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Blue Lilies
by M. Void The sweet rhythm of her smile reminds me that she listened to blue world for me, because of me. I couldn't keep my hands to myself. I kissed girls in bathrooms and took double shots. Her quiet, pained face listened to the beat like a 4:4 critique of me and my infidelity. Well, this mad world made me crazy. That's what I told her when I talked about polyamory. Blame the devil on my shoulder for making me shady. I know she set me up, told that bathroom siren to seduc
M. Void
Sep 27
A Day At The Beach
by Brian Hawkins I can imagine us lying in the sand at the lake, your toes tracing memories around discarded bait buckets and cigarette butts. I close my eyes to see you loosen your top as you turn your back to the sun while I open my book and pretend not to read, sneaking peaks at the edges of your small breasts over, under, and around the empty pages. You glance at me and smile, reaching out to touch my hand, but only for a moment so that your tan will be even there, too. I
Brian Hawkins
Sep 20
Love Poem With Mile Markers
by Ace Boggess In the art museum where you denied Renoir his simple beauty; in the Blenko glass factory where fires lit your eyes like devils; in the Carnegie where an awful, awe-inspiring T. rex loomed, its bones encased in lead to protect us from its ongoing murderousness; in the Palace of Gold at New Vrindaban, peacocks & roses our spiritual purpose; in the megalithic prison at Moundsville seeing convict graffiti marring walls & bullet holes scarring a space used f
Ace Boggess
Jul 15
Corazón posible
by Ted Bernal Guevara Magdalena, serve another pricey drink my way. I won’t be bitter. This evening wrecks decay. Anyway, plans with you are up a steep hill, I know. I’m just a long wait to that sacred mill. My life is far from here, from any advance. I would be lucky to have circumstance. But, Magdalena, it’s in my soul to hold you normal, to release myself of distance and bridge all abysmal, to your bright sanguine of a heart, I long to touch. I will treasure your mortal, y
Ted Bernal Guevara
Mar 4
Longing
by Steve Evans My mouth is full of the aftertaste of chocolate, of red wine’s soothing soliloquies, and many other promises, but all they really speak about is you. I’m not feeling guilty, though. What am I to do when you aren’t here except eat more chocolate and pour more wine? You could appear and close the box, recork the bottle and offer me your own sweet tastes but you’re so far away. We both know that won’t happen. Shall I grow fat on the absence of you, sing hopelessly
Steve Evans
Jan 26
Agate
by John Swain Agate the sea wreathes mosaic, we wade in the shallow, we float on gold rosettes to the diamondback sandbar, your eyes fletch the sunlight, the sun stills in prism. The sky shines to billow the skirt of your dress like a sail, you move to tilt the wild sphere, you curve to mindful blue. We wash transparent, you necklace sun inscripted on the pendant clasped with agate bound like wind behind my neck.
John Swain
Jan 7
Blue Footprints
by Ann Humphries ~Moody Blues, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye Out west for weeks, my walkabout, I call him from phone booths, his deep-rooted...
Ann Humphries
Aug 11, 2025
Two Poems by Strider Marcus Jones
by Strider Marcus Jones I Follow You Into Night i sense you in summer wind and try to redefine the Other ring that binds us in this...
Strider Marcus Jones
Jul 2, 2025
Meeting Your Match
by Lynn White D H Lawrence once wrote that there were lots of good fish in the sea but as the vast majority were mackerel and herring,...
Lynn White
Jun 3, 2025
Four Poems by Darren Demaree
by Darren Demaree Emily as I’ll Never Forget that I Happened to Be Particularly Down the Day I Wrote My Best Emily Poem The world is...
Darren Demaree
Apr 30, 2025
Three Poems by Kirsty Niven
by Kirsty Niven Looking Glass Whatever he sees, he boomerangs back faithfully, reflecting every expression with diamond clarity. A...
