Featuring poetry and prose, Capsule Stories Spring 2022 Edition explores the theme Into the Light. Read bright and sunny writings about growth and new possibilities after a long, dark winter. These stories and poems tell of leaving bad relationships, of making a life for yourself that feels fresh and exciting and adventurous, of casting off the shadows and uncovering a piece of yourself long forgotten, of letting the sunlight dance on your skin. Capsule Stories Spring 2022 Edition: Into the Light is the perfect book to read on a park bench on a sun-drenched day this spring.
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We want to support marginalized writers and work to make publishing more accessible. If you are a marginalized writer and would like to read Capsule Stories Spring 2022 Edition, please email us at submissions@capsulestories.com and we will send you a free PDF of the edition.
Into the Light
For the first time in months, rays of sun fall through the window in the afternoon and land on your arms, warming you as you type on your keyboard. You look up to find the gray winter sky has been replaced with a hopeful blue, no clouds. Birdsong floats on the air. On a whim, you decide to go outside.
You find an empty bench in the park and sit, pull out the book you brought, and start reading. The sun envelops you, and suddenly it’s too warm for your jacket. Moms with strollers and couples holding hands stroll past; from somewhere behind you, a boombox plays a song you almost recognize. You meet eyes with a guy sitting at a picnic table with a sketchbook, hand sweeping across the page. How can he even begin to capture the beauty of this day—the crocuses rising from the ground, the stained glass of an art installation coating the concrete in color, the earnestness of the trees trying on their green?
You feel elated. Lighter. You look around furtively before slipping off your shoes and setting your feet down into the grass for the first time since last summer. The earth squishes beneath your toes, so alive. The sun shines on your face and you know deep down that it will all be okay.
Capsule Stories Spring 2022 Edition Contents and Contributors
Nonfiction
“False Spring” by Sara Davis
Sara Davis is a recovering academic and marketing writer who lives in Philadelphia with two elderly cats. Her PhD in American literature is from Temple University. She has previously published flash in Capsule Stories, Cleaver Magazine, and CRAFT literary magazine. She blogs about books and climate anxiety at literarysara.net. You can find her at @LiterarySara.
“Back in the Sun Again” by Simone Woods
Simone Woods is a scientist (re)turned writer who is originally from Australia but currently resides in Munich, Germany. She writes a healthy mix of creative nonfiction, personal essays, and nonfiction articles. You can read more of her writing on her blog lifeinspirationfile.com. When she is not writing, or taking thousands of photos of her sons or the sky, you can find her snuggled up on a chair reading a book.
Fiction
“Suncatcher” by Hantian Zhang
Hantian Zhang is a writer living in San Francisco. He is a data scientist by day.
“Reeled In” by Andrea Watson-Canning
Andrea Watson-Canning received her MFA in dramaturgy from UC San Diego, worked in the theater for a while, and then somehow became a teacher. Her first piece was published in The Dillydoun Review. She lives in Florida with her partner, Bill; daughter, Fiona; and some dogs and cats to keep it interesting.
“Running” by Kristin Celms
Kristin Celms lives in Minnesota with her husband, the younger of her two children, a golden retriever, and several cats. She maintains a large collection of pink sweaters and is currently revising a cozy mystery.
“love as layers of the atmosphere” by n. m. letscher
n. m. letscher (they/he) is a genderfluid nonbinary writer from Chicago, Illinois. They have a strong connection to their hometown and feel as though growing up in such a vibrant city has shaped him incredibly in terms of writing, as well as other aspects of their life. He is a recent graduate of St. Olaf College, with a BA in English and theater, with a focus toward dramaturgy. While they love poetry, they also have a strong love for fantasy and science fiction, especially if it has queer representation in it. He has previously been published in Hypertext Magazine, GLITCHWORDS, and Capsule Stories.
“Ever Again” by Jessica Barksdale
Jessica Barksdale is the author of the poetry collection Grim Honey and the novel The Play’s the Thing, both published in 2021. Her novel What the Moon Did will be published in February 2023. Recently retired, she taught composition, literature, and creative writing at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, for thirty-two years and continues to teach novel writing online for UCLA Extension and in the online MFA program for Southern New Hampshire University. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband.
