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Unearthed

@unearthedjournal.bsky.social

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Unearthed is an online literary and arts journal out of SUNY-ESF in Syracuse, NY. We publish twice a year, in the Spring and Fall, and encourage both established and new writers to submit. View our latest issue and archived pieces at unearthedesf.com

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Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 26

Our new Spring issue has been launched! Check it out: unearthedesf.com/spring-2025-...

Spring 2025 | Searching for Light

Searching for Light | Spring 2025 Issue As the long winter begins to loosen its grip on Central New York,

unearthedesf.com

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · 27d

We accept all forms of digital making— visual arts, poetry, prose, and we especially encourage submissions from historically underrepresented voices and emerging artists and writers.

unearthedesf.com/call-for-sub...

Call for Submissions | Nourish

Fall 2025 Submissions | Open until Oct. 31 It’s time again to submit your creative work to Unearthed,

unearthedesf.com

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Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · 27d

🔔 We are open for submissions until October 31st!

The theme for our Fall 2025 Issue is “Nourish”— of the body, the mind, the spirit, and the land.

What does it mean to be fed? What does it mean to feed others, or to be denied sustenance—emotional, physical, or cultural?

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Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Sep 2

Ian Cotter is a student at SUNY ESF in Syracuse NY.
He states “As I was writing “Power of Cold,” I wanted to make the reader feel what I felt when the story unfolded: the coldness and isolation, embarrassment and humility, and ultimately the lesson of slowing down to appreciate what you have.”

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Sep 2

“The most beautiful and the most painful experiences I’ve ever had as a human being have taken place in the wilderness. Backpacking and hiking, I’ve found, have the remarkable capacity to crush your spirit and rebuild it again, in the same fatal blow.”

Read the full story linked below!

Power of Cold | Ian Cotter

Power of Coldby Ian Cotter The most beautiful and the most painful experiences I’ve ever

unearthedesf.com

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Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Jul 3

Cosmic Journey, by Dr. Chaitali Umesh Hambire, reflects the transition from darkness to light... This transformation is not only observed in nature but also resonates deeply with the human experience, symbolizing resilience, hope, and the pursuit of enlightenment.

Link in our bio for more!

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Jun 6

For more from Izze, subscribe to their substack: wwavveyy.substack.com.

Image credit: Merlin Kraus, Unsplash

IMK | Substack

Click to read IMK, a Substack publication. Launched a year ago.

wwavveyy.substack.com

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Jun 6

shrouding my body
in evidence of
(i want to be holy)
i weep and ask each

fistful of mud to
inherit these hands
i pray from my igloo in

every soulful swallowing
from here, i am hidden
so i compost my tongue
and grow this body back from blue

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Jun 6

to where i replace the
snow carefully
i stand and sink my
ankles into the cold

numbing the
earth warm and wet
under the crux i am

starved and trembling
i crouch low
lightly, lapping

spirals round my
thighs i dig and
dig and dig

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Jun 6

in the bathouse at midnight

alone becoming black oil
shadowed against the
(dark blue)
the sun was tempered in a
net downtown
(dark blue)

somehow again
it is morning and
the newly vapored sun
has slipped through

i rise and flap my wings
panting, i plant my toes
sneak out the back door

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Jun 6

We share a poem by SUNY ESF student Izze Modell-Kowalski, titled “On Some Sort of Edge”. This was published in our latest Spring 2025 issue, Searching for Light.

unearthedesf.com/on-some-sort...

On Some Sort of Edge | Izze Modell-Kowalski

On some sort of edgeby Izze M-K in the bathouse at midnight alone becoming black oil shadowed against the (dark blue) the sun was tempered in a net downtown(dark blue) somehow again

unearthedesf.com

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Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · May 24

The water rises, buckets
swallow the excess,
but I cannot.

Deckhands burned by
fleeting ropes, soothed by
the ocean’s mist.

I lay down on the deck,
like an anchor to
the ocean floor.

