March/May 2022

Issue 12

This issue spans two academic quarters due to the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

FICTION

Letter from the Southern Coast

Claudia Johnson

Dear Mama —
We have reached the end of the world.

POETRY

June

Julia Segre

The rain dances along my mother’s roof
And she says it is God crying.

FICTION

The Windy Times, and Those After

Sol de Ugarte

When my phone screen reads 2:30 a.m., I know I won’t sleep at all.

POETRY

Stranger

Auden Svoboda

“you look like the kid from stranger things”
is the only thing people stop me to say

POETRY

summer in words

Chloe
Rappaport Crowther

the light seems to linger in summer
she wants to stay longer than necessary

POETRY

Devour

Zael Johnson

The stars are all angels
above human guilt
great beasts of the stark bittersweet

FICTION

Your Rain

Zora Laddish

I’d like to think that I have a choice.

FICTION

Sense of Carefreeness

Jasper
Lovvorn-Black

I woke up before the sun did that morning.

FICTION

The Crime Against Raisins

Skyler Rockmael

The pain aux raisins may have sparked the least amount of joy, but it was the cheapest option . . .

POETRY

Over and Over

Eva
Fostovsky-Geckeler

5 . . .
4 . . .
3 . . .
2 . . .
1 . . .
And I’m out of time

POETRY

me, you, and the calla lilies

Aja Lelchuk

always wondering
what you might be seeing
next to the pond with the calla lilies

FICTION

Just a Moment

Daisy
Paris-Kaufman

Look
Find
Bend
Cut
Stand
Look.

FICTION

Cafe Dandywolg, Part Two

Divya Sachdeva

I walk slowly from the cafe to my cave home, thinking about Alia.

POETRY

Breathe

Meghan Malone

Breathing is easy
Breathing is supposed to be easy
When did breathing stop being so easy?

FICTION

Déjà Vu

Ash Dodge

Every building, plant, person, and crack in the ground stands out.

FICTION

Heavy Rain

Kenna Klop-Packel

We lie in waiting.
We are in the mud, at the very edge of the schoolyard.

FICTION

The Friend Downstairs

Soline Loeffler

"Fiore, honey? What're you doing?"

POETRY

Surrender

Miriam Reichenberg

I have been inside doing nothing of consequence all day,
just staring out the window and wishing for things

FICTION

Automata (Repulsed), Part Three

Zoe Mitchell

Record of the thought patterns and testimony of Project 001 . . .

POETRY

Coping

Sonja Wooley

I rest my head
against the wide window
of the city bus.

FICTION

Gallery Games

Julia Weinberg

It was a head-spinning summer for Danny.

2022 Emerging Writers

Each year, Redwood invites eighth graders at Berkeley public middle schools
to submit pieces for publication in our May issue.
Emerging Writers are guided through the revision process by experienced Redwood writers.

Emerging Writer

FICTION

On the Bench by the Sea

Haley Willem

An old man gripped his white cane tightly, tapping the ground as he walked down a narrow path.

Emerging Writer

FICTION

All That's Left

Sylvia Burns

Ahh, the cold. So sharp, so profound in the way the frigid air digs at my arms, my shoulders, my bare legs.

Emerging Writer

FICTION

As Far as the Eye Can See

Max Mardesich

Thrumm picks his way through a tangle of ruins, flakes of rubble crunching under his feet.

Emerging Writer

POETRY

You See Me?

Jamaica Rodriguez

I am 13. Born 23. In my late 60s.
Old soul. Old soul.

Emerging Writer

POETRY

when time ran out

Sophia Bevis-Lipton

breakthrough at the bridge

Emerging Writer

POETRY

It Takes a Village

Cruz Foster

It takes a village
to raise a child. It takes a child
to think even a village could do so perfectly.

Emerging Writer

FICTION

Relic

Penelope Kershaw

Sometimes Hecate absolutely despised being immortal.

Emerging Writer

POETRY

Masked

Samantha Lopatin

I don’t mean covid
I don’t mean sickness
I’m talking about my emotions

Emerging Writer

FICTION

Packages

Penelope Purchase

Ding dong!
Toby Myers jumped up from his seat by the window and ran to the door . . .

Emerging Writer

FICTION

Calina's Story

Maya Dang

The dreams — ahh, the flow of them!

December 2021

Issue 11

FICTION

A Spirit Problem

Soline Loeffler

Ruza met with the mayor in the market square.

FICTION

Comb

Kenna Klop-Packel

She is an old woman. She does not come from anywhere. She simply exists.

FICTION

See-Through

Simon Policy

I feel like the people who say “you’re never alone” don’t know what real loneliness feels like.

POETRY

Ode to Egg Sandwiches

Sonja Wooley

It began in Manasquan
With salt and yellow protein
And sweet buttery grease.

POETRY

Cable Car to the Moon

Miriam Reichenberg

Promise me, my dear, not to wake me 
if this is all a dream.

FICTION

And She Smiles

Zora Laddish

“It’s late.”
The man in the room flicks the switch again.

FICTION

Everything Important

Zael Johnson

Once, there was God. And that was pretty great, as far as the universe was concerned.

POETRY

Honeydew Melatonin

Aja Lelchuk

honeydew melatonin
dribbles
drops

FICTION

Cafe Dandywolg,
Part One

Divya Sachdeva

I didn’t realize that being different from everyone else around you would be so hard.

FICTION

Say Your Goodbyes

Jasper
Lovvorn-Black

I woke up in a pool of drool, with my face pressed into the rough and unwashed carpet.

