Author: Lisa M. Bradley

Title: “Through the Keyhole”

Venue: F&SF, Nov/Dec 2023 (ed. Sheree Renée Thomas)

Type: Poem – under 50 lines

Themes: Horror, dark fantasy, contemporary fantasy, werewolves, puberty, womanhood

Where to read: Buy the issue on Weightless

I still haven’t gotten my print copy of the current issue (it might be waiting in my office mailbox, fingers crossed), but I have more recommendations from the previous one.

This is an awesome horror / dark fantasy poem about being a werewolf, being a teenage girl growing up, and trying to squeeze some semblance of agency out of both – while trying to squeeze oneself through a keyhole, literally, metaphorically, or both.

“Let the animal retract into the cracked / jack in the box of your skeleton.”

Remember that my favorite story in January was from this issue too, so that’s one more reason to buy it :)

Take care,

Bogi.