turney • Tom Wade • Paul Warren • Casey Jo Graham Welmers • Allison Whittenberg • Chanming Yuan • K. D. Zwiers
The Argyle Is Back!!
Yup, it happened, and we are better than ever.
Follow us on X, Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook for news and updates!!!
Meet Our Editors!!!
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David Estringel, MFA
FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Damon Hubbs
POETRY EDITOR
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A.A. de Levine
FICTION EDITOR
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Matthew Attanasio
POETRTY EDITOR
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Mileva Anastasiadou
FLASH FICTION EDITOR
Theme 02: The
B-52s Ultimate Party Playlist
The Argyle presents the best of our Theme 02: The B-52s Ultimate Party Playlist submissions for your enjoyment. ENJOY!!!
Issue No. 4 Highlights
"Leaving (Dejando) by Casey Jo Graham Welmer (Nonfiction)
"Homewreckers" by 蒢楀栟 Ee Bing Tsu (Poetry)
![[To] Savor [the] Soul by Jenna Resheske (Fiction)](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/633d13b5059b11062335025e/1749935104887-L99EMY2W8WYUVGKA74NB/artificial%2Bintelligence.jpg)
[To] Savor [the] Soul by Jenna Resheske (Fiction)
"Goodbye" Gary Leising (Poetry)
"Smoker's Cough" by Tim Frank (Poetry)
"The Memory Garden" by Zary Fekete (Fiction)
"Going Mobile" by Leah Mueller (Nonfiction)
"How We Survive a Coronal Mass Ejection" by Casey Jo Graham Welmers (Fiction)
"Essential Workers" by Johnny Byutorie (Theme 03: "Vice" Fiction)
"Wanted" by Karla Jynn (Nonfiction)
"Washcloth People" by Angela Townsend (Fiction)
"Suburbia" by Robert Beveridge (Poetry)
"Firewood" by Nazaret Ranea (Poetry)
"Expiration Date" by Michael Grant Smith (Fiction)
"Vanity and Vexation of Spirit (or This Family Kills Fascists)" by Israel Allen (Nonfiction)
"Scriblerus" by Rob McCarthy (poetry)
"Mature Fruit Trees" by Shane Murphy (Poetry)
"Yolk" by Rebecca Gransden (Fiction)
"We Used to Talk" by Trelaine Ito (Nonfiction)
"Spin" by David M. Alper (Poetry)
Featured Poetry from The Argyle…
“I know you”
by Ewen Glass
“like the pores on the back / of my hand. / It’s alarming how suddenly / loneliness comes on.”
A Special Feature from The Argyle…
SMEOP: A Chapbook
by Aaron Beck
Aaron Beck is a former professor of music history in Portland, Oregon. His work SMEOP is a melodrama about a trans man's first love. He has published 6 books and many articles about medieval music and art.
Note from the EIC
To all of our faithful readers and contributing artists (past and present), The Argyle is over the moon to be back with our new, AMAZING Issue No. 4. For our “re-launch” issue, we have more poetry, fiction, CNF, and digital art than in past issues. Plus, the submissions for Theme 02: “The B-52s Ultimate Party Playlist” and Theme 03: “Vice” will blow you away.
As many of you have already seen, The Argyle has added a new logo, some polish, and a bit of edge to the site, realizing the original vision I had for the magazine prior to our launch in January 2024. We also recently created a new social media account on Bluesky, where we are having a great time engaging with our readers, so please take a moment and take a look and give us a follow! As always, we still maintain a presence on X, Instagram, Threads, and Facebook; we revamped those a bit, too. Follow us as we sharing some of the amazing work we have published in No. 4 (and from time-to-time past issues), as well as Argyle updates and miscellaneous sexy-coolness from the literary community.
Coming back to what I think is the best lit mag EVER seemed like a pipe dream for a hot minute, but we are back. None of this would even be possible without the amazing work and dedication of our new EDITORS!!! Their creative voices are currently shaping The Argyle’s trajectory as we speak, and the magazine couldn’t be in better hands. Words escape me now in expressing the gratitude I feel for not only this chance at another go-round but for the support and words of encouragement from our readers and contributors alike. Many thanks, ya’ll.
Sincerely,
David Estringel
EIC @ The Argyle Literary Magazine
Featured Fiction from The Argyle…
“Bitch”
by Chrissy Stegman
“The city sped past, and I leaned back into the seat, letting the world slide by inexplicably, as if the light outside the cab window could swallow everything. I really am a bitch, I thought.”
