An Interview with Aamer Hussein on Characterization
Aamer Hussein was born in Karachi. In 1970, at the age of 15, he moved to London to complete his education. He graduated from SOAS with an Honors degree in South Asian Studies. He simultaneously studied European languages. He began to publish short fiction in the 1980s. Mirror to the Sun, his first collection including...
Craft Corner: The Art of Diversion in Fiction
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Life is not a straight line.” This holds true not just for our own experiences, but also for the types of stories and lives of characters we encounter in stories. Yet, in fiction, the temptation often exists to create linear journeys, with heroes marching steadfastly towards their goals. But what...
In Honor of the Eclipse
As BGSU is abuzz with excitement for the total eclipse, we at MAR can’t help but consider how the moon has been reflected in literature, more specifically, poetry. The moon has been an object of curiosity since the beginning of time, with many cultures regarding the moon as a symbol of power that holds the...
Why We Chose It: “The Retch” by Colten Dom
Mid-American Review fiction staff selected “The Retch” by Colten Dom for publication in Volume XLII, Number 2. “The Retch” is one of those stories that contains seemingly incompatible subjects: on the literal level, it is about dog vomit; on a thematic level, it delves into marriage, family, nostalgia. One of the pleasures of the story...
An Interview with Jose Hernandez Diaz
Jose Hernandez Diaz is a 2017 NEA Poetry Fellow. He is the author of The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020) Bad Mexican, Bad American (Acre Books, 2024), The Parachutist (Sundress Publications, 2025) and Portrait of the Artist as a Brown Man (Red Hen Press, 2025). He has been published in The Yale Review, The...
Meet the MAR Interns – and our food critics!
Who are we: I’m Carlee (she/her), an English major who has been reading poetry for MAR for two semesters. My most recent read was Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith. It was evocative and powerful and I highly recommend it. Fun Facts: I am a self-proclaimed germaphobe but I will eat food off the...