March 7, 2015

Layne Carter is a Washington native living in Bellingham, Washington. She is a barista and a journalism major, and enjoys writing memoir and realistic fiction.



Pond Scum

    I’d like to remember what time of year it was, but the fact of the matter is, I was four to five years old and there’s not much about that day I remember before I jumped into the pond.

Madge Kaplan, Director of Communications, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), is responsible for developing new and innovative means for IHI to communicate the stories, leading examples of change, and policy implications emerging from the world of quality improvement in health care. Madge is also the host and producer of IHI's online audio "talk show" called WIHI, a program she conceived of and founded in 2009.  Madge came to IHI after a 20-year career in broadcast journalism for public radio. She began exploring non-fiction and playwriting more than a decade ago. Many of her essays have aired on radio or been published in print.  Her first play, The Last Appointment, was produced on Martha’s Vineyard in October 2011. 

Julia Oller is a sophomore journalism student at Taylor University in Upland, where she is the News Co-editor for her school paper. Her favorite part of the job is sharing the incredible stories of ordinary students and employees.




Crushed

She stood in the barn kitchen, straining to lift the round metal drum full of frothing milk high enough to pour into the quart-sized Mason jars lined up in front of her. Straining, too, to hear the sound of a car engine signifying the end of his stay. 

Sheehan served with 31st Infantry, Korea 1951 and graduated from Boston College, 1956. Poetry books include Ah, Devon Unbowed; The Saugus Book; Reflections from Vinegar Hill; and This Rare Earth & Other Flights. Korean Echoes nominated for Distinguished Military Award and The Westering, 2012, nominated  National Book Award, and 26 Pushcart nominations.
 


"L.D. Zane 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. His life is quieter now: anything would be quieter than his military venture, according to L.D. He is a member of the Pagoda Writers Group, and finds that he's been devoting more and more time to his writing." 


One Out of Three
BY L.D. ZANE 


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.




 Stinson writes fiction and poetry from his front porch in small town Indiana.   He has a BA in European History from Indiana University, Bloomington.   His poem about growing up during the Nuclear Arms Race appeared in the blog, Are You There God, It’s Me, Generation X. 




 Decades after a family vacation in the Indiana dunes, Rochelle Cashdan writes from Guanajuato, Mexico where she is a cultural journalist. “The Revenge of the Pasta” first appeared online in 2011 at www.longstoryshort.com. Rochelle has a blog MEXIGUANA . 

US citizen living in Mexico.  Member, International PEN





 
Cole is a senior at Miami University from Glen Ellyn, IL studying creative writing and attempting to publish his first piece. He’s not really a fan of pickles. 




I am a graduate of Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas where I obtained my MA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. For my thesis I wrote a collection of four short stories that explored the relationships between individuals suffering from great losses and deep mistrusts. My passion is unlocking the intricacies that bind people together or tear them apart. 






Lily Iona MacKenzie teaches writing at the University of San Francisco. Her essays, poetry, book reviews, interviews, and short fiction have found a home in numerous publications. Her poetry collection, All This, was published in October 2011. Fling, one of her novels, will be published in July 2015.  

  


Alan Semrow lives in Wisconsin and is a graduate of English from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. His poems and fiction have been featured in multiple publications, including BlazeVOX14, Red Fez, The Bicycle Review, Barney Street, and Wordplay, and he won the Essayist Award from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point English Department for his nonfiction work. In 2015, his stories are set to be featured in Earl of Plaid Lit Journal, EAP: The Magazine, Former People: A Journal of Bangs and Whimpers, and Blotterature Lit Mag. Semrow spends the vast majority of his free time with his boyfriend, best friends, family, and Shih Tzu, Remy.

February 28, 2015

NOMADIC EXISTENCE BY HELEN HILL
 

This issue is dedicated to the homeless, the hungry, and the people who feed them...

With Special Thanks to Eric Hill, Helen Hill and Robert Rivera, a team of NYC street photographers who have a passion for bringing social injustice out of the shadows and into the light.

Special Thanks to Allen Forrest for the use of his paintings from the Fairtrade Coffee Series.

~FEATURED CONTENT~
Click the links...  

POETRY






 (An unpublished poem written by my Great-Great Grandmother in 1921)

CREATIVE NONFICTION/ESSAYS




FICTION




PHOTOGRAPHY


DB Cox is a blues musician/writer from South Carolina. His poems and short stories have been published extensively in the small press, in the US, and abroad.  His first collection of short stories called “Unaccustomed Mercy,” published by Studio Books, is available at the Amazon Kindle Store. To hear the poem set to music scroll to the end.



