When you want to know what’s going on under the surface of the culture, just check out what its writers, poets, and artists are doing. Especially the ones flying under the radar: that’s where to look. You’ll see agitation now, and pain. David Bolton, “A Letter to Humanity.” Jim Meirose, “Last Words of a Deteriorating Planet.” Rose Jermusyk, “The Magician & the Goose Girl.” Tom Ball, “Shrink, A.D. 2075.”
Brendan McBreen, “once.”
There are, fortunately, constant, valiant attempts to surf the waves. Tamra Lucid, bless her, says “Pick Yourself Up.” David D. Horowitz, “Teaching’s Tightrope.” Marissa Bell Toffoli, “Two by Two on the Trail.” And writers looking back in order to look forward: Brian Griffith and Zhinia Noorian, “Female Icons of Medieval Persia.”
Bless you, all you writers, poets, pushing hard into a headwind, trying to see where we’re heading in a driving hurricane. Especially to newcomers to EAP. My favorite this issue is written by a newcomer, B.E. Nugent, who somehow found us from Ireland: “Blocked.” Welcome, John Tustin’s “NOTHINGNESS.” Jeff Howard’s “Sea.” Ed Ahern’s “Kintsugi.” Another favorite of mine, “What a New Refrigerator Once Meant,” by Lana Hechtman Ayers.
Special congratulations to long time EAPer Colin Dodds on the publication of his book, “Pharoni.” You can find an excerpt here, “Burning Down the Server Farm,” along with links to all its various forms.
It occurs to me that I should be doing more of this, of cheering on every successful connection with an audience any of our EAP community makes, because that is helping move us all forward. With that in mind, poet Yahia Lababidi tells me he’s partnered with a Daily Wisdom service to send one meditative/motivational quote from his books per day, via text message. Sign up here. And read “Confessions” in this issue.
And longtime, much valued contributor Ronnie Pontiac will be giving a lecture, “Alexander Wilder, Madame Blavatsky, and American Platonism,” at 11 am Pacific time, Wednesday October 5. Here’s the Zoom link. The password: THEOSOPHY .
Let me know going forward if you have a project you want to share with the community. And in the meantime, push on, gallantly, heart ready, brain willing, hands held out to anyone falling by the way in the wind.
(In the meantime, if this all sounds too earnest and virtuous, have a read of a meanspirited paean to revenge in Jam Today.)
Welcome back.