Poetry
“spring promises” by Eileen Lynch
Eileen Lynch is a writer and seeker of warm spots to work(/nap) and is probably trying really hard not to put an unnecessary dragon in whatever she’s working on at the moment. If you’re interested in seeing where her writing ends up next, you can find her at @eileenpdf on Twitter.
“What Happens After the Snow Melts,” “Vernal Invocation,” “Signs,” and “a fragile okay” by Jessica Coles
Jessica Coles (she/her) is a poet and editor from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Treaty 6 territory), where she lives with her family and a judgmental tuxedo cat. Her work has appeared in Prairie Fire, Moist Poetry Journal, Crow Name (forthcoming), and You Are a Flower Growing off the Side of a Cliff: A Chapbook about Mental Health and Resiliency. Her first chapbook, unless you’re willing to evaporate, is available through Prairie Vixen Press at prairievixenpress.ca.
“Tuesday, Taking on Water” by Virginia Laurie
Virginia Laurie is an English major at Washington and Lee University whose work has been published in LandLocked, Phantom Kangaroo, Cathexis Northwest Press, and more. You can find her online at virginialaurie.com.
“Early” and “yarn” by Luciana Francis
Luciana Francis is a Brazilian-born, UK-based writer of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She holds a BA (hons) in anthropology and media from Goldsmiths, University of London. Her writing has appeared in various publications in print and online, including Literary Mama, Minerva Rising, Burningword Literary Journal, among others; further work is forthcoming in Cōnfingō Magazine and Consilience. She has recently been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best Small Fictions.
“To Lose” and “Release” by Veronica Nation
Veronica Nation is a Colorado poet and artist whose work can be seen in Levitate Magazine, 300 Days of Sun, Sink Hollow, and others. When she is not writing, Veronica enjoys drinking iced coffee, meditating, and reading an assortment of books. You can follow her on Instagram at @rainandpoetry and on her website at veronicanation.com.
“Slow Rise” by Jeremy Chu
Jeremy Chu is a twenty-five-year-old Filipino Chinese poet, writing as a guest on the unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations. Chu’s work considers how diasporas imprint themselves within the terrains of Western Canada and how fleeting experiences can give presence and tangibility to minority communities.
“The Need for New Words,” “Shine,” “Arriving at School First,” and “An Ear to the Ground” by Andrew J. Calis
Andrew J. Calis is a Palestinian American poet, teacher, husband, and father of four. His first book of poetry, Pilgrimages (Wipf and Stock, 2020), was praised by James Matthew Wilson for having “the intensity of Hopkins” and for “layer[ing] light on light in hopes of helping us to see.” His work has been published in America, Dappled Things, St. Katherine Review, Presence, Convivium, and elsewhere. He teaches at Archbishop Spalding High School in Maryland.
“Rinse and Wring” by Matthew Miller
Matthew Miller teaches social studies, swings tennis rackets, and writes poetry—all hoping to create home. He and his wife live beside a dilapidating orchard in Indiana, where he tries to shape dead trees into playhouses for his four boys. His poetry has been featured in Whale Road Review, EcoTheo Review, River Mouth Review, and Ekstasis Magazine.
“Take Pleasure” and “Revise” by V. Bray
V. Bray has been a writer since childhood and still has a box filled with her first “books,” usually illustrated with markers and bound with yarn. She writes in many genres, including speculative and historical fiction and poetry. Her work has been published in About Place Journal, borrowed solace, the anthology Growing Up Lifespan, and The Writer magazine. Learn more at authorvbray.com.
“I Go to Oaks for Answers,” “standing on hair’s end,” and “Paper Stars” by Annie Powell Stone
Annie Powell Stone (she/her) is a fan of peanut butter toast. Poetry has come back to her after many years away and absolutely saved her sanity during lockdown. Her work has appeared in Capsule Stories and Door Is a Jar, among others. She lives on the ancestral land of the Piscataway people in Baltimore City, Maryland, with her husband and two kiddos. Read more of her poetry on Instagram at @anniepowellstone.
