Table of Contents

 

Volume IV, Issue 1

January 23, 2026

From the Editor

Artwork

A Masterpiece in Progress by Audrey Anderton

My Life with Film by Sophie Berger

Pepper and Pear Still Life by Sophie Berger

A Sunday Afternoon With Cameron Frye by Sophie Berger

Doves in Love by Ella Boylan

Organic Textures by Ella Boylan

The Heart of the Garden by Selena Garcia

Rosaliné by Chloe Guariglia 

Stripe by Sydney Seipel

Mid-Century Modern by Matthew Keltner-Smith

Cleao Popout 3 by Sarah Skeels

Melting Point by Sarah Skeels

What a World We Had Left Them by Sarah Skeels

 

Musical Performance

Blasphemy by Darrell Waters

 

Poetry

Sorrow by Halema Atrash

Shooting Star by Colton Curry

Your Bill Will Be 1.5 Million US Dollars by Colton Curry

Neveah by Cameron Dorsey

The Mirror of Light by Leena Febles

Remembering Red by Leena Febles

Tartarughe Senza Tampe by Leena Febles

My Thoughts on Free Verse by Joshua Gay

The Query by Joshua Gay

The Shadow by Joshua Gay

Not a Flower by Dinah Henry

We Care Too! by Gerald Hoye

Wax Wings by Addy Inugay

Plink Foyd by Logan Lewis

Pure Poetry by Logan Lewis

Stalemate/Whatever Euphoria Means by Logan Lewis

farmdale in mid-may by Althea Meredith 

Halogen Stars and Sons by Julian Payne

mouth by Julian Payne

Blind by Madalyn Roth

Homesick by Madalyn Roth

Sleepless Night by Madalyn Roth

 

Fiction

The Three Kings by Nils Fechner

The Real Veronica by Dinah Henry

The Journal of Maria Ramirez by Scott Jackson

I Wrote This by Logan Lewis

Pandora: A Short Horror Story by Tristian Martin

Venus: A Short Horror Story by Tristian Martin

The Storm and the Sea by Leo Pollard

 

Personal Essays/Narrative Nonfiction

Subconsciously Impacted by Felicity Carius

Beautifully Tragic by Emma Driesner

Why That Teacher? by Dinah Henry

Preparing for the Spelling Bee by Rohan Isaac

Agnosticism by Noel Lynch

 

From the Editor

Dear Readers, 

Welcome to the ninth issue of Illinois Central Review!

I am proud to say we have a robust and inclusive issue this semester, even more so than in the past. This issue contains a total of 48 pieces by 29 different contributors. There are 13 artworks, 1 musical performance (a first for Illinois Central Review!) 22 poems, 7 short stories, and 5 personal essays.

Most of the pieces included in this issue were submitted by students who are publishing work in Illinois Central Review for the first time. In fact, 24 of the 29 are first-time contributors. These include students who attend ICC full-time, part-time, are dual credit students, a variety of majors, and this issue includes work contributed by one of our students in the Prison Education Program who are enrolled in ICC classes while incarcerated at Pekin FCI.

An extra special note of thanks to Professor Elizabeth Godinez for coordinating and collecting submissions from the PEP students and encouraging them to submit their work! 

I am also grateful to all ICC faculty who shared Illinois Central Review with their students and encouraged them to submit. Particularly, I’m in endless appreciation of Jim Sullivan who has encouraged students in his Poetry class to submit their work since the inception of this literary magazine. Jim retired from ICC in December, and the impact he has left on his students—and colleagues—is limitless.

Illinois Central Review is currently accepting submissions for its next issue, which will be published in August 2026. The deadline to submit is May 1, and you can do so here: Volume V/Issue 2 Submission Form. 

Remember, submissions are open to all students taking classes at ICC, including those in the Dual Enrollment and Strong Start programs through Early College. 

Finally, I invite you to visit the Illinois Central Review Facebook page for updates and weekly features of this issue's contributions, starting Monday, January 26.

I hope you enjoy this issue. Thank you for taking a look! 

In writing, 

Melissa Grunow
English Professor
Department of Humanities 

 

A Masterpiece in Progress

 By Audrey Anderton

-

About the Artist

Audrey Anderton is a first year at ICC. She currently lives in Peoria, Illinois. Audrey has been doing art her whole life and has recently picked up some creative writing and poetry. She has found over the years that art is a very good outlet for her energy and creativity and would love to be an art teacher in the future. She spends most of her time working as a receptionist at Camp Bow Wow; however, when she has free time you can find her writing poems or doodling in her sketch book at Leaves and Beans. She loves to get her “creative juices” flowing whenever she can. 

My Life With Film

 By Sophie Berger

-

About the Artist

Sophie Berger is a second year student at ICC. Sophie lives in Tremont, IL. She wants to transfer to ISU to become an art educator. Sophie spends most of her time watching movies with her family and working at the Tremont Library. In her free time she likes to experiment with different art mediums and explore new artistic ideas. She is also a member of the ICC treble choir, Velvet Voices. She believes that any form of art can be an incredible way to express one’s emotions and creative ideas. 

Pepper and Pear Still Life

 By Sophie Berger

- 

About the Artist

Sophie Berger is a second year student at ICC. Sophie lives in Tremont, IL. She wants to transfer to ISU to become an art educator. Sophie spends most of her time watching movies with her family and working at the Tremont Library. She likes to experiment with different art mediums and explore new artistic ideas. She is also a member of the ICC treble choir, Velvet Voices. She believes that any form of art can be an incredible way to express one’s emotions and creative ideas. 

A Sunday Afternoon With Cameron Frye

By Sophie Berger

-

About the Artist

Sophie Berger is a second year student at ICC. Sophie lives in Tremont, IL. She wants to transfer to ISU to become an art educator. Sophie spends most of her time watching movies with her family and working at the Tremont Library. She likes to experiment with different art mediums and explore new artistic ideas. She is also a member of the ICC treble choir, Velvet Voices. She believes that any form of art can be an incredible way to express one’s emotions and creative ideas. 

Doves in Love

By Ella Boylan

-

About the Artist

Ella Boylan is enjoying their second year enrolled at ICC. They've been a local of Peoria for almost 20 years. This is their first time submitting something in a creative review. Ella has participated in many art forms but feels best at painting with acrylic/watercolor. However, they do not consider themselves an artist as they rarely make art. Instead, Ella spends their time playing video games and relaxing with family.