Kirsty Niven
Mar 10, 2025
Three Poems by Christian Garduno
by Christian Garduno Addison I lived on the outskirts of a long-dead galaxy in the year of the wooden snake I see a flair of O’Hara in...
Christian Garduno
Mar 3, 2025
5 Untitled Haiku
by Jon Petruschke her moans guide my mouth my wedding ring lost inside her I open her with my words hours to put her outfit together,...
Jon Petruschke
Feb 21, 2025
Three Poems by Marianne Tefft
by Marianne Tefft Headland You need me to be the headland Around whose firmly planted feet Your flood waters rise relentless Without...
Marianne Tefft
Feb 16, 2025
Frozen Memories With Hannah
by Joseph Ogbonna I had a romantic winter with Hannah. The warmth of her presence felt really cozy. Like an ice vacuum sheltering sunny...
Joseph Ogbonna
Feb 3, 2025
Articles
The Morning It Started
by Elizabeta Žargi That summer I was travelling through Europe on an Interrail ticket — a month of trains and no fixed schedule beyond a language course waiting in Ljubljana. I had already spent a week in Malmö, made a delayed stop in Hamburg after sleeping through it once, then gone down to Geneva to visit Milena. Eventually I returned to Vienna, where I was staying with Gregor and Sandy. They were also planning to attend the course in Slovenia. I was meant to leave on the 2
Elizabeta Žargi
Apr 5
Dreaming of Kalbarri
by Meredith Stephens “Wake up! If we don’t get going now it will be too hot!” urged my fiance Alex. I couldn’t understand why we had to leave for Kalbarri National Park at 5:30am in darkness. Was it really going to get that hot? We quickly arose and headed to the car for the long drive. By the time we arrived, the day was breaking and we were among the first tourists to arrive at the famed Nature’s Window. We made our way along the trail to the window where international tour
Meredith Stephens
Nov 2, 2025
Between Two Skies: An Egyptian Heart in Albany
by Walid Abdallah When I first arrived in Albany, New York, in the winter of 2014, I felt as if I had stepped into a painting. The air...
Walid Abdallah
Oct 13, 2025
Reviews
Salvage Comic Review
by Catalina Bonati 4.5/5 stars ★★★★⯪ Salvage: A Graphic Novel by Renée Nault (published July 2026) is the colorful and lighthearted story of Paolo, a boy who lives in The Flats, where houses float on the water and the main income comes form diving into the Old City, a submerged city center where priceless artifacts, such as old designer clothes, phones, and music records, must be scavenged and brought to the surface to be salvaged and sold. Paolo dreams of more—he wishes to e
Catalina Bonati
11 hours ago
Hedgehog Book Review
by Catalina Bonati 2/5 stars ★★☆☆☆ Hedgehog by Maggie Koons (to be published March 2027) is a horror novel that revolves around two young women: Riley Kilkenny and Irina Lebedev. Riley is a well-off writer of daily news briefs for influencers, and who is struggling to come to terms with the breakup of her girlfriend Markie, which happened almost a year ago. She finds a new coping method consisting of the killing and torture of animals, which she begins to upload to the intern
Catalina Bonati
Oct 18
To The East of the East Book Review
by Catalina Bonati 1.75/ 5 stars ★★☆☆☆ To the East of the East by Ping Lu and translated by Jeremy Tiang (to be published October 2026) is a translated literary fiction novel about Min-Hui, a Taiwanese writer who after the disappearance of her husband, Chien-I, a Taiwanese businessman, must stay in Beijing to help authorities figure out his whereabouts. She meets a strange man named Shangjun who begins to accompany her in conversation in her hotel room every day, which makes
Catalina Bonati
Oct 15
Short Stories
Back in the Day
by Robert Lowinger I was in the seventh grade, in 1969, living in a little town outside of Buffalo, New York when me and Danny Nissen, who was almost 15, threatened to beat the crap out of Larry McKoon for telling Danny that he wasn’t good at basketball, and he should get booted off the team. Well, Danny said, “Jimmy, you got to be a man and not let anyone diss your friends, certainly not a little prick like Larry,” and ever since Danny killed that cat with a knife behind the
Robert Lowinger
Sep 24
Ticket to Ride
