Jim Webb Is(sue)

Dear Kinfolk,
The time has come and here it is: the official call for submissions for our 1st Special Is(sue)! With his wife’s permission, we seek to celebrate the life of Jim Webb aka Wiley Quixote (September 24, 1945 – October 22, 2018), the Godfather of Appalachian Poetry, with an is(sue) containing poetry, art, and anecdotes about him and things he cared about. The usual guidelines apply. Submissions deadline is January 31, 2019 and the is(sue) will go live under the Special Is(sues) tab on the AvantAppal(achia) website on February 15, 2019. Tell (or show) us your stories about this colorful soul! www.avantappalachia.com Photo credit: Malcolm J. Wilson.

We are honoured to be allowed to host this special is(sue) and we eagerly look forward to reading every submission. Please take note of the deadline and going-live dates as this is outside of our usual schedule. Share, share, share, please, and spread the word. Thank you, Kinfolk, for making our ezine a vital and living part of Appalachia and the world. You are our lifeblood!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik
Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

New Is(sue) of AvantAppal(achia) Live Now!

Dear Kinfolk,

Is(sue) 6 is live at www.avantappalachia.com and it is a fine is(sue)! We have a return appearance of Gabriel Rosenstock’s ekphrastic haiku as well as a few video fusion pieces. Svein H. Skavern gives us a particularly stunning commentary with his video-art piece, especially given the “speaking in tongues” tradition in Appalachia. He also gives us a window into asemic art. T. Byron Kelly delights us again. Lorie Zientara’s deceptively simple verse graces us again. Jeff Bagato makes poetry from AI generated text and Jim Meirose fascinates us with a chapter from his ongoing novel that reads as if Joyce, Beckett, and John Nash had a wild slumber party. This is one of those is(sues) that will be nearly impossible when the time comes to archive.

Also, notice that the submission period is now open for AvantAppal(achia)’s first Special Is(sue). With gracious permission from the poet’s wife, AvantAppal(achia) will be compiling a special is(sue) in tribute to Jim Webb, the Godfather of Appalachian Poetry. It will feature poetry, visual art, and real anecdotes about Wiley Quixote. The deadline for submissions for it is JANUARY 31, 2019 and it will go live February 15, 2019. But don’t worry, Is(sue) 6’s time will not be shortened. The Special Is(sue) will be released on a separate page on the AvantAppal(achia) website where it will remain as long as the website. An official call for submissions will be released in a week.

Thank you, Kinfolk, for another outstanding is(sue). Dave Sykes and I really loved putting this one together for you. It is you who make it possible!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

AvantAppal(achia) Is(sue) 6 and Jim Webb

Dear Kinfolk,

Please be aware this is your FINAL notice that the deadline for the December 2018 is(sue) is November 30, 2018. We need your best experimental poetry, short stories, and artwork. With your help, we look forward to publishing our best is(sue) yet!


Also, some of you may have heard that the Godfather of Appalachian poetry, Jim Webb, also known as Wiley Quixote on WMMT.FM, passed away at his residence Wiley's Last Resort on October 22, 2018. It is fair to say that nearly every contemporary Appalachian artist, poet, and musician owe our careers to him in some way. So Dave Sykes and I thought it would be appropriate to put together a special is(sue) of AvantAppal(achia) to allow the community to pay tribute to this generous and joyful soul. We plan on making a home for the special is(sue) by adding a new page to the website for it and going live with it between our regular is(sues) of December 2018 and June 2019. We will share more details when we have them. In the meantime, send your submissions for the December 2018 is(sue) and start dusting off those tribute poems, artworks, and anecdotes for the special is(sue).

www.avantappalachia.com

Dark Horse Volume 1 Available Now!

Dark Horse Poets Vol. 1 available now. $5 for the digital album. Thank you, @ghosthouseva, for including my work! Get yours here!

Dark Horse Poets

So I’m part of this. My poem “The Bearded Prophet” from my first collection “Following Hope”. More info when I have it! 

AvantAppal(achia) on Weird Appalachia Podcast

Thanks to the shout out to AvantAppal(achia) ezine on Weird Appalachia podcast! Erin Alise Conley, Jessica Salyer, and Brooklynn Dyer, you girls rock!

AvantAppal(achia) and Gabriel Rosenstock

Dear Kinfolk,

AvantAppal(achia) is gearing up for Is(sue) 6 for which the submission period is open! Now that the ezine is fairly established, we are looking for even more EXPERIMENTAL work. We accept audio, video, and even HTML code. Mix medias, mix genres, stretch language, stretch grammar, have fun! As a reminder, while our focus is on Appalachian work, we strongly encourage international submissions. https://www.avantappalachia.com/submissions.html

Also, in news, Kinfolk member Gabriel Rosenstock has a new book coming out called "Stillness of Crows" which you can order here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=stillness+of+crows

Deadline for Is(sue) 6 is November 30, 2018! Send that poetry, short prose, and visual art!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik
Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

Top 5 Favourite Podcasts

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Is(sue) 5 is Live (and Some Other Things)

Dear Kinfolk,

AvantAppal(achia) has been through a minor season of change between Is(sue) 4 and Is(sue) 5. We said goodbye to Founding Short Story Ed(itor), Kodi Mullins, as she went on to new endeavors, and welcomed our new Short Story Ed(itor), David Sykes. Dave has taken on the role with zeal! And a new ed(itor) means that the e-zine now has a slightly different format. We now accept two (2) short stories per is(sue). However, only one (1) will be chosen to represent that is(sue) in the Arch(ive). Dave has been added as an admin on AvantAppal(achia)'s Poetry Challenge Group on Facebook as well, so you can get to know him better there.The Kinfolk also lost regular contributor Michael Williams from Tennessee when he died suddenly in March. Is(sue) 5 has been dedicated to his memory. And we have added a Don(ations) page to the website. So if you like what we do and would like to keep us doing it, please consider checking that out. Depending on our need, AvantAppal(achia) may be running a fundraiser on Facebook in the Fall. We'll keep you updated on that.

