"Poetry, Passion and Song" March 2016, Issue #20

INDIANA VOICE JOURNAL

~Presents~ 

"POETRY, PASSION AND SONG" 

THE MUSIC ISSUE

Painting by Berthold Faust, in honour of Charlie Parker

 (August 29, 1920 - March 12, 1955)

"Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art."~Charlie Parker

A few hours after Parker's passing "Bird Lives" began appearing as graffiti in New York City subways supposedly written by Ted Joans, a Beat Generation poet whose work drew from the African-American oral tradition and blended black consciousness with avant-garde jazz rhythm.

DB Cox-our own master blue's musician, friend, and bad-ass poet-has written a poetic tribute to Charlie Parker and some of the other "legendaries" who are no longer with us but are most certainly still howlin' from the heavens. Be sure to see the featured post in the left-hand column.

This music edition was inspired by Parker's truth--there is no boundary line to art. So turn off the TV, shut down the noise, and enjoy the unique blend of poetry, music, photography, stories, essays, and art embedded in this issue of IVJ. With all the major talent included-It's sure to become a classic!

~In This Issue~

Poetry

David Allen, Goirick Brahmachari, Elizabeth Brooks, Adam Brown, Phillip Brown, DB Cox, James Diaz, Ken Allan Dronsfield, David Francis, Paul Goldman, Diane Sahms-Guarnieri,  Jack Harvey, Andrew Hubbard, Josh Huber, Chris Kempling, Laurie Kuntz, Marianne Lyon, Don Mager, Donal Mahoney, Des Mannay, Joan McNerney, Sultana Raza, Anthony Sarch, Judith Skillman, Tim Staley, Harry Youtt

Fiction

David Domine, Scott Thomas Outlar, Harry Youtt

Creative Nonfiction/Essay/Memoir 

Alex Beckman, Nina Fosati,  Lynda McKinney Lambert

Music Review

Jennifer Criss

 Visual Art

Photgraphy by Chris McCown and Fabrice Poussin

  
 ~Please scroll the page to browse the individual features~

Two Poems By David Allen: "Mandolin Therapy", "Darren's Humming"

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.   www.davidallen.nu

Two Poems by Goirick Brahmachari: "A river in E major", "A river in F# minor"

Goirick lives in Dilli. He hails from Silchar, Assam

Two Poems By Elizabeth Brooks: "That Little Girl", "Your Sound Your Style"

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.

A Poem By Adam Levon Brown: "Beat Love"

"Beat Love" By Adam Lavon Brown

A Lyrical Poem By Phillip Brown: "Do You Have Peace My Friend?"

Do You Have Peace My Friend?~Phillip Brown

Four Poems By DB Cox: "Spaces-For Charlie Parker", "Shades of Ray", "Take Me To a Place", "Natalie"

DB Cox is a blues musician/writer from South Carolina. He grew up in a Southern Baptist Orphanage called Connie Maxwell Children’s Home in Greenwood, SC. He graduated from high school in 1966, and joined the Marines Corps right after the Vietnam TET Offensive in 1968. After being discharged in 1972, he spent several years playing guitar in bars, juke joints, and honky tonks across the South.

Two Poems By James Diaz: "It's The Music That Gets Us Through", "The Bar At The Edge Of Town"

James Diaz lives in upstate New York. His poems and stories have appeared in Cheap Pop Lit, Chronogram, Ditch, Pismire, My Favorite Bullet, Collective Exile, Commonline Journal, Dissident Voice, Epigraph and The Voices Project.

Two Poems By Ken Allan Dronsfield: 'Music, Tea and a Bun", "Melodious in B Major"

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.

Three Poems By David Francis: "Midnight Detour", "Of Their Song", "Mercedes Merengue"

David Francis has produced five albums of songs, one of poems, and "Always/Far," a chapbook of lyrics and drawings.  In 2013 his film "Village Folksinger" premiered at Anthology Film Archives in New York.  His poems and stories have appeared in a number of journals. http://davidfrancismusic.com

Three Poems By Paul Goldman: "Ancestral Chord", "Breath of Thunder", "Conjoined Rhythm"

Poet Paul Goldman has just released his third collection of ecstatic poetry, which many have favorably compared to the thirteenth century mystic poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammed Rumi. This latest work, Upon Your Canvas published now by River Sanctuary Publishing, is the follow up to Journey Into Oneness and Wild Joy:Ruminations.

Two Poems By Diane Sahms-Guarnieri: "Detached from the body of wind", "As if spring’s floral music is poetry of air."