by Sara Etgen-Baker "You gotta have a ticket to ride!” snapped the Carney. “Get a ticket or move outta da way, kid. You’re takin’ up space!” I stared motionless as the Ferris wheel cut through the heavy summer clouds. “Here’s her ticket, sir. We three are ridin’ together.” “Not happenin’ lady—only two per chair. One of youz has to ride by yerself.” “No problem! She’s the oldest; she’ll ride by herself.” “Whatever ya say, lady. She seems a bit scared to me though.” “Your broth
Sara Etgen-Baker
Sep 15
Intangible Ingredients
Sara Etgen-Baker After Granny died, Mother requested only one item from her mother’s possessions. “All I really want,” Mother told my uncle, “are her old recipe cards and antique file box.” Mother’s request puzzled me, for I knew Mother didn’t need the recipe cards and file box for any practical reason. She’d known for decades how to make Granny’s pumpernickel bread, sauerkraut, and her breakfast specialty—streusel kuchen. But when the file box arrived a few days later, Mothe
Sara Etgen-Baker
Sep 13
Poetry
The Lying Ashes
by Francis Godoy The match’s offering to consume oneself, Accepted by the candle’s curiosity— Its light radiant. Yet the match has burned its purpose. While the candle burns its own. An endless, sterile fire The lighter’s glow The shine gnawing at the candle’s wick Beside the ashes. The match’s silver, powdery helmet Shines as it leaves. The lighter stays as plaque, Coating its metal ridges. The match and candle Die together Merging into one final canvas. Th
Francis Godoy
1 day ago
La Romana
by Robert Wardell Vermilion shoes stepping over the vermouth-soaked tiles, the clasp of wine glasses holding those exquisite dry grapes against porcelain plates with tongue twister dishes. A cuisine of spoken incantations chanted like ancient spells and hymns. Like the flamingos trotting through the sapphire marina water, they move so confidently, gracefully. At no older than 20 a collective mastery of form, restraint and elegance draped over the drunken stupor. A bise here,
Robert Wardell
4 days ago
Two Poems by Megan Mealor
by Megan Denese Mealor A Serial Killer His victims could have been sisters: ladylike, dewy-eyed, halcyon, the swaggering Southern belles of a flaxen new era. Panache shot out of their fingertips like searchlights. Eva was exploring nursing and dancing off her teenage years in democratic nightclubs. Scrappy Regina swam for state two days before her blustery end; she scratched like a black-footed cat. Alyssa was at home with three brand-new boys too young to define his church
Megan Mealor
Oct 29
Art & Photography
Submission Guidelines
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We do not publish homophobic, transphobic, racist, or misogynist works of any kind.
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If the piece you wish to submit has italics or an image attached, please email us your submission at ultramarineliteraryreview@gmail.com rather than using the submission form.
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Art and photography must be uploaded to an email and must NOT be shared as a Google Drive document.
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Prose must be less than 3,000 words.
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Poetry must be less than 3 pages, single-spaced.
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We do not accept AI work or AI-assisted work.
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We respond to submissions within the span of two weeks.
Submissions
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By clicking on the SUBMIT button, you are agreeing to the following terms:
a) The submission is an original work that has not been previously published.
b) You have obtained permissions by the third party involved if the submitted work contains intellectual property not attributed to your authorship.
c) By submitting, you guarantee you hold the rights to the work, and you grant Ultramarine Literary Review the rights to publish the submitted work. After publication, rights revert to the author.
d) Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but the author must let us know if their work has been accepted elsewhere prior to publication.
e) Submitted articles, reviews, poetry and short prose fiction may potentially be translated by translation students of the Universidad de Atacama and published on our site.
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