December 10, 2017

"Home" Photography by Janine Pickett

Merry Christmas to all our friends at Indiana Voice Journal. This is an all-star issue from an amazing group of poets, artists, and writers. I know it came out more than a little late, but I promise, you will enjoy reading the vast variety of content in this issue. I thank each and every one of you for your contributions and support in various ways. 

It's true, we are going on hiatus for a minute, but we'll be back revitalized with new themes, ideas, contests, and more! Stay tuned...Sending love and good wishes to all! Now for the great stuff...


POETRY



CREATIVE NONFICTION



VISUAL ART


INTERVIEW



BOOK REVIEW



FICTION



SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS


Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who entered the Poetry Society of Indiana's 39th Annual Fall Rendezvous Poetry Contest 2017. Indiana Voice Journal was proud to be a part of this amazing contest, and we look forward to participating next year as well.The anthology, Ink to Paper is available here: Amazon

Adam J. Sedia lives with his family in his native Lake County, Indiana, where he practices law as a civil and appellate litigator. He has published two volumes of poetry, "The Spring's Autumn" and "Inquietude," and has published scholarly articles in various legal journals. He also composes music, which may be heard on his YouTube channel.

Cecilia is a published poet from Kanonah, N.Y. She writes stories; and has also published 3 small books. The science and observation of the wild, and natural environment are her subjects and inspiration. She also has endless fascination with the human psyche in all its complexities of expression.


A Poem by Phillip Brown

Michael Lee Johnson lived ten years in Canada during the Vietnam era. Today he is a poet, freelance writer, amateur photographer, and small business owner in Itasca, Illinois. Mr. Johnson published in more than 989 publications, his poems have appeared in 34 countries, he edits, publishes 10 different poetry sites. Michael Lee Johnson, Itasca, IL, nominated for 2 Pushcart Prize awards for poetry 2015/1 Best of the Net 2016/and 2 Best of the Net 2017. He also has 138 poetry videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/poetrymanusa/videos. He is the Editor-in-chief of the anthology,Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1530456762 and Editor-in-chief of a second poetry anthology, Dandelion in a Vase of Roses which is now available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1545352089

Alex DeBonis grew up in Seymour, Indiana and graduated from Indiana University. His work has been published or is forthcoming in Buck Off Magazine, Tipton Poetry Review, Hartskill Review, Indiana Voice Journal, Yellow Chair Review, Parade, and Ilanot Review.

Anwer Ghani is an Iraqi poet and writer. He was born in 1973 in Hilla. His work has appeared in Otoliths, Adelaide, November Bees, Zarf, Peacock, Eunioa, Rabbit and many others. He is the author of several books, including "Narratopoet" (Inventives Cloud 2017), "Antipoetic Poems" (Create Space 2017), "TRUMP; a poetry collection" (Inner Child Press 2017) and "The Narratolyric Writing" (Smashwords 20170).  Visit his blog at: https://anwerghaniwriting.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html.

Daginne Aignend is a pseudonym for the Dutch writer, poetess, and photographic artist Inge Wesdijk.
She likes hard rock music and fantasy books. She is a vegetarian and spends a lot of time with her animals. Daginne posted some of her poems on her Facebook page and on her fun project website: . She's also the co-editor of Degenerate Literature, a poetry, flash fiction, and arts E-zine. She has been published in several magazines and two anthologies: "Where Are You From" and in the Contemporary Poet's Group's "Dandelion in a Vase of Roses."

Adam Levon Brown is an author, poet, amateur photographer, and cat lover. He identifies as Queer.
He has had poetry published internationally in several languages. He enjoys long walks through the inner­ insanity of his psyche. He is an anti-imperialist with a love for books. When not tripping on his own musings, he enjoys reading fiction. He has been published in venues such as "Burningword Literary Journal," "Harbinger Asylum," "The Stray Branch," and others. Adam can be contacted via his website at http://www.AdamLevonBrown.org.

