Three poems by Marcia Conover: "Independence Rings," "Summer Visitors," and "Seasons of Color"

Marcia Conover was born in Indiana and grew up in a small farming community in northern Madison county. She has been writing short stories and poems since grade school, but didn't share her poetry until her mother's death in 2015. She is married with 2 grown children and lives on a small farm where she has owned and operated a state-licensed child care center since 1984.

A poem by Helmi Ben Meriem: "Ara Veug"

Helmi Ben Meriem is a researcher of Somali literature at the University of Sousse, Tunisia, where he is finishing his PhD dissertation under the direction of American fiction writer and professor of Anglophone studies, Edward Sklepowich. Mr. Ben Meriem focuses in his creative writings on marginalized segments of the Arab and/or Muslim world such as women, homosexuals, atheists, and religious minorities among others. Mr. Ben Meriem has an unpublished novel entitled "Good Night Letters: An Epistolary Novel" and is currently working on a new novel by the title "Helmi's Corner". He can be reached on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/St.John.Larch. Read his scholarly works at: https://independentresearcher.academia.edu/HelmiBenMeriem

A poem by Patrick Daniel Read: "The Patriot"

Patrick Daniel Read is a 45 year old disabled army vet, and has written poetry for 30 years. He is an author and poet, and runs several groups on Facebook, the main one being Starving Poets Tour

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1519461429/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1464725961&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=the+written+work+by+patrick+read

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/151743100X/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr2_1?qid=1464726029&sr=8-1-fkmr2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=changing+the+world+for+the+better+through+poetry

A poem by Sherry Howard: "In Memoriam"

Sherry Howard lives in Kentucky in a house full of people and dogs. She enjoys writing prose and poetry. She says she's "an educator by trade, I'm a writer by choice. I like to say that our busy household is two dancing bears short of a circus, but I still find time to write."

A poem by Jude Walsh Whelley: "Loose"

Jude Walsh Whelley has been journaling since she was twelve years old and has more than 90 journals to prove it. After loving her 33-year education career, she is now mining those journals and her experiences to write personal essays, poetry and memoir. Her work has appeared in the anthologies: Real Women Write: Sharing Our Stories, Sharing Our Lives (2016), True Words from Real Women (2010, 2015), Anthology of Tragedies & Triumphs (2014), Anthology of Christmas Memories (2011), The AWW (Antioch Writers'Workshop) Collection (2014, 2015), and the literary magazine Mothers Always Write (2016). More of her writing can be found at: www.judewalshwhelley.com

Two poems by John Mark Brown: "Cold Season" and "a burial"

John Mark Brown is a Southern Illinois native, a senior Creative Writing student at Eastern Illinois University, and a cardigan enthusiast. His writing has appeared in the Indiana Review.

A poem by Angel Edwards: "Old Flame"

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

A poem by Lynda McKinney Lambert: "Book of Remembrance in Lidice"

Lynda McKinney Lambert is the author of “Concerti: Psalms for the Pilgrimage” published by Kota Press. It is a book of poetry and short essays Lynda wrote over several years while spending her summers in Salzburg, Austria where she taught a course in writing and art each summer. She is a retired professor of fine arts and humanities from Geneva College in western Pennsylvania. Lynda currently authors two blogs on writing, the humanities, art, and faith.

Three poems by Stephen Regan: "URGH! They have a problem," "Red-bricked," and "Freedom at a price."

Stephen Regan is a journalist and the founder of the Liver Bards poetry group in Liverpool, England. His poems have been published in: Envoi; Best of Manchester Poets Vol 2 anthology, Reach Poetry, Killing the Angel, and other publications. His poem ‘Unhappy Valley Sunday’ won the runner-up prize in the Sefton Writing Competition of 2011. His flash fiction has been published in sevral e-zines and his play, "Tim: an ordinary boy’" (about the bombing of Warrington in 1993) was staged as part of the Wirral Festival of Firsts in 2014. 

A poem by Tim Philippart: "Feel Free to Mourn"

Tim Philippart sold his business, retired to explore, write and discover he wasn’t very retired at all. He ghost blogs, writes poetry, nonfiction and an occasional magazine piece. He loves writing and wishes he had not waited decades to pick up the pen. He sees baseball as a metaphor for…. Oh, he’s sorry, he keeps promising not to do that. Send emails to [email protected].

A poem by Zoe Maynard: “The Shire Horse”

Zoe Maynard is currently a UK student studying English at the University of Northampton. She has studied critical theories, American contemporary literature, post-war literature, and has gained knowledge of different creative writing approaches. Her poetry has recently been featured in "The Poeteer: A 21st Century Poetry Publication."
https://zoepoetry.wordpress.com/

Three poems by Elizabeth P. Brooks: "Cry Out," " My Freedom," and "Oh Freedom."

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 outgoing, loves the sound of laughter and the power of the word. She is a performance poet and has had several poems and two non-fiction essays published in Indiana Voice Journal. She is the author of a recently published chapbook ,“You May Applaud Now and other poems” and she is currently working on a novel and many other projects. She is a reference librarian at Saint Leo University in Dade City, Fla., and volunteers as an adult literacy tutor in Tampa. 