 
Born and raised in India. Worked in Middle East and London. Daughter, wife and sister, aspiring to be known in the space of poetry as someone who weaves magic into language and combines unique design and strong color to her work of art.  

In this issue: Oneiric Alms
 






Sheehan served with 31st Infantry, Korea 1951 and graduated from Boston College, 1956. Poetry books include Ah, Devon Unbowed; The Saugus Book; Reflections from Vinegar Hill; and This Rare Earth & Other Flights. Korean Echoes nominated for Distinguished Military Award and The Westering, 2012, nominated  National Book Award, and 26 Pushcart nominations.




A Voice Touching (appeared in The Cenacle, 2011)
Remnants (an earlier version appeared in River Poets Journal, 2009)
A Spirit Not yet Home (an earlier version appeared in my collection, Ah, Devon Unbowed, 1978

 

A Voice Touching



A drunk startles me
from a doorway.

Prerna Bakshi is a sociolinguist, research scholar and writer of Indian origin, currently based in Macao.  She has contributed essays and articles to a variety of publications including The Hindu, CounterCurrents, Amar Ujala, and Desh Bandhu to name a few.  Her poetry has been published in peer reviewed journals such as Muse India and is forthcoming in several publications.  






Eric Hill, born in Washington DC, was first photographed among the cherry blossoms. This, no doubt, forms the basis for his colorful politics and a life long pursuit of cherry pie. That his Grandfather was a minister, no doubt explains, his intense desire to find another way to God than Religion. His writing comes from his profound need to get this crazy stuff out of his head.

He has published with Black Wire,  Indiana Voice Journal, Rain/Disaster/Party, Ijagun Poetry Journal and Behhutet.
His photography can be found throughout this issue of IVJ.


Lydia Fenwick Patterson
Lydia Fenwick Patterson 1872-1944 wrote poetry. Her writings were found in a suitcase in an attic by family members. The pages were fashioned together as scrolls using loose leaf papers and straight pins. I am publishing her poem written in 1921, and never before published until today, because it still rings true. It is relevant. The entangled arms of poverty and oppression do not discriminate, and within that grasp are people from every walk of life. I read this poem and immediately thought of Wall Street while viewing pictures of humanity sleeping on the sidewalks and in the shadows of our great cities.  Lydia was my great-great-great grandmother, and as I transcribe some of her poetry that was destined for the trash bin, the questions arise...How many other startling or important voices of our past have been lost, thrown out with the trash, dismissed as ravings, left undiscovered in attics and basements? What a pleasure to learn my grandmother wrote poetry, and to hear her speak from the grave on a topic I am so passionate about! I left this poem as I found it... In her words, and completely unedited.~Janine Pickett  


©Allen Forrest

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 book, a collection of fiction and nonfiction essays titled Hinterland Journal was recently published by Outskirts Press. 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. He is a frequent contributor to Indiana Voice Journal.

Sheehan served with 31st Infantry, Korea 1951 and graduated from Boston College, 1956. Poetry books include Ah, Devon Unbowed; The Saugus Book; Reflections from Vinegar Hill; and This Rare Earth & Other Flights. Korean Echoes nominated for Distinguished Military Award and The Westering, 2012, nominated  National Book Award, and 26 Pushcart nominations.


 Nancy Lane lives in Portland, Oregon and frequently participates in a women’s writing group, “Tuesday Morning Writers.” Nancy writes short fiction and essays, focusing on good people and positive themes. 

Another story written by Nancy, "Tales Of Meander" appears in the February 2015 issue of IVJ.


 

As the Crows Fly

“Miss, Miss,” I turned to see if somebody was addressing me. An old man waved his hand as he looked my way.

DB Cox is a blues musician/writer from South Carolina. His poems and short stories have been published extensively in the small press, in the US, and abroad.  His first collection of short stories called “Unaccustomed Mercy,” published by Studio Books, is available at the Amazon Kindle Store.

His poetry is also featured in this issue of IVJ.


Obtaining Mercy

Arthur Nagel is an ugly, little man. He stands barely four feet tall, and his head

is much too big for his body. The muscles on the left side of his face are totally

James Lawless, a north American English teacher, is a former coeditor of an underground college newspaper, a history graduate from a foreign university and a published author. He's currently living near Milan Italy.

 

Wheel of Life 

 
     It’s early morning. We’re in bed. The room is dark and the house is cold. My wife begins to stir beneath the flannel sheets. “Please don’t take your body heater away,” I say while burying my sleepy head in the pillow.

