Vol. 8 (2020)

The table of contents follows the order of the individual cards. The custom die-cuts of the individual cards provide readers an opportunity to explore and play with various configurations.

The print issue in January uses a different design each year. The 2020 print issue was driven by inclusive design and low-vision principles. We aimed to produce an equitable and engaging experience with diverse sight abilities.

In 1840, William Moon developed an embossed reading system for the blind that was less complex than learning Braille. The Moon system was particularly useful for people who had lost their sight later in life because the Roman alphabet had already been deeply rooted in their cognitive recognition and recall and proved easier to learn than the abstract system of Braille. Moon’s system could be taught and learned in only a few days.

The first issue of Volume 8 used colors and geometric blocking similar to Byrne’s to help demarcate content and organize the reading experience. The design also used a matte finish and increased contrast for readers with varying contrast sensitivity. 

In addition to the visual elements, the pages of the 2020 print issue of Tab Journal were not pages so much as a set of twelve rectangular cards on which some poems appear vertically and others appear horizontally. While the stack arrived with poems ordered alphabetically by last name of the poets, the contents were not paginated and can be shuffled and read in any order.

Further, the cards were notched on all sides, which allows the reader to hook them together in various physical forms. It’s relatively straightforward to build a structure that reorients the poems. As with previous print-issue designs, this year’s encourages readers to be aware of reading as an experience.

Online issues appear in March, May, July, September, and November. While the online issues pick up design elements of the print issue, they are designed not to replicate print nor to quietly frame content but, rather, to use the platform to create a distinct reading experience. Online issues are available via live link to the web-based PDF and as a downloadable PDF. In addition, each poet provides an audio version of a poem published in Tab Journal.

The content of our print issues is not available online in its entirety; this issue is still available and can be requested using the Contact form. If you see something you like, share it on Twitter & Facebook!

LEGACY
Michelle Bitting
12 and 13
Maram Al-Masri, translated by Hélène Cardona
EASTER DIORAMA: TWO BILLION PEEPS A YEAR
Lorene Delany-Ullman
WHAT SURVIVES, WHAT IS REPLACED
Grant Hier
ELEGY
Nancy Kuhl
KISSING CITRUS
Elline Lipkin
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN AFTER A TRAGEDY
Katie Manning
OBVIOUS METAPHOR
Patty Seyburn
MEETING
Laila Shikaki
CHOOSE
Lynne Thompson


HACIENDA FIRE and CINDER
Nathaniel Dolton-Thornton
NOCTURNE
Vandana Khanna
LANDLINE
Nancy Kuhl
ST JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL X-RAY RESULTS
January Pearson
LIKE A STRANGER AT YOUR DOOR
Lois Roma-Deeley
LAMENT
Cecilia Woloch
BOOK REVIEW: The Carrying by Ada Limón
Tryphena Yeboah

HACIENDA FIRE by Nathaniel Dolton-Thornton
NOCTURNE by Vandana Khanna
LANDLINE by Nancy Kuhl
ST JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL X-RAY RESULTS by January Pearson
LIKE A STRANGER AT YOUR DOOR by Roma-Deeley
LAMENT by Cecilia Woloch

Kindergarten–1st Grade

SEA LIONS
Alexandra Lepe
MALIBU
Leon Cavaliere
PELICANS
Alexander Martinez

SEA LIONS by Alexandra Lepe

2nd–3rd Grade

THE COLORS OF THE SEA
Tessa Magnuson
THE AMAZING SEA LIFE
Chloe Y. Park
BEACH LIFE
Cammie Arnold
WINTERS IN MALIBU LIFE
Gabriella Cavaliere

THE COLORS OF THE SEA by Tessa Magnuson
THE AMAZING SEA LIFE by Chloe Y. Park
BEACH LIFE by Cammie Arnold

4th–6th Grade

IF ONLY I SAW THE FLOWERS
Talia Boneh
TURTLE GAZE
Finley Baskin
SUTRO BATHS
Eden Yuen
THE SALTY WONDERLAND
Ryan McManus

IF ONLY I SAW THE FLOWERS by Talia Boneh
SUTRO BATHS by Eden Yuen
THE SALTY WONDERLAND by Ryan McManus