Duane Vorhees was born in Germantown, Ohio, near the Indiana border. He moved to nearby Farmersville when he was 10 and spent his adolescence there -- or, rather, his adolescence spent him! After high school he briefly attended "The" Ohio State University before graduating from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio with a degree in American Studies. And then, predictably enough, he left Ohio for good (or bad, of course, depending on one's preference). He has spent most of his life abroad, mainly teaching in Korea and Japan for the marvelously redundantly named University of Maryland University College. Now he is happily retired in Khon Kaen, Thailand, where he publishes a daily creative arts magazine, duanespoetree.blogspot.com.

Elizabeth P. Brooks is originally from Trinidad and Tobago and now calls Tampa Bay home. She is deeply concerned about human dignity and the need for social justice. She is a performance poet and has had several poems and non-fiction essays published in Indiana Voice Journal. She has a chapbook, “You May Applaud Now and Other Poems” and is currently working on a novel.  She is a contributor to the Huffington Post and writes a column, "A Call to Love," for Spirit Fire Review. Her latest book, "Freedom Fighter," presents a unique perspective on her experience as an immigrant and a woman of color.  You can visit Elizabeth at her Facebook page here: Elizabeth Brooks

Born a Hoosier, editor and English professor emerita Ellae Lawton has lived and worked in Manhattan and Florida and now lives near her daughter in southeastern North Carolina. Some of her poems have appeared in The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Referential, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Iodine Poetry Journal, and When Women Waken.

Harry Youtt is a frequently published poet, essayist, and writer of short stories. He is a long-time faculty member in the UCLA Extension Writers Program, where he teaches courses and conducts workshops in fiction writing, memoir writing, and poetry. He is author of several poetry collections, including Getting Through, Elderverses, and Outbound for Elsewhere.

Janice Canerdy is a retired high-school English teacher from Potts Camp, Mississippi. She's been writing poems for decades. She writes: "I especially enjoy rhymed-metered poetry and get a kick out of writing parodies of the classic poems I taught." Her poems and stories have appeared in several magazines and journals, including "Light Quarterly," "The Road Not Taken," and "Better Than Starbucks." Her work has also appeared in anthologies. Her first book, "Expressions of Faith" (Christian Faith Publishing), was published in December 2016.

A multi-media artist living near Washington, DC, Jeff Bagato produces poetry and prose as well as electronic music, and glitch video. Some of his poetry has appeared in Empty Mirror, Futures Trading, In Between Hangovers, Otoliths, Your One Phone Call, and Zoomoozophone Review. His published books include Savage Magic (poetry), Cthulhu Limericks (poetry), The Toothpick Fairy (fiction), and Dishwasher on Mars (fiction). A blog about his writing and publishing efforts can be found at http://jeffbagato.wordpress.com.

Jon Bennett writes and plays music in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. You can find more of his work on Pandora, iTunes, and Spotify. Most recently, he's been published in In Between Hangovers, Mad Swirl, and Your One Phone Call. For more, visit these links:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0KYTMWyisCet5ZislgF2qP?play=true&utm_source=open&utm_medium=signup-test&utm_campaign=link&play=true

Lance Carpenter is a poet and undergraduate in Purdue University's Creative Writing program. His work has appeared in Tributaries from IU East and The Eunoia Review.

Mark Danowsky’s poetry has appeared in About Place, Cordite, Gargoyle, Grey Sparrow, Right Hand Pointing, Shot Glass Journal, Subprimal, and elsewhere. He is originally from Philadelphia, but now lives in West Virginia. He is Managing Editor for the Schuylkill Valley Journal and Founder of the poetry coaching and editing service VRS CRFT.

Linda Simone is the author of Archeology and Cow Tippers. Her Pushcart-nominated poems appear in numerous journals and anthologies, most recently in Bearing the Mask: Southwest Persona Poems (Dos Gatos Press, 2016). A native New Yorker, she now lives in San Antonio, Texas. www.lindasimone.com

Sanjeev Sethi is the author of three books of poetry. His most recent collection is This Summer and That Summer (Bloomsbury, 2015). His poems have appeared venues around the world, including Spirit Fire Review, Empty Mirror, The Paragon Journal, Grey Sparrow Journal, Soul-Lit, New Mystics, Stride Magazine, London Grip, Communicators League, and elsewhere. He lives in Mumbai, India.

