WET!

Issue 37

(Fall 2025)

For this issue, we want to get a little wet. We want to make you cry, sweat, spit your drinks out. Show you writing that breaks form like ice melting into water. Think of summer in the winter. Think of snow. Think of oceans and rivers and lakes and that one swimming pool you snuck into to skinny dip. Think of sex. Think about matter. Think about change and fluidity. Think of taking off your shirt, but your back is too sweaty so it sticks to you like that one crush you just can’t quit. We want to show you poetry that drips off the page. Think of rain, oil, blood, wet cement. Think of jumping in puddles and making a mess. We love messes. Don’t you? Get you hot and bothered then dump a bucket of ice water on you to cool you off. Or not. Keep you hanging on. Keep you edging. The work in our latest issue will make you do all that and more. We couldn’t be prouder. We couldn’t be wetter. We present to you Issue 37: WET!

– Michael Cuervo, Editor-in-Chief

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Editing Staff for Issue 37:

Faculty Advisor: Denise Duhamel

Editor-in-Chief: Michael Cuervo

Assistant Managing Editor: Kamila Izquierdo

Fiction Editor: Brittney Acosta

Poetry Editor: Matthew Young

Creative Nonfiction Editor: Bryane Alfonso

Hybrid Editor: Griffin Cornwell

Readers: Zabrina Barbian, Brittany Crosse, Rochelle Fajgenbaum Harlev, Charlotte Kaplan, Michael Louis, Steven Osuna, Ian Perez, Christopher Pineiro, Michael Rojas, and Ranijun Ruado.

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Cover Artist Asem Moustafa Ahmed (he/him) is a New Jersey-based artist specializing in painting, portraiture, and figure drawing, with additional interests in sculpture, printmaking, and jewelry-making. Born in Marrakech, Morocco, and of Egyptian heritage, Asem moved to Jersey City at the age of nine. Immersed in the vibrant visual cultures of North Africa and inspired by the diversity of his new home, he developed a deep passion for art from an early age. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and later earned his Master’s degree from the New York Academy of Art, studying under artists such as Dan Thompson, Mario A. Robinson, and Randolphlee McIver. Asem now works from his studio, creating richly textured and expressive works that celebrate the color, form, and spirit of the world around him. You can find more of his work on his website: http://www.asemfineart.com/.