Single Issues
Fall 2023 | Relief (print) - $12
With the figure in Tracy Bull’s striking cover art, we find ourselves exploring the edge of displacement and discovery in the 2024 issue of Relief journal. Throughout this latest issue, there is a sense that we are all simply looking for the next safe stone to stand on. Whether we’re grappling with vulnerability in Tania Runyan’s “In Search of Earthquake Kate,” looking at death through the eye of the yovobird in Jonathan Allston’s “Patriarch,” or just “missing the solace of a mother” in Rhett Watts’s “Floating Arms,” we are all learning where we go next. If you still find yourself emerging from the edge of a dark wood, you’re in good company here, and we invite you to step to the next safe stone with us.
Fall 2022 | Relief (print) - $12
Relief’s 2022 issue includes a full color comic, poems about living with loss, and stories that highlight and investigate the human condition and also the antidote thereof. The process of selecting these works was one which allowed our staff to discover more about ourselves, our perceptions of the world, and our views on humanity, and we are delighted to share these works with readers.
Spring 2021 | Relief (print) - $12
The 2021 issue of Relief was created around the idea that our art and writing provide an opportunity for community and rest amidst the ongoing turmoil in our lives—particularly that of the world around us. From the beautiful cover art by Jazmin Tuscani to the works of poetry, prose, and graphic art in the pages of this issue, we invite readers to take part in that community. Whether you’ve been reading Relief for years of have just heard of it, we’re glad you’re here.
Spring 2020 | Relief (print) - $12
The 2020 issue of Relief is the culmination of working under extremely unusual circumstances, including a pandemic that shut down our campus in the middle of the semester, and movements for racial justice in the US and abroad. What can art do in times of crisis? It can help us lament by reflecting images of our brokenness. And perhaps it can guide us toward healing in some small way. For us it all starts with the cover: a stunning image titled “Shut In” by Minneapolis artist Jennifer Davis which, believe it or not, was selected by the editors before COVID-19 made us all shut-ins. So although it may be awhile before we can go back out into the world, we invite you into this shared space of new poems, stories, comics, and essays, in the hopes that we’ll see one another healthy and well in-person soon.
Spring 2019 | Relief (print) - $12
Relief’s 2019 issue is packed with new poems by some of our favorite voices—Nicholas Samaras, Natasha Oladokun, Linda Mills Woolsey, Daniel Tobin, and many others. CNF offerings include Nelle Smith’s complicated tribute to her native Ohio; lyric examinations of faith, suffering, and loss by Kyle Minor and Ann Weikers; and the stunning debut of Kaylen Dwyer. Our fiction moves from the Middle East to the hills of West Virginia to the California desert of G.E. Kittredge’s “Thy Cell Will Teach Thee All,” in which a burned out rocker attempts to write the ending to his own story. Kelcey Parker Ervick adds Relief’s first full-color graphic narrative, a gorgeous meditation on Nabokov, butterflies, and the coming of age of an artist.
Spring 2018 | Relief (print) - $12
The Spring 2018 issue of Relief, which features striking cover art by Brenton Good, contains nearly fifty pages of writing more than the previous volume, including exciting new voices in fiction, and a graphic narrative by Suzanne Rhee. Poetry offerings are highlighted by sestinas by Tania Runyan, new work from Jeremiah Webster and Jeff Newberry, and a wide range of beautiful poems from around the country. Relief continues to engage superb CNF writers; we’re proud to publish challenging new work by D.L. Mayfield, Carly Gelsinger, and essays by poets Julie Moore and Susanna Childress. 2018 comprises one of our most complete and energizing issues to date.
Spring 2017 | Relief (print) - $10
The Spring 2017 issue of Relief features a full—and we think beautiful—redesign. The issue expands on Relief’s signature of excellent poetry from around the world, including new poems from old friends like Laurie Klein and Julie L. Moore. Our CNF offerings are highlighted by Catherine Ricketts’ harrowing “What My Brother Wore” and a new essay by Amy Peterson, whose 2017 memoir Dangerous Territory (Discovery House) has garnered much well-deserved attention. Finally, Sally Thomas' “Noise Like a Freight Train” will satisfy the literary fiction reader with its subtle power. And there are many other gems here you’ll be pleased to discover.