Breathe in the smell of
nothing is permanent.

~
Image credit: Abbey Leibert, 2025

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · May 24

Worry like a ship
stuck in a bottle
kept in check by my
ribcage.

The water rises,
competing with
an ascending airplane.

My lungs contract,
masts crack under pressure.
The water rushes into the fractures
with the spirit of glue.

My sails expand,
lungs capture the wind,
disguised as direction.

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · May 24

We share with you a poem by ESF student, Abbey Leibert, titled Adjusting Sails. You can also read it in our Spring 2025 issue, linked in our bio!
~

Water is a universal solvent.
I will not be left unresolved.

I can be free,
let the water flow.

unearthedesf.com/adjusting-sa...

Adjusting Sails | Abbey Leibert

Adjusting Sailsby Abbey Leibert Water is a universal solvent. I will not be left unresolved.

unearthedesf.com

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Reposted by Unearthed

Wild Roof Journal @wildroofjournal.bsky.social · May 19

Every other week, we shout out writers & their recent lit mag publications: wildroofjournal.substack.com/p/saturday-s...

@unearthedjournal.bsky.social @ballastjournal.bsky.social @passionfruitlit.bsky.social @baltimorereview.bsky.social @jacobschepers.bsky.social

Saturday Shout-Out ~ May 17, 2025

Share your recently published work with the WRJ community

wildroofjournal.substack.com

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Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 29

she creates art as a form of inquiry, healing, and connection, and she invites us to reconsider how we relate to each other and to the land.

Read the interview linked above to learn more!

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 29

Her commitment to community collaboration and spatial justice ensures that her work doesn’t just speak about people and places but speaks with them. In a time marked by great ecological and societal loss, Sheila’s work offers a compelling response:

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 29

From community-based storytelling to co-created public installations, each of Sheila’s endeavors creates space for shared discovery and mutual expression. By merging creative expression with environmental and social issues, Sheila not only raises consciousness but also fosters dialogue and empathy.

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 29

We are kicking off the Spring 2025 issue by sharing an interview from our own Managing Editor, Erin Hassett @erinhassett.bsky.social

Erin had the pleasure of chatting with Sheila Novak, a talented and inspiring environmental artist in Ithaca, New York:

unearthedesf.com/an-interview...

An Interview with Environmental Artist Sheila Novak

An Interview with Environmental Artist Sheila Novak I first met Sheila in 2024 at a book club event in Ithaca—an intimate, monthly gathering focused on exploring themes of environmentalism and outdoor...

unearthedesf.com

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Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 26

Our new Spring issue has been launched! Check it out: unearthedesf.com/spring-2025-...

Spring 2025 | Searching for Light

Searching for Light | Spring 2025 Issue As the long winter begins to loosen its grip on Central New York,

unearthedesf.com

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 22

An incredible open mic event celebrating the talents of our @sunyesf.bsky.social community!

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 22

“Taken in the redwoods of Del Norte State Park, CA, Shafts is archetypal imagery representing that wet coast landscape: fog drifting through redwoods with shafts of light becoming palpable shapes.

[It’s] a wonderful place to witness the manifestation of light, or how light shapes and takes shape.”

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 22

Green is the author of 11 books including The Sound of Fish Dreaming (Bellowing Ark Press, 1996) and the upcoming Old Man Looking through a Window at Night (Main Street Rag). At the age of sixty-eight, he hopes his new work articulates a mature vision of the world and does so with some integrity.

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Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Apr 22

Sneak peek of our Spring 2025 issue! Cover by Benjamin Green, 2026, titled “Shafts”.

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Mar 30

All acceptances have been sent out! We received so many wonderful submissions for this issue that it was tough to make a decision.
Stay tuned for the spring publication during Earth Week!

Unearthed @unearthedjournal.bsky.social · Mar 2

Thank you for all the wonderful submissions for our upcoming Spring 2025 issue! We will be in touch towards the end of March with acceptances.

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