Diane Sahms-Guarnieri, a native Philadelphian, is the author of three full-length poetry collections: Images of Being (Stone Garden Publishing, 2011); Light’s Battered Edge (Anaphora Literary Press, 2015) and Night Sweat (Red Dashboard Press, January, 2016). More about Diane can be found at http://www.dianesahms-guarnieri.com/ & https://dianesahmsguarnieri.wordpress.com

Three Poems By Jack D. Harvey: "Music Hath Charm", "Out In the Country", "A.U.C."

Jack D. Harvey’s poetry has appeared in Scrivener, Mind In Motion, Slow Dancer, The New Laurel Review, Bay Area Poets’ Coalition, The University of Texas Review, Innisfree Poetry Journal, The Piedmont Journal of Poetry and a number of other poetry magazines over the years, many of which are probably kaput by now, given the high mortality rate of poetry magazines. 

A Poem By Andrew Hubbard: "Music From Stones"

Andrew Hubbard recently moved back to Indiana after ten years in Houston, Texas.  He has had five books published, including, most recently, his first book of poetry, "Things That Get You," which was produced by Interactive Press. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2015.

Three Poems By Josh Huber: "The State Orchestra Plays the Lakeside Amphitheater", "The Poet", "Morning Walk"

Josh lives in Columbia, MO with his wife, Angela. He recently graduated from the  Masters of English program at the University of Missouri and now teaches at several schools in the area. His various works have appeared (or are set to appear) in Storyscape, Foliate Oak, Bridge Eight, Scissors & Spackle, The Missouri Review, and elsewhere. 

Two Songs By Chris Kempling: "I Am Your Father", "Broken But Still Beautiful"

Chris Kempling started writing professionally as a book reviewer in 1982 for Canadian Materials, the journal of the Canadian Library Association.  Subsequently, he had a longstanding satire column entitled Paper Jester in the Quesnel Cariboo Observer under the pen name of Johnny Quesnel (also syndicated to four other newspapers).  Two stories were published with the Interior Authors Group (Kamloops, BC) Collected Works, Vol. 1 in 2010, while a poem and story were anthologized in the British Columbia authors book Voices from the Valleys (Jodie Renner, ed.) 2015.  Primarily a religion columnist with the Kamloops This Week newspaper, he dabbles in stories, poetry, essays and song writing.

Three Poems By Laurie Kuntz: "Style", "Tropical Illusions", "The Woman and Her Shamisen"

Laurie Kuntz is an award-winning poet and film producer. She taught poetry in Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. Recently retired, she lives in an endless summer state of mind.

Five Poems By Marianne Lyon: "Ditty", "A Soprano in Lucca", " Major to Minor", "This Little Light of Mine", "Pipe Down"

Marianne has been a music teacher for 39 years. After teaching In Hong Kong she returned to the Napa Valley and has been published in various literary magazines and reviews such as Colere 2015, Crone 2015, Trajectory 2014, Earth Daughters 2015, Feile-Festa 2015 Whirlwind 2014-2105. She spends time each year teaching in Nicaragua. She is a member of the California Writers Club, Healdsburg Literary Guild.  

Three Poems By Don Mager: "January Journal: Friday, January 18, 2013", "March Journal: Saturday, March 16, 2013", "September Journal: Wednesday, September 11, 2013"

Don Mager is a retired university professor who has published several books of poetry.  He was the Mott University Professor of English at Johnson C. Smith University from 1998-2004, where he served as Dean of the College of Arts and Letters (2005-2011). He has published more than 200 poems and translations from German, Czech and Russian poets, including “Us Four Plus Four,” an anthology of translations from eight major Soviet-era Russian poets..  He lives in Charlotte, NC.

 https://sites.google.com/site/donmagerpoet/

Three Poems By Donal Mahoney: "Marimba in the Afternoon", "Songwriter's Nightmare", "Marcia and the Locusts"

Donal Mahoney, a native of Chicago, lives in St. Louis, Missouri. His fiction and poetry have appeared in various publications, including The Wisconsin Review, The Kansas Quarterly, The South Carolina Review, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Tribune and  Commonweal.  Some of his work can be found at http://eyeonlifemag.com/the-poetry-locksmith/donal-mahoney-poet.html#sthash.OSYzpgmQ.dpbs=

Three Poems By Des Mannay: "The New Rock'n'Roll", "Vignettes and Alcohol", "Advertisement Feature"