A poem by Joan Leotta: "Bridge to Freedom."

Joan Leotta has been playing with words since childhood. She has four novels, a collection of short stories and a picture book in print with three different publishers. She has won awards here and abroad for her writing and performing. Her poetry and essays area in Gnarled Oak,Red Wolf, A Quiet Courage, Eastern Iowa Review, Hobart Literary Review, Silver Birch, Postcard Poems and Prose and others. Her second picture book, Summer in a Bowl, comes out in September 2016 Joan also performs folklore and one-woman shows on historic figures. She lives in Calabash, NC where she walks the beach with husband Joe. More about Joan at: www.joanleotta.wordpress.com and on FACEBOOK

A poem by Mikel K: "I'm a challenge to the process."

Mikel K is a poet and memoirist living in Atlanta, Ga. Mikel K was voted best Atlanta Poet, the last three years in a row, by readers of Creative Loafing, Atlanta's weekly newspaper. He has a BS in English with a minor in Journalism from Georgia State University. Poetry by Mikel K has appeared in: Subtle Tea, Inbetween Hangovers, Dissident Voice, Dead Snakes, Poeticus, and other literary journals. He was a music columnist for a number of years, covering the Atlanta music scene and worked as a freelancer for The Atlanta Journal Constitution. You can buy a book by Mikel K at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/mikelkpoet

Three poems by Andy Brown: "Freedom Lost," "Death's Freedom," and "Is this Freedom?"

Andy Brown is an ex-prisoner, recovering addict and winner of community regeneration awards. He performs spoken word under the alter ego of The Grandad from Knowle West, relating his experiences of living in an area ranked within the worst hundred to live in within the UK.

June 2016, Issue #23

"Jester" courtesy of Gretchen Ford

IVJ would like to wish everyone a happy, safe summer. Make time to read-The features in this issue are outstanding! Special thanks to Gretchen Ford for the use of her stunning visual art. 

Please scroll down to browse or click on the author's name to go directly to their feature. Enjoy!

CREATIVE NONFICTION/ESSAY'S 

Toti O'Brien, Lynda McKinney Lambert, Bernie Brown, Jeremy DaCruz

FICTION

Bill Pruitt, Charles E.J. Moulton, Raymond Greiner, Nicholas Bridgman, Muhammad Nasrullah Khan, Howard Richard Debs, Raima Larter

VISUAL ART
 

Gretchen Ford

POETRY

Tony Brewer, Adam Levon Brown, Ken Allan Dronsfield, Wayne Russell, Shirley Jones-Luke, Martin H. Levinson, Karen Berry, Marianne Lyon, Steve Klepetar, Andrew Hubbard, Ayesha Fayyaz, Lynda McKinney Lambert, Adam Sedia, Karlo Sevilla, Judy Young, Joseph S. Pete, Jenny Kalahar, James Keane, Ilhem Issaoui, Heath Brougher, Godspower Samson Oboido, Duane Vorhees, Damian Rucci, Dominic J. Scopa, Patsy Barbara Rahn, Namrata Pathak, Don Beukes, Patrick Daniel Read, Blanca Alicia Garza

Three Poems by Blanca Alicia Garza: "Words as Weapons, Rev 2", "Crimson Faith", "Shake the Ashes"

Blanca Alicia Garza is a published poet from Las Vegas, Nevada.  She is a nature and animal lover, and enjoys spending time writing. Some of her poems are published in the new Poetry Anthology, "Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze", now available at Amazon.com. Other published work can be viewed at: www.thepoetcommunity.com, www.whispersinthewind333blogspot.com, www.winamop.com

Three Poems by Patrick Daniel Read: "Where Is Home", "Speaking Out (Poets United In Verse)", " The Real You"

Patrick Daniel Read is a 45 year old disabled army vet, and has written poetry for 30 years. He is an author and poet, and runs several groups on Facebook, the main one being Starving Poets Tour
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1519461429/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1464725961&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=the+written+work+by+patrick+read

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/151743100X/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr2_1?qid=1464726029&sr=8-1-fkmr2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=changing+the+world+for+the+better+through+poetry

Three Poems by Don Beukes: "Derelict," "Erutan Mai," and "Broken"

I was born, raised and educated in Cape Town, South Africa in the last two decades of Apartheid and also have British and EU citizenship. Now a retired teacher of English, I am following my passion to write poetry and hoping to share my literal mentality with our global village, hoping to make global citizens check their moral compass now and then in an ever changing world. As a person of mixed race heritage, I want to share my experiences whilst growing up, living  and working in a totalitarian racist regime. https://about.me/donbeukes

A Poem by Namrata Pathak: "Devi in a Metropolis - I."

Namrata Pathak's book,Trends in Contemporary Assamese Theatre (2015), maps the contours of experimental theatre in Assam. She has been published in journals like Aneekant: A Journal of Polysemic Thought, DUJES, Muse India, North-East Review, Protocol, Ruminations, and Negotiations etc. Currently she is working on a women’s writing series, Writing from the Periphery: Women's Writing in the North-East.