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NONFICTION

CROSSINGS
The straits of Mackinac span five miles. To cross them is to be reminded of one's vulnerability. It takes a constant cycle of work to keep a bridge — and those who cross it — from succumbing to the forces of nature.
THE SOUND THAT WASN'T THERE
Does Pittsburgh have a signature sound? Maybe not, but the city certainly has a rich musical history, from Stephen Foster to Christina Aguilera to Girl Talk. In the end, maybe what matters is less a certain sound than the promise of something worth listening to.
MORE NONFICTION

POETRY

Sometimes, the Field
By Holly Wren Spaulding

Sometimes I bring my hunger to the field.
I sidestep the soft mounds ...

July 4, Thompson, Ohio
By Mary Quade

Under threat of drizzle after a long drought,
rides the oldest fire chief in the nation ...

The Auctioneer
By Cindy Hunter Morgan

He said the numbers so fast,
there was not time
for regret. ...

MORE POETRY

THE WAKE BLOG

The Great Lakes in 5 words

At the 2012 AWP Conference this past February in Chicago, Wake asked conference-goers who stopped by our table at the book fair to write "The Great Lakes: in 5 words." The winner of our contest, M.M. DeVoe, will receive an autographed copy of Ander Monson's book of poetry, Vacationland. Here is that entry, and our other favorites.

THE WAKE BLOG

FICTION

Young Love
By Randall Silvis
We lived in the country in a small yellow house, with large yards in the front and back, woods on all sides, our closest neighbors a half mile away and as eager to be left alone as we were. The exterior of the house was in need of painting and there was only one chair in the living room but we seldom had visitors then and one chair was all we needed when we sat holding one another in the evening while listening to music. We had a big, frisky and sometimes obtrusively affectionate Irish Setter named Berrigan, who on hot summer afternoons when we sunbathed behind the house never failed to warn of the approach of a meter reader or salesman, and who with his resonant growl would keep the intruder at bay until we could pull on our clothes and prepare ourselves for the world again.
Scenic Outlooks
By Jim Daniels
I remember only one vacation in my sixteen years on Planet Detroit, though my parents had photographic evidence of me as a baby on the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes looking marooned, disconsolate, in the middle of all that sand. It could’ve been the surface of the moon, a photo doctored like my father claimed they did at NASA.
FICTION

ABOUT WAKE

Wake is a new journal focused on work that evokes the broad culture of the Great Lakes. We are looking for a variety of articles on Great Lakes subjects, and we are open for submissions now. Please read our mission statement and submission guidelines for details, and check back often as we continue to add content.

Wake is a publication of Grand Valley State University.

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