The L.A. Issue - ZYZZYVA #119

Fiction:

"Odd Jobs" by Jonathan Escoffery: A college grad living out of his car can't be too finicky about what a young woman asks him to do for a bit of cash.

"Panda Express" by Francisco Gonzalez: Far from the eyes of family, a student allows himself to savor what he truly hungers for.

"Jello Sees" by Kathleen Mackay: "Jello had come to hate the celebrities. Funhouse faces that looked familiar and disappointing in their ordinariness, but always beautiful, always remarkable for their familiarity. This seemed unfair."

Plus stories from Michelle Latiolais, Siel Ju, Andres Reconco, and Perry Janes. And in honor of Ray Bradbury's centenary, a republication of his classic story "The Pedestrian."

Nonfiction:

"Postcard from L.A., April" by Nina Revoyr: When you've long been attuned to life's precariousness, what does the growing threat of pandemic mean?

"Alterations" by Wendy C. Ortiz: "I write to you, craving. I know there are music and texts I won't gravitate toward in these next few fragile weeks of newness, because they threaten to drive me back to pleasure ..."

Plus essays by Joe Donnelly (on the enduring legacy of the wolf known as OR-7) and A. Kendra Greene (on the museum that is the Holyland Exhibition).

Interview:

The late Wanda Coleman on writing for TV, running in the same circles as Charles Bukowski, and being "a poet, about as valueless as anyone in this nation can be. But maybe I save a life."

Poetry by: Victoria Chang, David Hernandez, Genevieve Kaplan, Douglas Manuel, Dan Murphy, and Mary Otis.

Art by: Henry Lara