Historical Fiction By Geoffrey Craig: "The Volunteer"

Geoffrey Craig’s fiction, poetry and drama have appeared in numerous literary journals, including the New Plains Review, Calliope, Foliate Oak, Spring - the Journal of the E.E. Cummings Society and The MacGuffin. He has received two Pushcart Prize nominations.

In January 2016, Prolific Press published his novel, Scudder’s Gorge. Previously,  Wilderness House Literary Review had serialized both his verse novel, The Brave Maiden, and his novella, Snow.

Four of his full-length plays (one co-authored) and ten of his one-acts have been produced. He has directed productions of eight of his plays.

Geoffrey has a BA (Colgate), an MBA (Harvard) and an MA (Santa Clara) in history. He served in the Peace Corps and had a successful career in banking before turning to writing.

Fiction by DC Diamondopolous: "Taps"

DC Diamondopolous is an award-winning short story and flash fiction writer published worldwide. DC’s short stories have appeared in online literary magazines: Antioch University’s Lunch Ticket, Fiction on the Web, Eskimo Pie, Five on the Fifth, Five 2 One and many more. DC’s stories are also in print anthologies: Crab Fat Lit, Blue Crow and Scarborough Fair. DC won second place in the University of Toronto’s Literary Contest for 2016 for the short story, Taps, and won two Soul Making-Keats honorary mentions in 2014 for the short stories, The Bell Tower and Taps. 

Fiction by David Allen: "Alligator"

David Allen is a freelance writer and poetry editor of Indiana Voice Journal. He was born in South Carolina and raised on Long Island, NY, which is enough to make anyone a bit crazy. He is a former sailor, war resistor, and journalist, writing for newspapers in Virginia, Indiana, and the Far East before retiring to Central Indiana. His poems and short stories have been published in several journals and he has two books of poetry, "The Story So Far," and "(more)," both available from Amazon.com. He has a blog at www.davidallen.nu and is an active member of the Last Stanza Poetry Association in Elwood, Indiana. David is currently serving as 2nd Vice President of the Indiana State Federation of Poetry Clubs

Fiction by Lorie Adair: "Evolution"

My book, Spider Woman's Loom was published in 2014 by Foreverland Press. Spider Woman’s Loom was a finalist for the Southwest Writers Award and a semi-finalist for the Dana Award. Additionally, I am the recipient of several Norman Mailer Scholarships and Arizona Commission on the Arts Creative Writing fellowships.I have written for NPR affiliate, KJZZ, and my fiction and creative non-fiction have appeared in Hippocampus Magazine, Kindred, Praxis Journal of Gender and Cultural Critiques, and Terrain.org. I earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles.

Fiction by Tom Sheehan: "Brisling's Code"

Tom Sheehan has published 23 books and has had multiple work in most of the following publications: Ocean Magazine, Rosebud, Linnet’s Wings, Serving House Journal, Eclectica, Copperfield Review, KYSO Flash, La Joie Magazine, Soundings East, Vermont Literary Review, Literary Orphans, Indiana Voice Journal, Frontier Tales, Deep South Magazine, Western Online Magazine, Provo Canyon Review, 3 AM Magazine, Vine Leaves Journal, Nazar Look, Eastlit, Rope & Wire Magazine, The Literary Yard,  KYSO Journal, Green Silk Journal, Fiction on the Web, The Path, Faith-Hope and Fiction, The Cenacle, etc.

He has 30 Pushcart nominations, and five Best of the Net nominations (and one winner) and short story awards from Nazar Look for 2012- 2015. Swan River Daisy, a chapbook, was just released by KY Stories and The Cowboys, a collection of western short stories, is in production at Pocol Press.

The State Poem: Indiana by Arthur Franklin Mapes

Arthur Franklin Mapes, a lifetime resident of Kendallville, Indiana, worked 33 years as a machinist at Flint and Walling Mfg. Co.. His hobby was poetry and he wrote about the things he knew, the town and state he loved, and his humble beginnings. Other poems include Our Town, which he wrote for the 1963 Kendallville Centennial, and Blacklegs, about Kendallville's "Sassafras John Bates".

Flash Fiction By Gary A. Schlueter: "Hoosier Gridlock"

I publish the Whitewater Valley Guide which is a free, digitally distributed ezine-thing dealing with entertainment and enlightenment options in the Whitewater Valley of southeastern Indiana and southwestern Ohio. I've recently been receiving a lot of praise for my work from my 3,500 subscribers, make that from some of them. Anyway, it's gone to my head and this is just one result.

