February 15, 2016


Indiana Voice Journal
Issue #19

February 15, 2016

Shameeg van Schalkwyk Ekphrastic poetry visual art IVJ
"Deforestation" by Shameeg van Schalkwyk



Welcome to this Special Ekphrastic Edition of Indiana Voice Journal. This issue was inspired by an introduction to self-taught visual artist Shameeg van Schalkwyk through a mutual friend and poet, Don Beukes.

Shameeg is an impressive young artist living in an oppressed, gang-riddled area on the Cape Flats in South Africa. His dream is to study art, and to learn techniques and terminology from a professional mentor or attend art school. In Shameeg's own words, "I want to make people smile when they look at my work, and I want to teach other young people who are interested in art."

I invited a teacher from the area, Jacquelyn Kruger, to share what it's like educating children on the Cape Flats. She generously responded with a personal essay about the challenges and the rewards of teaching, while providing insight into daily life on the Capes.

The poets appearing in this issue were each sent a variety of Shameeg's paintings, given a very short deadline, and an invitation to respond. I'd like to thank each one of them for rising to the challenge and responding in such a powerful way.  Those invited include: David Allen, Elizabeth Brooks, Don Beukes, Scott Thomas Outlar, and Bruce Owens.

My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone participating, reading, and sharing in this issue.

~Janine Pickett, Editor

Introducing Visual Artist Shameeg van Schalkwyk

An Essay by Jacqueline Kruger: "Teaching on the Cape Flats"

Poet David Allen Responds to "Deforestation"

Poet Elizabeth Brooks Responds to "Image Defined"

Poet Don Beukes Responds to "Entangled"

Poet Scott Thomas Outlar Responds To  "Crown of Water" and  "Talking to the Moon"

Poet Bruce Owens Responds To: "Talking To The Moon"

Poet Janine Pickett Responds To: "Distress"

out the artist whose images grace this issue of Indiana Voice Journal



Teaching on the Cape Flats


Doomed to Domes


Poems: Broken and Hunted, and Unbridled Potential


Poems: The Ghetto Chronicals, Child of Colour, and Belhar High 1985


Poems: Abdicating The Throne and A Sliver of Salvation



Poem: I want to begin something unbelievable.



America, When Voices Cry Out...Do We?


February 2, 2016

FEB 2016 Issue 18 The Wave




Is the lady in the painting waving goodbye to her dreary past and arriving into a future yet unborn the second she turns around? Or is she waving hello and getting ready to plunge into the dark and mysterious unknown? What do you perceive? Who is she? Where is she coming from, or where is she going? What's her story? This painting bothers me...I will give 25.00 and publication in the April issue to the best short fiction in 1,000 words or less. In the subject line of your email write: Fiction The Wave. Deadline: February 28, 2016.

Greetings and thank you to all our friends for gracing this issue of Indiana Voice Journal with your words, your beauty, and your voice. Our new friends include: David Allen- poetry editor, Jennifer Criss-editorial assistant, Linda Lichte Cook, Angel Edwards, Edilson Afonso Ferreira, Matthew Fort, Mark Luebbers, Alice Massa, Valerie Muensterman, Melissa Parietti, Christopher Stolle, Jenny Sturgill, Ajise Vincent, and Jocelyn Zarco. Our returning friends are: Elizabeth Brooks, Valentina Cano, Isabel Chenot, JD DeHart, David Domine,  Ken Allan Dronsfield, Eric Hill, Belinda Hubert, Raymond Greiner, Ananya S Guha, Adam Matson, Arthur Powers, Cecilia Soprano, and L.D. Zane.

This issue is dedicated to my mom, with love. Happy Birthday, Dorothy Marie Patterson 
(Feb. 2, 1942-Jan. 27, 2002)~Janine Pickett
 


POETRY

David Allen, Elizabeth Brooks, Valentina Cano, Isabel Chenot, Linda Lichte Cook, Jennifer Criss, JD DeHart, David Domine,  Ken Allan Dronsfield, Angel Edwards, Edilson Afonso Ferreira, Ananya Guha,  Mark Luebbers, Alice Massa,Valerie Muensterman, Melissa Parietti, Arthur Powers, Cecilia Soprano, Christopher Stolle, Ajise Vincent, Jocelyn Zarco

FICTION
 

Ken Allen Dronsfield, Matthew Fort, Belinda Hubert, Adam Matson, Jenny Sturgill

CNF/ESSAY

Elizabeth Brooks, Ken Allan Dronsfield, Raymond Greiner, Arthur Powers,

L.D. Zane

VISUAL ART 

Eric Hill

David Allen is poet and freelance writer living in Central Indiana. He is a retired journalist with 36 years on newspapers in Virginia, and the Far East, the last 19 years as Guam and Okinawa Bureau Chief for Stars and Stripes, the daily newspaper for the American military community overseas. He has been published in several on-line poetry magazines and has two books of poetry, “The Story So Far” and “(more),” both available from Amazon.   He has been married to his Muse, Ruth Ellen, for 27 years.