Featured Digital Artist
Alexander Limarev
A “Vice” Peep Show…
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Skull Fuck Your Darlings
Poetry by Patrick Johnston
“Lodging files / In Black and White / Marlboro Reds / Red Drapes / Blue Velvet / Nitrous Oxide / Caffeine / And Nicotine Trifecta…”
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Plaza del Sol
Fiction by Julian Gallo
“He can’t imagine how such a young woman would find a man his age so attractive? She hardly knows him. What is she thinking?”
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A Path Through the Dandelions
Fiction by Hank Kirton
“Lying in a puddle of purple vomit, Lottie von Scrodd interviews herself as if she is a guest on a highbrow PBS talk show.”
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Golden Years
Poetry by Keith Dodson
“Anger woke me up-- / alcohol passed me out…”
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Essential Workers
Fiction by John Byutorie
“We walked past the empty beauty products …the only products still on shelves being the newly marketed NeauSkin that rolled out a few months ago alongside a robust marketing scheme complete with cardboard cutout of Reese Witherspoon in deadface…”
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Eyes Closed
Fiction by Alexis MacIsaac
“Jade looks even more desperate than me to hold onto the night, and I think of Olivia, if Olivia is just more honest about her fears than us, and it’s her honesty that we find repellant.”
Theme 03: Vice
The Argyle’s Disappearing Virtual (Micro)Chaps
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Shrieks and Giggles (Shadows of Nsukka)
Fiction by Anslem Eme
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Poor Little River: Poems from the Manzanares
Poetry by Robin Munby
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Darling Reaper
Poetry by Jen Persici
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Aria - a song of light
Poetry by Patrick Johnston
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These Apples Are Guilt Upon My Hand
Poetry by El Habib Louai
“These apples are guilt upon my hand / and if I go far enough / where shall I find a sacred place?”
A Nonfiction Feature from The Argyle…
“Tuberculosis”
by Zary Fekete
“My days now begin with the soft clink of cat bowls, the low creak of floorboards. I make coffee, feed the animals, and open the windows. The house still breathes, even if I’m asked to hold mine back.”
Upcoming events
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Theme 06: "Ghosts" Open Call for Submissions
09.01 @ 12AM CST
Poetry, fiction, CNF, and digital art submissions for Issue #6’s “Ghosts” theme-page will be accepted thru November 30, 2025 @ 11:59 PM CST (or until slots are filled). Submissions MUST follow the theme guidelines.
Check out our “Submissions!” page for more detailed information.
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Issue #5 Launch
09.15 @ 6PM CST
New poetry, fiction, CNF, and digital art, including featured pieces for Theme 04: “Gastronomy.” New Disappearing Virtual (Micro)Chapbooks.
Follow our social media for updates!
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Issue #6 Open General Submission Call
10.01 @ 12AM CST
Send us your poetry, fiction, CNF, and digital art for Issue #6. Submissions accepted thru November 30, 2025 @ 11:59 PM CST or as category slots fill.
Check out our “Submissions!” page for more detailed information.
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Issue #6 Launch
12.15 @ 6PM CST
New poetry, fiction, CNF, and digital art, including featured pieces for Theme 05: “Ghosts.” New Disappearing Virtual (Micro)Chapbooks.
Follow our social media for updates!
Theme 05: ”Ghosts”
Coming December 2025
Our X followers have spoken, so the theme for Issue #6’s theme-page will be “Ghosts.”
This may seem like a strange theme for a December edition of a lit mag, but (if you think about it) Issue #6 will come fresh off the heels of Halloween, Samhain, Dia de los Muertos, and more interpretations of A Christmas Carol than you can shake a Yule log at.
Submissions for Theme 05: “Ghosts” open September 1st, 2025, for your poetry, fiction, CNF, and digital art that centers around our otherworldly counterparts….but there is a catch.
All submissions MUST incorporate one of the holidays listed above (or other culturally appropriate holiday/celebrations of the dead/ancestors) as part of the submission AND a literal ghost (or ghosts) must be a character (or characters). This means no sparkly vampires, werewolves with amazing pecs, or teenage witches who all of a sudden wake up one day having come into their power.
You can give us scary, funny, sad, or cerebral. We love it all, BUT we really would like to see ghostly characters that are complex and have layers, not just scary props. EIC David Estringel will be fielding the CNF submissions and is DYING (pardon the pun) to read your real-life ghost stories. He has a few of his own.
Deadline for Theme 05: “Ghosts” submissions will be November 30, 2025 @ 11:59 PM CST.
Get to conjuring!!!
Open Submission Call!!!
Open Submission Call!!!
Submissions currently open for Issue #5 through August 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM CST.
Send us your:
Poetry
Fiction
CNF
Digital Art
Articles, reviews, interviews
See our “Submissions” guidelines and send us your 'little darlings’!
May 2024 Cover Art by Paul Warren
Missed the #1 thru #3 issues of The Argyle? No worries. Check our Archives and catch up!!!