Is(sue) 5 is now live! HERE. It features some familiar names and some new. There are exciting pieces from Charles A. Swanson, Volodymyr Bilyk, and Jeff Bagato and a humorous audio piece by Craig Kurtz. As always, Bill Wolak gives us some fascinating art and standout works by Corbin Fouts and Katherine Workman compliment in that category. In fiction, we have a mesmerizing sci-fi piece about Appalachia in the future from the mind of Jason Belcher and a character study regarding societal views of disabled or different persons by Cecile Dixon. Philip Kent Church rounds off the is(sue) in the Appal(Trad) section.

Be sure to check out the Arch(ive) to see whose work was chosen to represent Is(sue) 4 for posterity. We will be in touch regarding Is(sue) 6 in due time.

Have a beautiful summer, Kinfolk, and thank you for another rule-bending is(sue)! We couldn't do this without you!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Found(er), Web(master), Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

SabneRaznikArt Now Open On Etsy

The Etsy shop "SabneRaznikArt" is now open! There you can buy unique hand-painted watercolour or acrylic all occasion cards and hand-crocheted doilies. Go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/SabneRaznikArt to see what's on offer. Also check back often as new items will be added at any time!

Job Change

I am no longer with FineArtAmerica.com. All my artwork, digital and otherwise, is available through me directly for now. Thank you.

AvantAppal(achia): Introducing New Short Story Ed(itor) And Final Deadline Reminder

Dear Kinfolk,

I am pleased to welcome into the Kin and to introduce you to AvantAppal(achia)'s new Short Story Ed(itor). Below is his bio and you may see his photo on the website. www.avantappalachia.com

David Sykes was born and raised in Elkhorn City, Kentucky just before the boom times of the 1970’s. He got a degree from Harvard University before returning to join the family business. Now living in nearby Pikeville, he works at an IT services firm there. He is involved with the Artists Collaborative Theatre in Elkhorn City and has appeared in productions there as an actor and musician. He serves as the Short Story Ed(itor) of AvantAppal(achia) e-zine.

This is Dave's first adventure with editing and so I am sure he will bring a fresh eye to your submissions. Freshness is possibly the greatest asset that can be brought to an ezine of the avant garde and experimental. So we are very excited to have him aboard.

Because I have been preoccupied with the search for an editing partner, I have not been as communicative as usual. Therefore, I ask the help of all the Kinfolk to get the word out about the upcoming deadline to submit to Is(sue) 5. We can make Is(sue) 5 our best yet! Please, get the word out to anyone and everyone! We need poetry, short stories, and visual art! Audio, video, and HTML code also accepted if guidelines are carefully followed. Send in your weirdest, coolest, most boundary breaking. We need submissions from throughout the states making up Appalachia and from all around the world (keeping in mind that AvantAppal(achia) is in English, please - translations are welcome as is work that displays both the original language and English as long as guidelines are followed).

I really don't like to impose rules at all, but the guidelines help us as editors and webmaster on the practical side of things, so we kindly ask that they be reasonably followed.

Deadline is May 31, 2018; this is your FINAL reminder, so please get those submissions in ASAP. You are the lifeblood of our truly special ezine! Email to avantapplalchia@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik

Poetry/Art Ed(itor)

Is(sue) 5 Deadline Looming!

Dear Kinfolk,

As I'm sure you're aware the deadline for Is(sue) 5 is upon us. I need your weirdest, most experimental poetry, short stories, and visual art. Video and audio submissions accepted. PLEASE, READ THE GUIDELINES ON THE WEBSITE www.avantappalachia.com and follow them. Deadline is May 31, 2018.

Regular contributor Michael Williams from Tennessee will be acknowledged on the Cur(rent) Is(sue) page at the top.

Please note that deadline and get your work to me at avantappalachia@gmail.com!

Sincerely,

Sabne Raznik
Founder and Ed(itor)

Truth On Trial - The Crucible

Come and see me as Goody Proctor in this production of "The Crucible".

At Artists Collaboritive Theatre, Inc. in Elkhorn City, KY. - Truth is on trial. Extremism and mob mentality rule the day - the timeless story of ordinary people choosing between reputation and integrity, life and death. Arthur Miller's classic yet challenging script brought to life with unique set design and tech, yet as historically true to the period as possible. Emotions run high in this drama. Boundary-breaking in that a disabled actor is cast in a leading role and the set is built to be completely accessible. Sabne Raznik as Goody (Elizabeth) Proctor. Runs February 15-March 4 and March 15-18, 2018.