Des Mannay is the recent winner of the 'rethinkyourmind' poetry competition (2015). Placed 2nd in the Disability Arts Cymru poetry Competition 2015. 'Gold Award' winner in the Creative Futures Literary Awards (2015). Shortlisted for the erbacce-prize for poetry 2015. Shortlisted in the Welsh Poetry Competition 2015. "Focused on hard-hitting social issues. Des Mannay’s ‘And the Dead Shall Rise’ expressed his disgust at a fracking company in Wrexham purchasing the site of a mine disaster still classed as an official gravesite , whilst ‘Would that I have died that night’ was inspired by a letter he had read on the issue of assisted suicide.  These were poems which made a statement, and his last words - “Beware as prejudice becomes dressed as rights”' (Sabotage Reviews).

Three Poems By Joan McNerney: "Jazz", "Night Waltz", "Query"

Joan McNerney’s poetry has been included in numerous literary magazines such as Seven Circle Press, Dinner with the Muse, Camel Saloon, Blueline, Poppy Road Review, Spectrum, three Bright Hills Press Anthologies and several Kind of A Hurricane Publications.  She has been nominated three times for Best of the Net. 

Three Poems By Sultana Raza: "Stoned Arias", "Expunging Spell", "Interpreting Notes"

Of Indian origin, Sultana Raza has an M.A. in English Literature. Her articles have appeared in Flick Feast (UK), Sound on Sight (USA), the Peter Roe Series (Tolkien Society UK), Le Jeudi, the Wort and paperjam in English and French.  

Sultana Raza’s poems have appeared in Ancient Heart Magazine (Australia), India Currents (USA), London Grip (UK), Literary Gazette (USA),  Caduceus (Ed. Yale University, USA), Beyond Bree, (an American MENSA newsletter), the Peter Roe Series, (Tolkien Society UK), The Whirlwind Review (USA), Silver Leaves Journal #5 (Canada), Muse India, and The New Verse News. Recently, more have been published in Catch and Release (Columbia’s online Journal). More are to appear in Allegro. About: http://sultanaraza.com/about/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sultana.raza.7

A Poem By Anthony Sarch: "Piano Lover"

Poet/Author,\born 1969 in Chicago,living now in Naperville ILL,Cancer survivor I have two sons that live with their mothers,been writing since I was 15 and stop for a while,then took it back up again 10 years ago,I have published so far 11 books,8 are poetry and 3 short stories,I'm a member of a site called allpoetry since 2012 under the username Anthony Sarch as well a second account on allpoetry under Tony Sarch I run several groups on that site I also run 6 poetry groups on facebook
also have my own webpage to promote my books and work at www.anthonysarch.wix.com/poetry-and-stories.

Three Poems By Judith Skillman: "May Rains", "Friday Mass", "A La Prima "

Judith Skillman’s recent book is House of Burnt Offerings, Pleasure Boat Studio. Her work has appeared in Cimarron Review, J Journal, Seneca Review, Tampa Review, Prairie Schooner, FIELD, The Iowa Review, Poetry, and elsewhere. Awards include an Eric Mathieu King Fund grant from the Academy of American Poets. Visit www.judithskillman.com

Poems By Tim Staley: "On the Cusp of Snow and Thaw", "Daddy Daughter Campout", "Folk Rock Flophouse"

Tim Staley was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1975. He completed a Poetry MFA from New Mexico State University in 2004. He serves as publisher of Grandma Moses Press. His first full-length poetry collection, Lost On My Own Street, is forthcoming from Pski’s Porch Publishing. His newest chapbook, The Most Honest Syllable Is Shhh, is forthcoming from Night Ballet Press. Journal publications include Border Senses, Cacti Fur, Canary, Chiron Review, Circumference, and RHINO: The Poetry Forum. His hobbies include thinking, taquitos, and waiting. Actually, just taquitos.  He lives with his wife and daughter in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Find him online at www.poetstaley.com

Three Poems By Harry Youtt: "New Melody", "Music Lesson", "How The Music First Began"

Harry Youtt is a frequently published poet and writer of short fiction, twice nominated for Pushcart prizes. He is the author of several poetry collections and chapbooks. He is also a long-time instructor in the UCLA Ext. Writers’ Program, where he teaches courses and workshops in fiction writing, poetry and memoir.

Visual Art: Photography By Fabrice Poussin

Fabrice Poussin is assistant professor of French and English at Shorter University, Rome, Georgia.  Author of novels and poetry, his work has appeared in France at La Pensee Universelle, and in the United States in Kestrel.  He is also a published photographer.

