About the Fires
The house on the corner
the green one that I grew up in
where my father planted the rose garden
that ran the length of the corner lot
parallel with the sidewalk
where we would coast down
with our feet off the pedals
gravity doing its work
ducking—our chins between the bars
when we passed the wild rose
that grew taller than the others
its shoots arced over the fence
covered with thorns and blooms
in red with yellow centers
we raced to beat the water
that poured from the hose
and collected in pools
upon the cracked soil
at the base of each plant
before sinking into the earth
that house on the corner
with the apple tree out back
the one we would climb
the last from the orchard
there before the streets
cut the land into squares
was set alight during the night
by arsonists they said
the first of many to burn.
Join Us!
Mercy, ingenuity, nuance, complex truths, guts and honor still matter! Join us in proclaiming so by purchasing, or giving the gift of, The New Engagement in print.
Follow Us
"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive."
~ James Baldwin
Help us spread the ethos of compassion and understanding by joining our social media networks and sharing generously!
Contests & Prizes
Flash Fiction Contest
On May 1st, we announced the winners of our Flash Fiction Contest: Thomas Garcia (1st), Rick Krizman (2nd), and Rios de la Luz (3rd). Read more.
The James Baldwin Literature Prize
It is with great pleasure that we announce the winner of The James Baldwin Literature Prize of $1,000 to Hafsa Musa. Read more.
Recent Literature
"As an Act of Protest" Exposes the Frauds, Hypocrites, and Cowards
Wonderland, A Collection
The Arrested Evolution of William S. Burroughs
Dr. Strangetimes or: How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Virus
The Writer
Futures in Gold
The Wanting Was a Wilderness
There’s Something About (Intergenerational) Trauma
La Dona Remedia
Hanging in The Balance
The End of Imagination
Grass Waving Under Wind, A Collection
The New Engagement
The New Engagement endeavors a novel approach to discovering, introducing, and showcasing writers, artists, and filmmakers, by providing them digital and print platforms, while encouraging and supporting their social-consciousness.