Creative Nonfiction by Patty Fischer: "Midwestern Landmark Turns into Tragedy"

Patty Fischer, artist of painting illustrated here, and full-time custodian at the present Anderson High School.   Please visit Patty at her website: penandstick

Flash Essay by Marcia Conover: "Crossroads of America"

Marcia, born in Indiana, grew up in a small Farming community located in northern Madison county. Since she was a small child she has had a compassion for animals in need and a love of Photography as well as the outdoors. She has been drawn to writing short stories and poetry since grade school, poetry being her favorite. She has written short fictional stories while in high school for the “Tartan” her high school literary publication. She also enjoyed working on the Yearbook staff in Junior high through 12th grade. Poetry slowly became her hobby and favorite release. Only since her Mother’s death in 2015 has she began to share her poetry. She is married with 2 grown children and lives on a small farm in Pendleton, IN where she has owned and operated an in home state licensed child care since 1984. Her poems have been published in the Indiana Voice Journal and in several poetry anthologies available on Amazon.

A poem by Belinda Hubert: "Indiana Summer"

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/

Three poems by Lucia Walton Robinson: “A Ghazal for Indiana’s Bicentennial,” “Gable in Naptown,” and “Staffordshire Maiden”

Lucia Walton Robinson is both a Hoosier and a Southern poet, holding degrees from Butler and Duke. Having edited books in Manhattan and taughtliterature and writing in a Florida college, she’s now ensconced near the Carolina coast and her daughter, also an editor and poet. Her work has appeared in Kakalak 2015, The Penwood Review, The Road Not Taken: A Journal of Formal Poetry, The Southern Poetry Anthology, vol. VII, Indiana Voice Journal, and other publications.

Three poems by Marcia Conover: "Earth's Day," "My Indiana Home," and "Old House on the Hill"

Marcia Conover was born in Indiana and grew up in a small farming community located in northern Madison county. Since she was a small child she has had a compassion for animals in need and a love of photography and the outdoors. She wrote short fiction for her high schools literary publication. Poetry slowly became her hobby and favorite release, but only since her mothers death in 2015 has she began to share her work. She is married, has two grown children and lives on a small farm where she has operated a state licensed child care service since 1984. Her poems have appeared in Indiana Voice Journal and several anthologies.

August 2016 Issue #25

Happy 3rd Birthday, IVJ! With the release of this, our 25th issue, we begin our third year of publishing Indiana Voice Journal. It's been a wonderful collaborative effort put forth by many creative and talented individuals--poets, writers, visual artists, editors, readers and supporters--our community. We've grown way beyond my wildest expectations when I humbly and yes, somewhat fearfully, published the first little edition just two short years ago.  Thank you for writing "life" into these pages by contributing your wisdom, your wit, and your words. Special thanks to DH Allen for letting us use his photography to illustrate many of the features this month. His work can be seen at https://www.instagram.com/braintissue/

In this issue, we have a true eclectic mix. A smorgasbord of poems, essays, and fiction by today's most highly read authors. Just to highlight a few: In C.B. Anderson's poem, "Dyed in the Wool, and Cut from the Whole Cloth" we learn what the author knows about Indiana poet Jared Carter, and Jared Carter replies with a surprise poem of his own. Check out (and fall in love with her...we did!) Gloria g. Murray's set of humorous poems with titles like,"Damn, You Facebook" and "Letter to a Deceased Husband".  In Ananya S. Guha's poem "Children (After Kashmir)" we are shown horrifying news coming out of India. Every poem, essay and story in this issue is worth highlighting but I want to stop talking so you can get to the feast! Take your time. Fill up. Enjoy. ~Janine Pickett

POETRY: 