Fiction By David Dominé : "The Music Box"

David Dominé holds an MFA from Spalding University and teaches at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany. His current projects include a collection of linked short stories titled Eating Matches, an allusion to the sad Victorian habit of women swallowing matches as a way to commit suicide. "The Music Box" is one of the stories from this collection.

Fiction By Scott Thomas Outlar: "And Then There Was Sound (God's Opera)"

Scott Thomas Outlar hosts the site 17Numa.wordpress.com where links to his poetry and fiction can be found. His words have appeared recently in venues such as Yellow Chair Review, Poetry Quarterly, Tuck Magazine, and Dead Snakes. Scott's chapbook "Songs of a Dissident" was released in 2015 through Transcendent Zero Press and is available on Amazon.

Fiction By Harry Youtt: "Adagio for Flute"

Harry Youtt is a frequently published poet and writer of short fiction, twice nominated for Pushcart prizes. He is the author of several poetry collections and chapbooks. He is also a long-time instructor in the UCLA Ext. Writers’ Program, where he teaches courses and workshops in fiction writing, poetry and memoir.

Music Review By Jennifer Criss: "Joshua Powell and the Great Train Robbery"

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.

Creative Nonfiction/Essay By Alex Beckman of Video Grave: "The Making of a Band"

Alex Beckman is a freshman at Ball State University.  He and his band, Video Grave, play shows as much they can in the Indianapolis, Indiana area.  Check them out here:

https://www.facebook.com/VideoGravve/

http://videogravve.bandcamp.com/

Creative Nonfiction/Memoir By Nina Fosati: "Spoons"

Nina Fosati has always been a storyteller. At 58, she believed she was too old to be a writer. Then physical and mental limitations struck, and she decided she had to try. Finding she no longer functions well in the world, she uses impairment as the inspiration for many of her stories. 

     A fledgling author, Nina is a member of the Hamburg Writers’ Group. With their encouragement, she started shopping her stories around. To date, they have been chosen for two anthologies: “Tales of Our Lives: Reflection Pond,” and “The Spoon Knife Anthology.” Nina invites you to follow her on Facebook.

Creative Nonfiction/Essay By Lynda McKinney Lambert: "When I Begin my Day with Mozart"

Lynda McKinney Lambert is a retired fine arts and humanities professor from Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA.  She resides in a small village in western Pennsylvania with her husband, Bob, 4 cats and 2 dogs.  Lynda is the author of Concerti: Psalms for the Pilgrimage, published by Kota Press. She writes articles on the humanities, contemporary poetry and inspirational human interest stories.  Her teaching career took her to Europe  each summer where she taught  drawing and writing to college students.

Visual Art: Photography By Chris McCown

Chris McCown first started doing photography during his tour with the US Navy on 35mm film in the mid 90's.  He wanted to accurately capture some of the amazing places he was visiting, and taught himself photography.  Since then, he has shot tens of thousands of photos, and taught himself what works and what looks good after opening the shutter.  In more recent years, he has been on call for concerts, portraits, and weddings in his local area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Regardless, he has a love affair with the lens, and can often times be seen out and about taking photos of whatever happens to catch his eye, just for the enjoyment of it.

Issue #19 Special Edition~From the Heart of Cape Town, South Africa: Poets Respond to Visual Artist "Shameeg van Schalkwyk"

Indiana Voice Journal

Issue #19

February 15, 2016

"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"

Introducing Visual Artist Shameeg van Schalkwyk

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

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

Teaching on the Cape Flats

Poet David Allen Responds to "Deforestation"

Doomed to Domes

Poet Elizabeth Brooks Responds to "Image Defined"

Poems: Broken and Hunted, and Unbridled Potential

Poet Don Beukes Responds to "Entangled"

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

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

Poems: Abdicating The Throne and A Sliver of Salvation

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

Poem: I want to begin something unbelievable.

Poet Janine Pickett Responds To: "Distress"

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

February 2016 Issue #18

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

Six Poems By David Allen: "Tellin' Ruth Ellen", "As My Love Lay Declining", "Her Legs", "My Love", "Turned Into Us", "You Who"

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.

A Poem and CNF By Elizabeth Brooks: "Look at Me", "How I Met Your Father"

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.

Five Poems by Valentina Cano: "Milton", "Birthday, 2015", "Self-Portrait", "A Thought", "The Sea"

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.

Three Poems By Isabel Chenot: "Lullabye", "To a Historian", "Noah's Ark"

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.