Elizabeth Brooks resides in Tampa, Florida. She is originally from Trinidad and Tobago.  A lover of life, family, friends, a good book,  lots of laughter and continues to grow in her faith and accept many challenges.  She is a librarian by profession and a part-time reference librarian at Saint Leo University, St. Leo Florida. She continues to enjoy reading and sharing her poems with many, at events in Tampa Bay.


Valentina Cano is a student of classical singing who spends whatever free time she has either reading or writing. Her works have appeared in numerous publications and her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Web. Her debut novel, The Rose Master, was published in 2014 and was called a "strong and satisfying effort" by Publishers Weekly.


Isabel has had poetry appear previously in Indiana Voice Journal, The Penwood Review, and Anima Poetry Journal among other places: a poetry collection is forthcoming from Anima Poetry Press.

By Cassidy Marie
Linda Cook is an author, archivist, professional genealogist, and certified librarian assistant.  She earned a Bachelor's in Education from Milligan College, and Master's in Education from Indiana Wesleyan University. She taught for 12 years in the public school system.  Following her passion for genealogy and archives, Linda obtained additional certification in Genealogical Research from Boston University.

Jennifer Criss graduated from Ball State University with a minor in Creative Writing, a life long passion.  She is currently collaborating on an anthology for older adults and helps lead a writing support group. Jennifer writes mostly short stories but has discovered a love for writing poetry.  Her poetry has been published in Poebita Magazine. She now works at Ball State, is a busy mother of two girls, but her pen keeps moving. She is an editorial assistant with Indiana Voice Journal.



JD DeHart is a writer and teacher.  His chapbook, The Truth About Snails, is available from RedDashboard.




 David Dominé teaches at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany and his articles, stories, translations, and poetry have appeared in publications such as the Wisconsin Review, Golden Walkman Magazine, Danse Macabre, and Book Ends Review. His non-fiction books range in topic from folklore and architecture to bourbon, travel memoirs and regional cooking. Current projects include the forthcoming novel Peter Paul’s Kitchen and a true-crime book about the 2009 murder of Jamie Carroll and the subsequent trials of alleged killers Jeffery Mundt and Joseph Banis.

Ken Allan Dronsfield is a Published Poet/Author/Digital Artist originally from Hampton New Hampshire, now residing in Oklahoma. He has been writing for many years and enjoys spending time hiking, playing guitar and spending time with his cats Merlin and Willa. His published work can be found at numerous print venues.


Angel Edwards, a member of SOCAN, BMI and VMA owns a small music publishing company. A dozen of her songs are published by Saddlestone Publishing. She currently performs as a solo acoustic electric singer songwriter guitarist. Her poems have been published in numerous magazines and journals. Angel is preparing her first book of poetry and short stories and has one completed fantasy novella.She is seeking a publisher for her works. http://www.reverbnation.com/angeledwards

Mr. Ferreira is a Brazilian poet who writes in English rather than Portuguese, in order to reach more people.  Has been published in four printed British Anthologies, online or printed reviews like Cyclamens and Swords, Right Hand Pointing, Boston Poetry Magazine, The Lake, The Stare’s Net, The Provo Canyon, Amomancies, Snapdragon, The Gambler, Whispers and some others. Short listed in four American Poetry Contests, lives in a small town with wife, three sons and a granddaughter and began writing after retirement as a Bank Manager. He is collecting his works for a forthcoming book.  See more at www.edilsonmeloferreira.wordpress.com.  


Ananya S Guha lives in Shillong in North East India. He has been writing and publishing poetry for the last thirty years.


I live with my wife and 2 sons and teach across the Miami river in the suburbs of Cincinnati Ohio. From this very “mid-American” perspective, I try to write with an eye on the convergence of the human and natural worlds, i.e. how nature finds a way of adapting to the changing landscape imposed on it, and how those adaptations (or failures) reflect on our own condition. I’ve published in several journals recently, including Miller’s Pond Poetry Review, Bird’s Thumb, and Blue Line, and have recently attended both the Sewanee Writer’s Conference and The Bread Loaf Conference for Writers of the Environment.
 http://cargocollective.com/markluebbers

After earning master’s degrees from Indiana State University and Western Michigan University and teaching for 25 years, Alice Jane-Marie Massa retired from teaching writing and public speaking at a Wisconsin technical college.  Alice invites you to visit her blog:  http://alice13wordwalk.wordpress.com, where she posts her poetry, essays, short stories, recipes, or memoirs each Wednesday.  Her writings on Wordwalk frequently focus on her guide dogs, her Hoosier hometown of Blanford (25 miles northwest of Terre Haute), her Italian family heritage, and holidays.  Recently, her writings have also appeared in Magnets and Ladders, Newsreel (audio magazine), Dialogue, and The ACB Braille Forum.  Being the current president of Behind Our Eyes (an international group of writers with disabilities) also fills hours of her retirement.  Away from her desk, Alice most enjoys long walks with her third Leader Dog (Zoe), container gardening, and the television program Jeopardy.

Valerie Muensterman is a senior at Mater Dei High School in southern Indiana. She is actively involved in theatre and has written and directed four plays at her school. In addition to writing, Valerie enjoys playing the piano, banjo, guitar, and ukulele. She plans to pursue writing in college.