POETRY

Truth

Auden Svoboda

someone saw me dancing on a playground

FICTION

An Intertwining of Half-Crafted Realities

Eva
Fostovsky-Geckeler

I’m walking past the movie theater . . .

FICTION

Her Eyes

Meghan Malone

You wake up in an unfamiliar bed, to an alarm you have never heard before.

FICTION

Judgment

Skyler Rockmael

I now enjoy wearing my dresses over my light wash jeans to school, even if it means judgment-filled stares in the hallway.

FICTION

Automata (Repulsed),
Part Two

Zoe Mitchell

I continue to explore the room. The signal inside my new body indicates what everything is.

FICTION

Polaroids

Ash Dodge

“Sort through these,” Ivy says, handing me a box.

FICTION

Scattered Shadows

Claudia Johnson

The shadows were still snatching people.

FICTION

Home

Daisy
Paris-Kaufman

There is something inside me. I can feel it. Feel them. I can feel their claws . . .

POETRY

Pencil Art

Julia Weinberg

So much promise, so much ahead
But that was then

POETRY

Musings
on a Sunny Afternoon

Camhan Ngo

I often think about how fleetingly people grace your life

FICTION

Trial Day

Echo Rettstatt

The sun awoke from its solemn slumber, casting rays of soft light onto every corner of the city in the sky.

POETRY

Earthquake

Julia Segre

Up until I was six I was convinced
The earth’s crust was so thin
That I could dig my way to lava . . .

FICTION

When I
Wake Up

Chloe
Rappaport Crowther

I don’t know why Claire is crying. It’s just an injection, right?

October 2021

Issue 10

FICTION

The Mystery
of the Sky
and the Sea

Daisy
Paris-Kaufman

There was once a girl who could fly. Or at least she said she could.

FICTION

And on the Road They Went

Zora Laddish

The boots kept the road in shape.

FICTION

We'll Be Okay

Ash Dodge

He’s chewing on his thumb again.

FICTION

Golden Hour

Claudia Johnson

The statue was just off campus.

POETRY

the night
sets me free

Auden Svoboda

as the world exhales
and fiery fingers weave a black blanket across the sky . . .

FICTION

The Resolution Shop

Julia Weinberg

Ezra took his spot behind the bar at Vivian’s Restaurant, unaware that in an hour he’d be drenched and out on the street.

FICTION

My Last
Garage Sale

Jasper
Lovvorn-Black

I’ve never understood what led me to believe that the garage sale would be a good idea.

FICTION

Creepy Crawlies

Sonja Wooley

It is summer and Ella is crouched by the lake.

POETRY

She is Real

Aja Lelchuk

Her eyes wide as life-rings inside redwood trees
Her strides cousins of the fawns

FICTION

Mortality

Kenna Klop-Packel

There is a store at the end of the world.

POETRY

Rudimentary Beginnings

Sol de Ugarte

All begins with a step
Baby steps, they say

FICTION

As the World Burns

Meghan Malone

Adam knows he will not live past thirty.

FICTION

A Welcomed Visitor

Soline Loeffler

You enter the house at nightfall, like your friends said you should.

FICTION

Automata (Repulsed),
Part One

Zoe Mitchell

Around the world there is blood.

FICTION

Skyflower

Zael Johnson

The invocation flushed pink, blossoming in tendrils from Arboriasus the Verdamancer’s dark hand.

FICTION

Lost and Found

Eva
Fostovsky-Geckeler

I’d heard many stories about the legendary lost and found, but hadn’t seen its magic for myself until a couple of weeks ago.

POETRY

Dollhouse

Miriam Reichenberg

Enter Tornado, moving in fast . . .

FICTION

S. S. Atropos

Simon Policy

It is day one. We are fifty miles from earth’s atmosphere and all humans have been placed in cryosleep.

POETRY

The Girl
in the Mirror

Ysabel Chu

The girl in the mirror is taller
Her hair falls in gentle waves

---

2021-22 Academic Year

Editor-in-Chief:
         Julia Weinberg

Senior Editor:
         Sonja Wooley

Editors:
         Sol de Ugarte
         Ash Dodge
         Kenna Klop-Packel
         Zora Laddish
         Aja Lelchuk
         Meghan Malone
         Zoe Mitchell
         Auden Svoboda

Emerging Writers Mentors:
         Sol de Ugarte
         Ash Dodge
         Kenna Klop-Packel
         Zora Laddish
         Aja Lelchuk
         Meghan Malone
         Sonja Wooley

Writers:
         Ysabel Chu
         Chloe Rappaport Crowther
         Sol de Ugarte
         Ash Dodge
         Eva Fostovsky-Geckeler
         Claudia Johnson
         Zael Johnson
         Kenna Klop-Packel
         Zora Laddish
         Aja Lelchuk
         Soline Loeffler
         Jasper Lovvorn-Black
         Meghan Malone
         Zoe Mitchell
         Camhan Ngo
         Daisy Paris-Kaufman
         Simon Policy
         Miriam Reichenberg
         Echo Rettstatt
         Skyler Rockmael
         Divya Sachdeva
         Julia Segre
         Auden Svoboda
         Julia Weinberg
         Sonja Wooley

Emerging Writers:
         Sophia Bevis-Lipton
         Sylvia Burns
         Maya Dang
         Cruz Foster
         Penelope Kershaw
         Samantha Lopatin
         Max Mardesich
         Penelope Purchase
         Jamaica Rodriguez
         Haley Willem

Faculty Sponsor:
         Sakiko Muranaka