Three Poems by C.B. Anderson: "Dyed in the Wool, and Cut from the Whole Cloth - For Jared Carter," "Mortal Fatigue," and "Harder than Ever"
Four Poems by Jared Carter: "Reply," "Tradition," "Kafka," and "Deposition"
A Poem by Anna Keeler: "Boys Like Hym(n)"
Three Poems by Blanca Alicia Garza: "A Bed of Earth," "My Dear Me," and "Selfishness"
Three Poems by Christie Luke-Jones: "Urban Fox," "The Lonely Desert," and "Opal Coast"
A Poem by Phillip Brown: "Psychotic Praxis"
Three Poems by Don Mager: "May Journal: Thursday, May 9, 2013,"  "August Journal: Sunday, August 11, 2013," and "August Journal: Friday, August 23, 2013"
Two Poems by Alex DeBonis: "Dragon" and "Underwater on the House"
A Poem by Claire Butler: "Separation"
Three Poems by Billi MacTighe: "Zemblanity,” “Sophrosyne,” and “Querencia” 
Five Poems by Dane Cobain: "Fingers," "Views from the Airing Cupboard," "Bending Spoons in the Face of Death," "A Monster Truck in the Middle of Nowhere," and "Seasons Come and Seasons Go."
Three Poems by Jim Boswell: "Exponential Reality," "The Primal Force," and "Loose Ends"
Two Poems by Edilson Afonso Ferreira: "Old Summers," and "Memorabilia"
Three Poems by John Grey: "Spring," "Those Were the Days," and "Trying to Appear Tougher than I Am"
Four Poems by Gloria g. Murray: "At Seventy," "Life," "Damn You, Facebook," "Brown Bag Lunch"  and "Letter To A Deceased Husband"
Three Poems by E. A. Feliu: "Broken screen window," "American psycho,' and "The cannabis machine"
Two Poems by Joan Payne Kincaid: "Time to Reorder," and "The Trees are Taking Over II"
Two Poems by Krista Genevieve  Farris: "Before the Fireworks: Langston at 2" and "Interpretive Dance with Apple"
A Poem by Sudeep Adhikari: "Speaking Novacaine and Aches"
A Poem by Ananya S. Guha: "Children (After Kashmir)"
Two Poems by Soodabeh Saeidnia:  "Darwin Theory and ME" and "Borderline"
A Poem by Sunil Sharma: "Cognition: Self and the Universe"
Three Poems by Stefanie Bennett: "STEALTH," "WINGS," and "EXIT"
Three Poems by Melissa Fitzgerald:  "An eviction notice," "Gladiators," and "A love rant"
Three Poems by Nicole Surginer:  "Invisible," "Bleeding Heart"' and "Drifting"
Two Poems by Tamsen Grace: "The Ravages of Divorce" and "I Remember Me"
Three Poems by Samuel Franklin: "Spring Break 2010," "Coffee Nights," and "Some Summer Work"
Three Poems by Richard L. Ratiff: "Burma Shave,"  "Aging Gracefully Ha," and "Prostate"
Three Poems by Ross Polen:  “Homemade Wine”, “Kids at Trampoline” and  “High School Runner”
Three Poems by Kristen Williamson: "Chaos," "Daisy," and "Falling Apart"
A Poem by Lakesha Landrum: "What do you see?"
Three Poems by Timothy O'Grady: "From Walks Along the Eno River,"  and two translations from the Korean, "Vase," and "Here and Now"

CREATIVE NONFICTION/ESSAY

Essay by Scott Thomas Outlar: "The Opening Salvo"
Essay by Adreyo Sen: "Lokhi"
Essay by Susan P. Blevins: "There's a Bear in my Apple Tree"
Essay by Steve Colori: "Who's to Help?"
Essay by Connie Bedgood McWilliams: "Sam the Man"

FICTION

Fiction by Susan Duke: "Ruby"
Fiction by Charles E.J.Moulton: "Whenever He Thinks of Home"
Fiction by Arthur Powers: "Venus If You Do"
Flash Fiction by Stuart Luke: "San shi wu"
Fiction by Christopher Hivner: "One for the Thumb"
Fiction by Philip Matthew Butera: "The Shiny Blue Button"
Fiction by Jim Boswell: "Hunting for Turtles"

Three Poems by C.B. Anderson: "Dyed in the Wool, and Cut from the Whole Cloth - For Jared Carter," "Mortal Fatigue," and "Harder than Ever"

C.B. Anderson was the longtime gardener for the PBS television series, The Victory Garden. His book of poems, Mortal Soup and the Blue Yonder, was published in 2013 by White Violet Press.

Four Poems by Jared Carter: "Reply," "Tradition," "Kafka," and "Deposition"

Jared Carter grew up in Elwood, Indiana

A poem by Anna Keeler: "Boys Like Hym(n)"

Anna Keeler is a poet and fiction writer attending Rollins College.    She is currently a columnist for The Odyssey Online, as well as the poetry editor for Brushing Literary Magazine. Her work has been published or is upcoming in Crab Fat Literary Magazine and Red Fez Literary Journal. She lives in Winter Park, FL.

Three Poems by Blanca Alicia Garza: "A Bed of Earth," "My Dear Me," and "Selfishness"

Blanca Alicia Garza is 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, http://www.indianavoicejournal.com, http://tuckmagazine.com

Three Poems by Christie-Luke Jones: "Urban Fox," "The Lonely Desert," and "Opal Coast"

Christie-Luke Jones is a poet, fiction writer and actor from Oxfordshire, England. His writing is strongly influenced by the Gallic blood that courses through his veins, as well as his interest in the more macabre aspects of the human condition. To see more of his work, visit www.christielukejones.com

A Poem by Phillip Brown: "Psychotic Praxis"

"Psychotic Praxis" by Phillip Brown

Three Poems by Don Mager: "May Journal: Thursday, May 9, 2013," "August Journal: Sunday, August 11, 2013," and "August Journal: Friday, August 23, 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.