Fiction & Poetry

Not Without

Pulitzer Prize–winner Forrest Gander partnered with artist Ashwini Bhat to create this work, the collaborators’ first for Alta.

Daughter
In one of four poems published in Alta’s Fall 2020 issue, Anastacia-…
“In Case You Forgot, I Am Not Your Negro” 
Anastacia-Reneé, a two-time Pushcart nominee, penned this achingly t…
“Aunt Jemima is the Picture of the American Dream”
Anastacia-Reneé is a Seattle-based poet, artist, and educator who wa…
Low & Leaving
Anastacia-Reneé finds multiple meaning in this poem from Alta's Wint…
Nov 2, 2020
Time Invents Us

Read a short story about an artist in search of understanding and the mysterious man who seems to offer it.
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Sep 1, 2020
Summons: A Poem

D.A. Powell's 'Summons' is one of three of his poems to appear in Alta‘s Summer 2020 issue.
Aug 25, 2020
Bat Boy: A Poem

D.A. Powell, a Bay Area writer and educator, finds poetry in America’s favorite pastime.

Aug 19, 2020
Imagines*: A Poem

Pause with this work by D.A. Powell.
Aug 4, 2020
The Making of a Poem

Matthew Zapruder constructs—and deconstructs—a new poem for the late Joanne Kyger.
Jul 21, 2020
Note for Daughters: A Poem

Fresno's Sara Borjas is the author of Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff.

Jul 21, 2020
To the Woman Who Said She Could Hear My Accent: A Poem

Borjas might live in Los Angeles, but the poet, author, and educator stays forever rooted in Fresno.

Jul 1, 2020
New Fiction: The Turnaround

In this story by Charlie Jane Anders, a time traveler learns that the way to imagine a better future is to build one.
May 5, 2020
New Fiction: Answer

A young man’s mad, burning love for a married woman is requited in this story from Dagoberto Gilb.

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Apr 8, 2020
Downhill White Supremacists March on Sacramento: A Poem

Tess Taylor reflects on a painful past in this poem from her forthcoming collection, Rift Zone.

Mar 4, 2020
Cold, Clear
Jane Hirshfield has been honored with the Poetry Center Book Award and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Aca…
Mar 4, 2020
Paint

Jane Hirshfield is a Bay Area-based poet, essayist, and translator. Her newest book, Ledger: Poems, will be published in 2020.

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Feb 17, 2020
‘Ribs, Muscle, Bone’

Watching the dissolution of her parents’ relationship, a butcher’s daughter learns lessons about life and love.

Dec 24, 2019
Alta’s Best Fiction 2019
Fiction came to the pages of Alta this summer. Our debut featured Peter Orner’s “Above Santa Cruz,” a story he included in his collecti…
Nov 26, 2019
Like an Old Friend Whom You Had Given Up for Dead Rain Returns to Oakland

Tennessee Reed is the author of six books of poetry, including City Beautiful, Airborne, and Electric Chocolate.