7th–9th Grade

BUT A PEEP
Gavin Hayes
ALBATROSS
Sierra Glassman
[UNTITLED]
Matthew Oda
UMBRELLA ON THE COAST
Kaylia Roark-Hernandez

BUT A PEEP by Gavin Hayes
ALBATROSS by Sierra Glassman
[UNTITLED] by Matthew Oda
UMBRELLA ON THE COAST by Kaylia Roark-Hernandez

11th–12th Grade

O-TO-BE-AN ISOPOD
Olivia Lee
VENUS, PLANET OF LOVE, WAS DESTROYED BY GLOBAL WARMING
Dohyun Kim
THIS IS WHERE THE WOODS END
Alyssa Ho
A BIT OF FOAM, ROARING WAVES
Claire Zhu

O-TO-BE-AN ISOPOD by Olivia Lee
THIS IS WHERE THE WOODS END by Alyssa Ho

DISPATCH
Sarah Boyle
FRANK LEARNS THE HARMONICA
Shevaun Brannigan
FRIDA KAHLO, HENRY FORD HOSPITAL (THE FLYING BED), 1932
GEORGIA O’KEEFE’s TWO JIMSON WEEDS, 1938
Karen George
UNFRIENDING THE DEAD
Jen Karetnick
ERASURE #2 FROM SMART CHEFS STAY SLIM
Lydia Weinberger
PLANE ANGLE
Katherine E. Young
RAN OUT
John Zedolik
BOOK REVIEW: POSTCOLONIAL LOVE POEM BY NATALIE DIAZ
Daniel Miess

DISPATCH by Sarah Boyle

FRANK LEARNS THE HARMONICA by Shevaun Brannigan

FRIDA KAHLO, HENRY FORD HOSPITAL (THE FLYING BED), 1932
GEORGIA O’KEEFE’s TWO JIMSON WEEDS, 1938 by Karen George
UNFRIENDING THE DEAD by Jen Karetnick

ERASURE #2 FROM SMART CHEFS STAY SLIM by Lydia Weinberger
PLANE ANGLE by Katherine Young
RAN OUT by John Zedolik

TIME OF GIFTS
Lisa Alvarez
HOW TO WRITE
Mary Camarillo
BELOVED
Emily Capers
MAKING YOUR OWN DAYS
Jim Garber
[UNTITLED]
Saira Khan
GUIDEBOOK TO RELATIVE STRANGERS
Jodi Hottel
DISORDERED FACES
Jenna Le
EXHALATION
Victoria Livingston and Bryan Betancur
WHO DO YOU THINK
Leslie Pietrzyk
THE CURE
Molly Bess Rector
THERE THERE
Laura Stanfill
FUTURES
Claire Yspol

TIME OF GIFTS by Lisa Alvarez
HOW TO WRITE by Mary Camarillo 
BELOVED by Emily Capers
MAKING YOUR OWN DAYS by Jim Garber
[UNTITLED] by Saira Khan
GUIDEBOOK TO RELATIVE STRANGERS by Jodi Hottel
DISORDERED FACES by Jenna Le
EXHALATION by Victoria Livingston and Bryan Betancur
WHO DO YOU THINK by Leslie Pietrzyk
THE CURE by Molly Bess Rector
THERE THERE by Laura Stanfill
FUTURES by Claire Yspol

AWAKE and TULE FOG
Matthew J. Andrews
PORTRAIT OF A MOUTH
Jake Bailey
RUSSIAN TENDERNESS and AN INDEX OF PLACE
Tatiana Dolgushina 
SIGNALS
Dia Roth
NOTE FROM FANTINE TO HER DAUGHTER, COSETTE: (2) and NOTE FROM FANTINE TO HER DAUGHTER, COSETTE: (3)
Kelly R. Samuels
BOOK REVIEW: How The Water Holds Me by Tariq Luthun
Laila Shikaki
BOOK REVIEW: 1919 by Eve Ewing; A Cruelty Special to Our Species by Emily Jungmin Yoon; and Midden by Julia Bouwsma
Tryphena Yeboah

AWAKE by Matthew J. Andrews
PORTRAIT OF A MOUTH by Jake Bailey

AN INDEX OF PLACE by Tatiana Dolgushina 
SIGNALS by Dia Roth
NOTE FROM FANTINE TO HER DAUGHTER, COSETTE: (3) by Kelly R. Samuels