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Volume 9, Issue 2 (2021)

Dear Readers,

It gives us great pleasure to present our Spring issue. More than a full year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we managed to work entirely remote once again this semester. Perhaps later issues of Gandy Dancer may be able to produce in-person soon. Until then, we are still extremely proud of the work that our staff has done and the art we’ve accepted for publication. We’ve learned that the sophistication of our journal and talent from our writers persists even remotely.

This issue examines various themes—from body image, to gender identity, to connection and misconnection. Rosalinda Valeri’s piece “disappearing act of a secret” highlights the suffocating internal monolog of those struggling with eating disorders. The narrator writes, “some days when you look at yourself in the mirror, you feel reintroduced to your collarbone, your ribcage, your hip bones; everywhere there are bones you haven’t known for years.” Aliyha Gill’s poem “White Wash” also considers our preoccupation with the body and certain prescriptions for beauty. The speaker says, “to my younger self, I wish to cradle you in my arms, / brown and beautiful as can be.” We were enthralled by the imagery and understated tone used to convey loss in Nick Pattilio’s story “A Perfect Day for Caiman Hunting.” Pattilio describes a family who still sets a plate at the dinner table for their dead child, revealing how grief continues to plague this family.

Similarly, “grindr musings #1” by Kristian Grant also highlights loss, specifically what it’s like to wonder about a past relationship: “when i think about us crossing paths / the edges of our circles brushing against each other / electrifying.” In “midas touch,” Kat Johnson explores the liberation of moving on, most notably through the lines “sometimes i remember the way liberation looked / when it was in someone who never gave me the time of day.” We were moved by the honesty and newly claimed freedom. Likewise, Mollie Ward’s exuberant paintings express freedom with their vibrant colors.

While reading this issue, we hope you will be similarly enthralled by the powerful voices and visions of these artists and writers. They claim control over their identities, exploring the agency that is granted through a keyboard, an oil pastel, or a pen and paper. We feel lucky and honored to have their work in our journal despite the challenges that came with this year. While we may be moving on from our roles co-managing editors, we know that Gandy Dancer will remain a safe space for creating.

Cheers,

Sara Devoe & Rebecca Williamson

May 2021

Poetry

PDF

Escape
Ellen Weber, SUNY Oswego

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drink if // midas touch
Kat Johnson, SUNY Geneseo

PDF

Midnight Catharsis
Lianna Lazaros, SUNY Purchase

PDF

Slide
Misty Yarnall, SUNY Purchase

PDF

Smudge Painting
Melanie Norman, SUNY Brockport

PDF

From the Nook of the Fig Tree
Anna Lynch, SUNY Geneseo

PDF

Signs of Persephone
Ella Pearcy, SUNY Geneseo

PDF

Old Friend
Miranda Phillips, SUNY Oswego

PDF

Spring Onions
Kiley Kerns, SUNY Oswego

PDF

tetanus // Celestial Bitch // feast
Mia Donaldson, SUNY Geneseo

Fiction

PDF

Secondhand
Julia Grunes, SUNY Geneseo

PDF

A Perfect Day for Caiman Hunting
Nick Pattilio, SUNY Fredonia

Creative Nonfiction

PDF

disappearing act of a secret
Rosa Valeri, SUNY Geneseo

PDF

How Would You Have Him Understand Her
Jade Pagasa Basconcillo, SUNY Albany

Art

PDF

Vanity
Aliyha Gill, SUNY Geneseo

PDF

Influx // Fruitful Darkness
Kailey Maher, SUNY Plattsburgh

PDF

Dog Wants Something
Mira Jaeger, SUNY Geneseo

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Away
Jocelyn Acosta, SUNY Plattsburgh

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Amass // Without a Form // To Yourself
Mollie Ward, SUNY Plattsburgh

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Trucks // Pads
Sarah Brown, SUNY Plattsburgh

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Donatella
J. S., SUNY Geneseo

Postscript

Review

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Albert Abonado’s JAW: A Review
Rebecca Williamson, SUNY Geneseo

Interview

PDF

An Interview with Albert Abonado
Sara Devoe, SUNY Geneseo

Editorial Team

Managing Editors
Sara Devoe, Rebecca Williamson
Fiction Editor
Maria Pawlak
Creative NonFiction Editors
Joseph Cartwright, Marissa Fillipello
Poetry Editor
Jenna Murray
Fiction Readers
Anne Baranello, Chase Boggs, Kathryn Capone, Conor Chivers, Will Kilada, Anthony Lyon
Creative Nonfiction Readers
Bridget Cain, Lara Mangino, Rebecca Perrotta, Jess Vance, Bianca Volpe
Poetry Readers
Christian Alfieri, Hailey Cullen, Hayley Jones, Sarah Sharples, Cassandra Walters
Faculty Advisor
Rachel Hall
Production Advisor
Allison Brown
Advisory Editors
Dan DeZarn, Lucia LoTempio, Lytton Smith, Kathryn Waring, Kristen Gentry, Michael Sheehan (Fredonia) and Mehdi Okasi (Purchase)
Special thanks to:
The Parry family, Albert Abonado

Cover photo: Flow by Kailey Maher