Steven J. Jacobson is a poet living in Hopkins, Minnesota. He has been published in more than two dozen magazines, including Access Press, Linnet’s Wings, Burningword Literary Journal, Eunoia Review, Little Red Tree Publishing, Indiana Voice Journal,  Leaves of Ink, Thought Notebook and Storyteller Magazine. He is a featured poet in Metric Conversions: Poetry of Our Time (Editura STUDIS, 2013).  An e-book, Spiritual Gait, was published in June 2016 by Storyteller Magazine.

Saloni Kaul, author and poet, was first published at the age of ten and has been in print ever since. As critic and columnist Saloni has enjoyed thirty eight years of being published. Her first volume, a fifty poem collection was published in the USA in 2009. Subsequent volumes include "Universal One" and "Essentials All." Her poems have appeared in the Tipton Poetry Journal, Eye On Life Magazine, Inwood Indiana, Misty Mountain Review, Poetry And Paint Anthology, Mad Swirl's Poetry Forum, and others. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

Nan Friedley is a retired special education teacher and graduate of Ball State
University. She was born in Huntington, IN, but spent most of her formative years in the Fort Wayne area. She graduated from New Haven High School. Her writing has been published in a poetry chapbook, Short Bus Ride, and in Indiana Voice Journal, Inlandia Anthologies, and Three, a nonfiction anthology collection. She published a poetry collection related to teaching special education kids called "Short Bus Ride" by BadKneePress. Nan lives in Riverside, CA.

Toti O'Brien is the Italian Accordionist with the Irish Last Name. She was born in Rome then moved to Los Angeles, where she makes a living as a self-employed artist, performing musician and professional dancer. Her work has most recently appeared in Fiction South East, NonBinary Review, OVS Magazine, and The Adirondack Review.

CHARLES E.J. MOULTON has been a stage performer since age eleven. His trilingual, artistic upbringing, as the son of Gun Kronzell and Herbert Moulton, lead to a hundred stage productions, countless cross-over concerts, work as a bandleader and as an acting teacher. He is a regular contributor for Idea Gems, has written for Shadows Express, Cover of Darkness, Vocal Images and Pill Hill Press. He is a tourguide, a big-band-vocalist, a filmmaker, a painter, a voice-over-speaker, a translator, is married and has a daughter. Charles E.J. Moulton's passion is creative versatility. His short story collection, Aphrodite's Curse: 21 Tales of Love and Terror can be purchased by clicking the link. Homepages:http://www.reverbnation.com/charlesejmoulton/

Ann Christine Tabaka was born and lives in Delaware.  She is a published poet, an artist, a chemist, and a personal trainer.  She loves gardening, cooking, and the ocean.  Chris lives with her husband and two cats.  Her poems have been published in numerous national and international poetry journals, reviews, and anthologies. Chris has been selected as the resident Haiku poet for Stanzaic Stylings.

Visit her author page: https://www.amazon.com/Ann-Christine-Tabaka/e/B06XF2PWSK


Linda Simone is a poet living in San Antonio, TX. Her work includes two poetry chapbooks and numerous poems published in journals and anthologies, most recently in Bearing the Mask: Southwestern Persona Poems (Dos Gatos Press).  Her interviews and book reviews have appeared in Valparaiso Review, Woven Tale Press, First Literary Review-East, Red Paint Hill, and other venues. She also expresses herself as a watercolor artist. www.lindasimone.com

                             
                           Poison in Paradise
by Scott Thomas Outlar

Published by Alien Buddha Press

Available on Amazon





Meditations by Jonel Abellanosa is a beautiful book of 27 poems that seem to be written straight from the author's heart. I found the poems touching, meditative, and very much "alive" in a divinely inspired way. Many are written in the first person, which gives you a sense of the inner strength and character the poet draws upon to craft these poems.

Strong in visual imagery. Lyrical, whimsical, magical...They beckon to you from the page, then leave you reeling in a profound and quiet way. Few poets can invoke that sense of wonder and awe we long for after the book has been closed, but Jonel Abellanosa is one who can and does, whether intentional or not.




