Swan Lake Reimagined

AvantAppal(achia) (Issue) 2 and Reminder

(Issue) 2 is live! We have some more incredible, mind-bending art from Bill Wolak. Also in art, introducing Patrick Grim, Marica Casey, and Donna Williams. In poetry, Michael Williams continues his "Nargarjuna" series of poems and Germain Droogenbroodt has shown us what a poetry postcard would look like. Pamela Dae wrote our short story and Rudy Thomas is our Appal(Trad). We are certain you will enjoy this issue. It is like a warm, comfortable drink on a cold day. Remember to see whose work made the Arch(ive) for (Issue) 1, if you haven't already.

As your ed(itors), Kodi and I would like to remind you that AvantAppal(achia) is an ezine for the foremost experimental writing in the world today. So send us your weirdest, most avant-garde, and boundary-stretching work! Please, read the guide(lines) on the Sub(missions) page carefully before submitting. Did you know that you can also submit audio and video pieces, for instance? Together we can make this ezine into a true conversation starter. So as the submission period for (Issue) 3 opens tomorrow (December 16, 2016 and runs through May 31, 2017), please keep this in mind and show us just how magnificent your imaginations are! We are artists - the rules need not apply

Read (Issue) 2 here.

(Issue) 2 Coming Soon!

The submission period for (Issue) 2 ends today. Then the reading cycle opens. Those of you who have submitted should receive notice of acceptance or not within the next two weeks. (Issue) 2 goes live at some point on December 15, 2016. Then the submission period for (Issue) 3 opens. Deadline for that will be May 31, 2017.

Spoken Word Review: Ellyn and Robbie's "Skywriting With Glitter"

I first met Ellyn Maybe around 2012. She was formidable then; even more so now. Read my review of her "Rodeo For The Sheepish" album for more of those details. So it's been a while. The world has changed a lot since then. Maybe has moved on from Beyond Baroque into a new scene, poetics in general has continued to change, and Spoken Word has gained more respect as an art form that is both poetry and music - its own subset of art.

Accordingly Maybe has upped the ante since "Rodeo For The Sheepish". "Skywriting With Glitter"  features Robbie Fitzsimmons' ethereal music and vocals. In some ways, this album is much simpler and more emotional than "Rodeo". It's like a dream, a whimsical fairy tale a la "The Princess Bride" , The Little Prince", or "The Point".  This is immediately apparent with track titles like "Myth", "What Color is Your Parachute", "The Girl of the Wishing Well", "The Life of a Raindrop", and "Kingdoms in a City Lost to Time". This isn't merely Maybe reading her poetry over Fitzsimmons music, however. Sometimes Fitzsimmons sings haunting lullabies.

Like many lullabies we were sung as children, these whimsical fairy moments have dark underbellies. I can't decide if these are slightly masked emotional introspection or densely weaved commentaries on modern society. At times they could be either or both. The girl in the wishing well nightly "looks history in the eye" and "chews on life a bit". "The Life of a Raindrop" could be a tongue-in-cheek description of recurring depression or angst. "Onset" is clearly about a midlife crisis. "Kiko of Greenville" is an interesting comment about social media. "Anybody" is about the posturing we as humans do to be accepted by those who surround us. But even in its darkest moments, the album never becomes full blown negative. "Kingdoms in a City Lost to Time" proclaims "you are all that you need."

Fitzsimmons' piano and vocals are intrinsic to the overall other-worldly feel of the album. For me, the best track is "Up Is Down". This is lyric poetry at its best, except it is sung. "Dance in moonlight cloud/ forsake the human crowds/ swim into ancient gowns/ underground// there is a light above/stars in the sea of love /reflection in the scope of all you mention"... "Sink into a world of sand/ just like any other man". I could listen to this on repeat some nights.

"Skywriting With Glitter" trumps "Rodeo For The Sheepish" as well as complements it. It's hard to foresee how Ellyn Maybe can improve on her work from here, but I'm eager to find out. And I'm just as eager to become more acquainted with Robbie Fitzsimmons.

Get your copy of "Skywriting With Glitter" at CD Baby.

(Issue) 2 Deadline is Upon Us!

AvantAppal(achia) is about to publish its second issue of experimental writing and visual art from Appalachia and around the world. Please, join our family by submitting your visual art, short stories and poetry by November 30, 2016. We need you all and love every one of you! Full information regarding submission is available at www.avantapalachia.com. (Issue) 2 will go live on December 15, 2016.

"Linger to Look" reviewed on "Braver Self"

Roberta Shultz has reviewed "Linger To Look" on her blog "Braver Self... Tells from the Tall Side".

Among other things, she said: "The over-arching themes of Linger to Look seem to be desire, belonging, transformation, and loss. Many of the poems are spoken in the voice of a woman who longs to dance and break free from the bonds that tether her to dusty reality. Horse, bird, water, and stone images abound. Musical use of language led me to finally read many of the poems aloud to myself to further experience the poet’s skill with sound. ... Linger to Look is a dance of musical language and metaphysical imagery, swirling in experimentation and shimmering in the jingling of human heart."

Thank you, Roberta Shultz, for your kind words!

Introducing "Un Petit Salon"

Black/White. An Art Exhibition

AvantAppal(achia) (Issue) 2 Coming Soon!

Hey, Kinfolk! Thank you for being part of the family! It's nearly time for (Issue) 2's deadline. Please remember the deadline for (Issue) 2 is November 30, 2016.  We need your short stories, visual art, and poetry. See the Sub(missions) page at www.avantappalachia.com for details Video and audio also accepted under certain circumstances.Get those submissions in, y'all! You are what make our ezine revolutionary!

"Early Morning Sky" Wins Special Recognition Award

My digital painting, "Early Morning Sky", has won a Special Recognition Award in the Digital and Photography category of the 2016 "Nature" Competition and will be included in the 2016 "Nature" Exhibition on Light Space and Time Online Gallery throughout the month of August 2016. https://www.lightspacetime.com/nature-2016-art-exhibition-photography-digital-category/

The painting is available at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/sabne-raznik.html?tab=artwork