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

root exposure / credit: de

Fluency in Translation: Avoiding Homogeneity and Ethnocentrism by Alice Banks

Alice Banks

Henry David Thoreau and John Brown

The Sons of Anak: Henry David Thoreau and John Brown

Paul Maher Jr.

More Essays and Interviews

Poetry

Padden mist / credit: em

Two poems by Faizan Syed

Faizan Syed

6 poems by Michael Begnal

Michael S. Begnal

More Poetry

Beat Generation

Iron Curtain Journals by Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg’s Iron Curtain Journals, reviewed by Marc Olmsted

Marc Olmsted

William Burroughs, portrait by Graziano Origa, pen & ink, 1997

Junk Nightmares

Lee Watkins

Kerouac: On the Binge by Kenton Crowther

Book Review – Kenton Crowther’s Kerouac on the Binge

Denise Enck

Jack Kerouac Rocky Mount Hall of Fame Potrtrait - inducted by John J. Dorfner

John J. Dorfner on Jack Kerouac’s Induction into the Rocky Mount Hall of Fame

John J. Dorfner

More About the Beat Generation

Visual Art

Panic In The Rear-View Mirror: Exploring The Work of Richard Siken and Ann Gale

Rhienna Renee Guedry

The Blues (detail) by Katherine Jeanne Wood

Seven paintings by Katherine Jeanne Wood

Katherine Jeanne Wood

More Art

Essays

Bellingham, WA sunset -- Boulevard Park

Spring in Cascadia

David Marshall

Seizure - essay by Stephanie Andersen

Seizure

Stephanie Andersen

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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