The Salamander Chronicles 




The Salamander Chronicles by Don Beukes is a well-crafted book containing 79 pages. The cover is beautiful and points clearly to the remarkable words found inside.



Conor O'Sullivan received a BA in History and Political Science from UCD and an MA in International Affairs from NYU. His short fiction has been published in the Lakeview Journal, the Bitchin' Kitsch and accepted to Dual Coast Magazine, an affiliate publication of Prolific Press. The Short Story, a UK independent publisher, will publish his work, 'Out to Wreck', as a chapbook in 2018. He lives in London where he works as a sports journalist.

Sheehan served in the 31st Infantry in Korea 1951-52, graduated Boston College 1956, published 30 books, multiple works in Rosebud, Literally Stories,Linnet’s Wings, Serving House Journal, Copperfield Review, Literary Orphans, Eastlit, Indiana Voices Journal, Frontier Tales, DM du Jour, In Other Words-Merida,Literary Yard, Rope & Wire Western Magazine, Greensilk Journal. He has received 32 Pushcart nominations and 5 Best of Net nominations, sundry other awards. Newer books are Swan River Daisy, Jehrico, and The Cowboys, with 3 books being considered, and one to be published on November 1, by Pocol Press, Beside the Broken Trail.


Alice Frances Wickham is from Ireland. She has lived in London since 1987 and has been writing on and off during that period.  In 2011 Alice completed her Masters in Writing and Literary Criticism at Birkbeck in London and she has embarked on a novel, which has morphed into a perpetual saga, and Alice hopes it will end before she does. Alice is also working on a satire about the Health Industry, which is nearing completion.  She runs the popular blog, newlondonwriters.com, and her work has appeared in Edge magazine, Litro magazine, New London Writers, Paradise Press, and other outlets. 





Andrew Hogan received his doctorate in development studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before retirement, he was a faculty member at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, where he taught medical ethics, health policy and the social organization of medicine in the College of Human Medicine.

Jenny Sturgill is a nurse living in Louisville, Ky with her husband. When she is not writing she enjoys cooking and gardening. She's had stories and essays published in The Kentucky Explorer, Ky Story, Indiana Voice Journal, The Pink Chameleon, Enchanted File Cabinet, Page&Spine, Longstoryshort, Edify Magazine, and numerous more. She is also the author of Against the Wind: How I survived my life with Grandma.


I live with my children and crazy dogs in Middletown, Kentucky, a stone's throw from the beautiful horse farms Kentucky is always bragging about. During my career in education, I served as middle school principal in one of the largest school districts in the US; I share many skills with cat-herders. I love to read, write, cook, and sit in the sand watching the waves when I can. My poems and stories have appeared in several journals and anthologies. I'm also published in children's literature.

Cecilia is a published poet from Kanonah, N.Y. She writes stories; and has also published 3 small books. The science and observation of the wild, and natural environment are her subjects and inspiration. She also has endless fascination with the human psyche in all its complexities of expression.

Muhammad Nasrullah Khan is a fiction writer from Pakistan, currently living in Saudi Arabia where he is lecturer in English at Taif University. He is known for weaving Asian culture into creative evocative settings and memorable characters. In a profile of Nasrullah’s work titled “A Man Who Was Donkey,” The Gawanus Book called it “stunning.” This short story was selected among the Notable Online Short Stories of 2003. His short story ‘In Search of God’ was included in Silverfish Book’s Twenty-Two New Asian Short Stories, published in 2016. He has been published in Evergreen Review, Indiana Voice Journal, Newtopia Magazine, Gowanus Books, Offcourse Literary Journal, The Raven Chronicles, and many others. His debut story collection, In Search of God can be found here:

This month's featured books will make wonderful Christmas presents!  "Across the Light" by Bruce Owens, "The Wild Essential" by Claudine Nash, "Languid Lusciousness with Lemon" by Joan Leotta, and "Have We Been Screwed?" by Teresa Roberts.

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