Empty Mirror

a literary magazine

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Empty Mirror 25th Anniversary

Empty Mirror celebrated its 25th anniversary on May 31, 2025! While we are currently on hiatus, we invite you to enjoy a quarter century of writing and art in our archives.

Click to read any of the pieces featured below, read more from the category, or refresh the page for a fresh selection!

On Literature

Who the Hell is Stew Albert?

Who the Hell is Stew Albert? A Memoir, reviewed by Hammond Guthrie

Hammond Guthrie

Chaucer and the Art of the Grift

Chaucer and the Art of the Grift

K. A. Laity

More Essays and Interviews

Poetry

Lake

Two poems by Nicole Burney

Nicole Burney

trayvon martin occupy march 21

When a Black Boy Walks Home Alone At Night

A.D. Winans

More Poetry

Beat Generation

Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's On the Road

Interview – Paul Maher Jr., author of Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road

Paul Maher Jr.

ken kesey books

Remembering Ken Kesey

Jason Reott

Moving Towards the Light: the Triumph of Spirituality in the Poetry of Allen Ginsberg

Moving Towards the Light: The Triumph of Spirituality in the Poetry of Allen Ginsberg

Jessica Clark

Jack Kerouac - Library of America

An interview on Jack Kerouac and Library of America

Paul Maher Jr.

More About the Beat Generation

Visual Art

Dervish (detail) by Alec Clayton

7 Abstract Paintings by Alec Clayton

Alec Clayton

Title goes up the side (detail) - collage by Alicia Cole

Three collages by Alicia Cole

Alicia Cole

More Art

Essays

Lexington Avenue by Jeffrey Zeldman

Lexington Avenue

Buku Sarkar

elementary / credit: em

Endless Preface to an Imaginary Work

Evelynn Black

More Essays

The EM newsletter

Receive fresh poetry, reviews, essays, art, and literary news every Wednesday!

Empty Mirror

Established in 2000 and edited by Denise Enck, Empty Mirror is an online literary magazine that publishes new work each Friday.

Each week EM features several poems each by one or two poets; reviews; critical essays; visual art; and personal essays.

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