
Editor’s Note
Art, like the world, is dangerous. As artists and readers, we explore the vulnerable parts of ourselves with the fragile hope that we’ll be changed by what we encounter.
The contributors in this issue have risked entering a world full of dangers: fire, war, abusive men, murderous marsupials, the onward march of time, the fierce pull of grief, and imminent loss of self. They’ve done so even on a planet battered by raging storms and rising tides, a world choking on extraction capitalism and threats of authoritarian regimes and morality police.
It’s a brave thing. Some might say it isn’t worth the time, the emotional cost, but stories have the power to connect us, to lend us the strength of feeling seen and known. In doing so, they are dangerous in another way: they threaten those who wield unjust power, those who maintain control through isolation and division.
So, dear readers, take a spin through this issue: explore the vast chasm of human experience and risk a random encounter that will leave you changed.

What’s New at Vast Chasm
- For this issue, we’re piloting audio recordings to accompany some of the pieces. Because read-alouds are an integral part of our acceptance process, it feels like a perfect fit. We hope to increase this effort in the future as a way to improve accessibility and allow our audience another method of interacting with the issue.
- Got feedback about our first four issues? Editors@VastLiteraryPress.org
- Want to support our work? Click here to donate
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Table of Contents
Title | Genre | Writer |
Fire | Flash CNF | Jasmine Griffin |
Unbecoming | Fiction | Sophia Savva |
Not My Father | Flash CNF | Ray Lantrip |
Death by Opossum | Flash Fiction | Matt Goldberg |
Ragamuffins | Flash CNF | Michele Finn Johnson |
The Four of Us, Girls | Flash Fiction | Jeanine Skowronski |
How to Stop Evaporating | Flash Fiction | Anita Goveas |
Preservation | Poetry | Ly Faulk |
Wild Man | Fiction | Molly Seeling |