MacHDD:Users:helenhill:Desktop:Helen Hill.jpg
"It's all about the Beauty of Light...I still prefer working with the Imperfections of Film." ~Helen Hill

Helen Hill is a street photographer living in NYC. Her work is featured below, and can be seen in the following publications: 
Feb 2012: Group Exhibition Huesca Spain featuring 111 Photographers from around the World visually Interpreting the Literary texts of Ramon J Sender’s book ‘Memorias Biestas’ to mark his 111th anniversary of his birth.
Aug 2012: Featured in Erik Kim’s Street Photography Blog / Ms Helen Hill: Mise -en-scene

 Jan 2013:  Featured in ‘Leica Myself’ Book
March 2014:  Featured in ‘Buffalo Almanack’ Magazine

Robert Rivera lives in the Bronx, writes poetry, and captures life on the streets as it happens.

"When I was young I held a gun and thought: I can point and shoot to kill. But then I held a camera, and thought: Hell yeah! I can point and shoot to thrill. My mother birthed and raised me where hip hop was born. I finished high school and it pays well. Then I went to college and "i" pay well. ....Hahaha. 
When it comes to shooting, I aim to wow myself before I wow anyone else. I enjoy shooting different themes. People have different tastes and to vary in subjects keeps me open minded and creative" Photographs were taken with an iPod5. ~Robert Rivera

You can see more of his work at the following link:  https://instagram.com/boogieblam/




Eric Hill, born in Washington DC, was first photographed among the cherry blossoms. This, no doubt, forms the basis for his colorful politics and a life long pursuit of cherry pie. That his Grandfather was a minister, no doubt explains, his intense desire to find another way to God than Religion. His writing comes from his profound need to get this crazy stuff out of his head.

He has published with Black Wire,  Indiana Voice Journal, Rain/Disaster/Party, Ijagun Poetry Journal and Behhutet.


Eric is also a street photographer in New York City.  Featured here are some of his photographs.


To see more of Eric's work:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/erichill418/


February 1, 2015



The Presence


I’ve fought for the causes
And I’ve laid with death
In the shadow of no reason
But always around me
Was the presence of the Galilean

Witty Fay is a translator by trade and a humanist by nature. She has been writing herself into her poems for some time into the virtual world at www.iexile.com, www.allpoetry.com, www.scriggler.com, www.destinypoets.co.uk, www.writerscafe.org www.poetrysoup.com and www.versewrights.com . Also, she proudly had her first bilingual volume of poetry, Nefelibata  (Brian Brixon Books, 2014), published and she is aiming at unraveling prose. 
Witty Fay [email protected]


Nick Hopkins is a professor of English, holding an M.F.A. in Writing from Lindenwood University. He is also an accomplished songwriter, whose work has been featured in numerous television shows, such as America's Next Top Model and The Real World. His non-musical writing has appeared in publications like Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, The MacGuffin, and Punchnel's. He resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with his more-talented wife and couldn’t-care-less cat.



Ain’t No Sinners
   
On the seventh day, we rested.
Cold pew or warm bed?



Nels Hanson has worked as a farmer, teacher and contract writer/editor. Poems have appeared in Word Riot, Oklahoma Review, Pacific Review and other magazines, and are in press at Squalorly, Sediments, Blotterature, Digital Papercuts, and Straight Forward Poetry. Poems in Outside In Literary & Travel Magazine and Citron Review were nominated for 2014 Pushcart Prizes and poems in the Sharkpack Review Annual were awarded its Prospero Prize.

 3 Poems:  Sky Pilot-The Miracle-The Friends



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

2 Poems:  Taking It, End of Autumn

Sasha Kasoff is a published poet, fantasy writer, and aspiring teacher. Having recently returned from studying abroad in Ireland, she is currently attending University of the Pacific earning her BA in English with plans to continue her studies in creative writing as a graduate next year. Her poetry can be found in two self-published books as well as in anthologies, magazines, and other literary presses. Look for her on Goodreads.

3 Poems:  Addiction, Lonesome Morning, Love Is  

Ross Knapp is a recent college graduate with degrees in philosophy and literature. He has an experimental literary novel forthcoming and various poetry publications in Blue Lake Review, Poetry Pacific Magazine, Burningword Literary Journal, Belle Reve Literary Journal, Carcinogenic Poetry, Blood and Thunder Literary Magazine, Tipsy Lit Literary Magazine, and Clockwise Cat Literary Magazine. 

He lives and works in Minneapolis.
3 Poems: We Venetian Heathen Lovers, A Room Of One's Own, Waiting

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