Melissa Parietti is a writer from Long Island who has produced poems, short stories, novels, and business literature. Find Melissa on Twitter @MelissaParie.


Arthur Powers is from Illinois.  In 1969 he went to Brazil as a Peace Corps Volunteer and lived most of his adult life there.  From 1985 to 1992 he and his wife lived in the Brazilian Amazon, working with subsistence farmers in a region of violent land conflicts; through his experience with the farmers, Arthur came to appreciate more deeply his own Midwestern heritage.

Cecilia Soprano lives in Westchester County and makes her living as an organic gardener and artist. Her poems and artwork have been published in La Joie magazine and UC at Santa Barbara among others.  Her artwork is often featured on the covers of Inner Directions magazine. She is a member of the Greenwich Art Society and the Katonah Museum Art Association. She has published three small books and has had several one woman art exhibits.  Her love of nature and gardening provides the space for uninterrupted inspiration.  Her intention is to make images and words that describe beauty and uplift the human spirit.   My art is about making the simple sacred and the ordinary extra-ordinary.

"The reason why we exist is to remember why we exist and to realize our interconnectedness with all things."    WEBSITE:  www.Amichiart.com or CeciliaSoprano.com

Christopher Stolle’s poetry has appeared in more than 100 magazines in several countries, including Labyrinth (Indiana University Honors Program), The Plaza (Japan), El-Shaddai (Singapore), Poetechniciens (England), Ultimate Ceasefire (Australia), and recently or forthcoming in the Burningword Literary Journal, the Tipton Poetry Journal, Flying Island, Writing Raw, Branches, and Snapdragon, and in three anthologies (In Our Own Words: A Generation Defining Itself [volumes 1 and 4; 1997 and 2002] and Reckless Writing [2012]). He has also published two nonfiction books with Coaches Choice: 101 Leadership Lessons From Baseball’s Greatest Managers (2013) and 101 Leadership Lessons From Basketball’s Greatest Coaches (2016). He works as a development editor for Penguin Random House, and he lives in Indianapolis.


Ajise Vincent is a Nigerian Poet. His poem “Song of a Progeny” was a shortlisted poem at the Korea- Nigeria Poetry feast, 2015. His works have been published in London grip magazine, Kalahari Review, Sakonfa literary magazine, AfricanWriter, Indian periodical, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Afrikana ng, Poetry Pacific, The Poet Community,  Whispers,  Commonline Journal, Novel Afrique, Black Boy Review, Tuck Magazine and various literary outlets. He is currently finishing up a major in Economics at the University


 Jocelyn Zarco is from Shortridge IB High School.

Matthew Fort teaches American literature and rhetoric at Central Lakes College in Central Minnesota. As the son of an underground miner, his stories explore the joys, sorrows, and dreams of people who live in small, mining towns, similar to the one he grew up in as a child.  

In addition to writing fiction and poetry, Belinda Hubert is currently working on a  a collection of short stories about life in the Midwest. Her novel, Shrink Wrapped is available on Amazon. Belinda works as a clinical psychologist in a private practice in Lowell, Indiana.  http://buelasprairiepractice.blogspot.com/


My fiction has appeared in The Bryant Literary Review, The Berkeley Fiction Review, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, The Driftless Review, Crack the Spine, The Broadkill Review, Happy Magazine, and The Cynic Online Magazine, with a forthcoming publication in Infernal Ink Magazine. I have also published a collection of short stories, Sometimes Things Go Horribly Wrong (Outskirts Press). I have previously published two short stories in the IVJ, "Dairy Queen" in February 2015, and
 "The Witch of Malibu" in September 2015. 

Jenny Sturgill is a nurse living in Louisville, Kentucky. Publications include:
Page&Spine, Long Story Short, The Enchanted File Cabinet, Ky Story, Kentucky Explorer, and The Pink Chameleon.


L.D. served seven years in the Navy, which included a combat tour in Vietnam on river boats, and five years aboard nuclear-powered, Fast Attack submarines. At 65, his life is quieter now, and is a member of The Bold Writers.

L.D.’s short stories have been published in: Red Fez, Indiana Voice Journal, Remarkable Doorways Online Literary Magazine, The Writing Disorder, The Furious Gazelle, Slippery Elm, and The Rain, Party, & Disaster Society.  His website is: ldzaneauthor.com

Raymond Greiner's writings include short stories and essays published frequently in various literary journals and magazines:  Branches magazine, La Joie Journal, Literary Yard Journal, Nib Magazine, Canary Literary Journal, Bellesprit Magazine, Freedom Journal, Grace Notes Literary Magazine. His latest book, "Queenie; a novella" is available on Amazon. Raymond lives in a remote area of southern Indiana in a cabin far off a lightly traveled road with his two dogs Orion and Venus. 


Telling a story is my priority no matter what the Medium or Style … A Seduction of Color, Composition, Light/ Shadow revealing a sensation of being.
I draw images from the unconscious by spontaneous action over a ‘Section de Or’ grid, then apply Elements of Abstract, Cubism, Symbolism, Expressionism, to heighten the sensation / meaning. I want to leave the Viewer with an insight into the Interior Worlds, like an inward looking Mirror.

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