Cleaver Magazine

Cleaver Magazine Cleaver Magazine publishes sharp-edged art & literary work by established & emerging voices. To “cleave” is both to stick tight and to fall away.

Cleaver Magazine shares “cutting-edge” artwork and literary work from a mix of established and emerging voices.We publish a quarterly literary magazine with poetry, short stories, essays, flash prose, visual art, graphic narratives, and visual art. Look for the literary quarterly in March, June, September, and December. In each issue we present several emerging writers and alongside established wr

iters and artists. We see ourselves as facilitators and stewards of the literary and artistic work that we publish. In addition to our literary quarterly, we publish weekly and daily features, including Life As Activism (poetry and prose with a social justice theme), writer-to-writer craft essays, author interviews, travel essays, and reviews of books from small and independent publishers. Our weekly in-house advice columnist, “Ask June” opines on matters punctuational, interpersonal, and philosophical, spinning wit and literary wisdom in response to your ethical quandaries. Our podcast On The Edge is a virtual poetry reading series, available for download on iTunes and SoundCloud. Our radio plays feature original short scrips performed by professional actors. The scripts are available for download as PDF files; the recordings are free for listeners on iTunes and SoundCloud. About our name: “cleave” is a Janus word, also known as an “auto-antonym”, meaning both itself and its opposite. A cleaver is the most broad-edged and brutally efficient kitchen knife, designed to be swung like a hammer for the most effective channel of force. “Cleave” also means to come together with strong attachment. Submissions guidelines at the Cleaver Magazine website. For book review queries, see the masthead on our website. For other queries, email: [email protected]

"I’d like to hear your whole speech again, your whole routine…But this time more happily. You understand? I want you to ...
01/03/2026

"I’d like to hear your whole speech again, your whole routine…But this time more happily. You understand? I want you to be happy for me, Ricky? Can you do that? Can you be happy for me?"

OFF-SCRIPT, a short story by Andrew V. Lorenzen, appears in Cleaver 52. https://www.cleavermagazine.com/off-script-by-andrew-lorenzen/


"It was a little bit of a plank walk to the front of the room, and Rebekah looked nervous and who could blame her. Momen...
01/02/2026

"It was a little bit of a plank walk to the front of the room, and Rebekah looked nervous and who could blame her. Moments before we watched with great joy as Lucas Green’s bridge was annihilated by the first small lead weight that Mr. M. tied to its span."

BRIDGES, short fiction by Marc Kaufman, is in Cleaver 52. https://www.cleavermagazine.com/bridges-by-marc-kaufman/

The Oyster Bar closed awhile in the pandemic. Before //trips to Beacon I went by there with my son, whispered //corner t...
01/01/2026

The Oyster Bar closed awhile in the pandemic. Before //
trips to Beacon I went by there with my son, whispered //
corner to corner in the hallway outside. My Dad followed //
Mom from out West because he said he had nothing //
better to do. I thought the fish overpriced and greasy.

IN WHAT CITY DID YOUR PARENTS MEET?, a poem by Jim Stewart, is featured in Cleaver 52.

https://www.cleavermagazine.com/in-what-city-did-your-parents-meet-by-jim-stewart/

"... there was a small porch where his mother chain-smoked and drank iced tea after a twelve-hour shift of ringing and b...
01/01/2026

"... there was a small porch where his mother chain-smoked and drank iced tea after a twelve-hour shift of ringing and bagging groceries. Her body hung frail and prematurely wrinkled like the pleats of a valence. She seldom smiled, but when she did, it was for Mitchell."

SUICIDES, fiction by N.D. Brown, appears in Cleaver 52, our latest issue. https://www.cleavermagazine.com/suicides-by-n-d-brown/

"He reached for his phone on the coffee table but couldn’t quite grasp it. Not for the first time, he wished he had The ...
12/31/2025

"He reached for his phone on the coffee table but couldn’t quite grasp it. Not for the first time, he wished he had The Force—though he knew that ninety percent of the time, it would only be used to retrieve his phone."

GROUNDED, short fiction by KSM, appears in Cleaver 52, our new issue. https://www.cleavermagazine.com/grounded-by-ksm/

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Chestnut Hill, PA

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