The Finish, by Jenna Cipolloni

Prose, chapbook, 36 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Three college students walk into a bar. What follows is a philosophical character study of three individuals each absorbed in their respective past, present, and future as they have a conversation at a seemingly innocuous gathering, as fleeting as it is indelible.

The Finish is a novelette that explores youthful pretentiousness, existential dread of the 21st century, and the nature of life and time within the human-centered microcosm of the bar.

Jenna Cipolloni is a Baltimore-based poet and filmmaker whose words have appeared in Gargoyle Magazine, Steel Jackdaw, and their self-published poetry zine School Nights, which has been exhibited at Gallery 220 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Jenna was a prelim judge at the 2024 Womxn of the World Poetry Slam and served on the committee that selected the state’s poet laureate. They can be found at open mics across the Mid Atlantic, and they are currently in post-production of their debut horror film.