Back to Issue Fifty-Six

ERROR MESSAGE: CATASTROPHIC FAILURE

BY ELLIE BLACK

fill / flesh / fracture / fresh / flower / lower / slower / stretch / lure / leer / flee / fear / follow / fallow
/ lurid / seer / fluid / fizz / filth / is / florid / flicker / finish / here / failure of / fluvoxamine / flush
/ fluorescent / following / effect / affect / failure of / affection / flowing / sowing / was / fault in /
flirt / afflict / affected / inflect / deflect / full / infected / shallow / hello / hollow / vector /
effervescence / fulgurate / flick / switch / fuck / fate / lick / light / laurel / real / layer / liar / viral /
reel / are you / filming / faking / feel / fold / flash / flare / lash / frequency / electric / crash / violet
/ flame / violate / blame / fluent / fervid / fungal / fame / rift / filled / reap / wield / wound / salt /
vision / field / effigy for / fellow / fan / fatal / flaw / wrong / man / effluent / affluent / lay / hand /
fiction / fact / laugh / land / delay / deny / destroy / abandon / fix / affix / affront / demand / allay
/ allot / assist / assault / your fault / fault of / your fault / your fault

Ellie Black is a Visiting Assistant Professor in English–Creative Writing at Hendrix College. She received both a PhD in Creative Writing (emphasis in memoir/autotheory) and an MFA in poetry from the University of Mississippi. A finalist for the 2025 Disquiet Prize in Poetry, her work has been published in or is forthcoming from Bennington Review, Sixth Finch, The Common, Washington Square Review, The Drift, and elsewhere. Her debut collection, Revelator, received the 2026 APR/Honickman First Book Prize.

Next (Brian Komei Dempster) >

< Previous (Margaret Ray)