“Timing” by Chana G Miller
Chana G Miller (she/her) grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, but now lives in Ireland. Her work can be found in ROPES Literary Journal, Into the Void, the Lucky Jefferson 365 Collection, Rejection Letters, and Sublunary Review. She has recently completed her degree at NUI Galway and is working on her debut novel.
“Sun Head” by Sophia Zuo
Sophia Zuo is a poet based in Taiwan who lived most of her life in New York and was born to two immigrant parents. Her poetry strongly focuses on identity, emotion, and everything in between. In her free time, she likes reading modern lit and listening to good music.
“White Light” and “Life Drawing” by Kris Spencer
Kris Spencer has written seven books. His poems have been published internationally, most recently in Acumen, Black Fox Literary Magazine, The Orchards Poetry Journal, Fenland Poetry Journal, BALLOONS Lit. Journal, Nailpolish Stories, Bluepepper, Briefly Write, and Allegro Poetry Magazine. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he often explores landscape and sense of place in his work. He is a head teacher living and working in West London.
“Portrait of an Artist, Bedridden” by Maija Haavisto
Maija Haavisto has had two poetry collections published in Finland: Raskas vesi (Aviador, 2018) and Hopeatee (Oppian, 2020). In English, her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Wondrous Real, ShabdAaweg Review, The North, Anomaly, Asylum, Eye to the Telescope, Shoreline of Infinity, and Kaleidoscope. You can find her on Twitter at @DiamonDie.
“Reunion” by Lauren Linkowski
Lauren Linkowski (she/they) is a medical education learning specialist with an EdD in higher education. Her professional interests include teaching, learning, and how our brains can be allies or enemies depending on the situation. You can follow her passion for hiking on Instagram at @outsidelink. She lives in the beautiful New York metro area with her supportive partner and less-supportive cat.
“Promise of the World” by Laura Ma
Laura Ma (she/her) is a young writer from California. Her work appears or is forthcoming in the Pollux Journal, The Lumiere Review, The Aurora Journal, and elsewhere. At midnight you can find her exploring aesthetics and wishing that it would rain. Find her on Twitter at @goldenhr3.
“The Robins Build Their Nests in Spring and So Did We” and “Leave the Light On” by Olivia Landry
Olivia Landry (she/her) lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and hopes to be a teacher and a writer. She holds a BA in women’s and gender studies and an MA in gender studies. She adores her family, friends, and partner and is so thankful that they enjoy reading her poems and stories. You can find her on Instagram at @golden__liv.
“outer spaces” by Kaitlan Bui
Kaitlan Bui is studying English and East Asian studies at Brown University, among other things. She writes regularly for Cornerstone Magazine and Post- Magazine, and her work has been featured by DVAN, Spellbinder, and Kalopsia Literary Journal.
“We’ve Only Met Once Before (On a Different Planet)” and “Purple Lipstick” by Jo Matsaeff
Jo Matsaeff is a neurodivergent queer teacher based in France. They can be found at their local open mic or virtually hanging out with their international poet friends wishing for a day when a magical tunnel will bring them all together. Their work appears in Gnashing Teeth Publishing, Anti-Heroin Chic, Horse Egg Literary, The Adriatic, and Serotonin. You can follow them on Instagram at @jo_pangolin.
“Leaving the Woods” and “Potential Energy” by Elizabeth Wittenberg
Elizabeth Wittenberg is a New Orleans-based writer originally from Chicago. When she is not writing, she prefers to be outside and to be moving. She lives for experiences and stories.
“Escape” by Karen Lea Armstrong
Karen Lea Armstrong is a writer and family physician living in Timmins, Ontario. Her fiction has been published in Ars Medica and The Nub: Indie Arts Hub app and nonfiction in Triathlon Magazine Canada and Canadian Family Physician. In her non-medical, non-writing time, she works to rid the world of misplaced apostrophes and attempts to train her rescue dog to come when called.
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Capsule Stories Spring 2022 Edition Publication Credits
Book Designer: Carolina VonKampen
Ebook Designer: Lorie DeWorken
Cover Artist: Darius Serebrova
Disclosure: Capsule Stories is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon, and we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Please consider buying your books through Bookshop.org to support independent bookstores—and Capsule Stories!