Los Angeles Author & Poet Kelly Giles Writes Poetry For Peace

Los Angeles Author & Poet Kelly Giles 

Writes Poetry For Peace

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1. What inspires you most to write?  

A search for authenticity, a desire to explore emotional depths which lay buried for much of my life...

2. When was the poetic turning point in your life when you began writing poetry more seriously?  

I had trusted someone I'd known for close to twenty years, when, in the fall of 2009, that trust was deeply betrayed.  After about 6 months of being so stunned by the betrayal that I was completely creatively blocked, the dam suddenly burst around Easter of 2010, and I began writing poetry prolifically in order to help heal from the trauma of that betrayal. 

3. Where can people buy your books?  

They can find my current collection, "Swimming in a Thunderstorm" on lulu.com for now, at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/kellyab3.  There is a direct link to that site from my writer website, www.kgstoryteller.com, and people can find more recent poems of mine on the writer's blog www.booksbyprescription.com, where I blog as kgstoryteller.  I am hoping to have Swimming in a Thunderstorm available on Amazon as well sometime within the next few weeks. 

4. When is the forthcoming sequel hitting the streets?   

I am hoping to publish the sequel "Surfing the Tsunami" within the next few weeks on lulu as well. 

**UPDATE this publication is now available through Lulu on the following link: 

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/kellyab3

5. What do you want your readers to know about you as a person?  

Through both my work as an immigration lawyer and through my poetry, I have always strived, in the words of Simone Weil, the French mystic, "be there for others at the supreme moment of their need".   That sacrificial love is what makes life worthwhile, but also that when that sacrificial love is abused by power, it can be a painful reminder that before one can truly love others sacrificially, one must love oneself.

…&  about your work?  

My poetry is healing poetry.  I write, first and foremost, to heal myself from a lifetime of trauma, from the traumas of adoptive abandonment to the traumas of abuse and betrayal, and in doing so, I hope to encourage others to explore their emotional depths as well, for I believe that it is only in diving to the depths of our shadows, that we can find both healing and a deeper purpose for the pain buried beneath the surface.  

6. Are you a native to Cali? If not what brought you here?  

 I grew up in British Columbia, Canada, mostly in Victoria. I came to Cali to go to Pepperdine for Law School, which, in retrospect, is just one in a series of places where I seemed to find myself throughout my life as the "Eternal Outsider".  For, as Tim Burton once wrote, whenever you've once felt a sense of being an outsider, or disconnected, that feeling never really leaves you.  But my follow up to that would be that by embracing that sense of otherness, I believe it's possible to build bridges where none were dreamed possible before.

7. What do find most inspiring about the poetry movement here?  

I love the incredible diversity, depth of talent, and supportive spirit I've found in the poetry movement here.  As someone still quite new to this community, I have found myself greatly encouraged by the openness and support I have received from my fellow poets.

8. Do you plan on reading live anywhere in the near future and if so where can we see you perform?

 I have been taking a break for the past month or so to attend to a family medical emergency, but hope to return to the open mic circuit some time within the next few weeks.  A couple of groups and/or venues I perform with or at most frequently are the Paloma Room Poets (http://www.facebook.com/paloma.poets) and at the Cobalt Cafe (http://www.cobaltcafe.com/) on Tuesday nights.

9. Aside from poetry what are you most passionate about?  

Aside from poetry, I am most passionate about exploring the universality oftrauma, about exploring the centrality of spirituality and relationships in our quest for wholeness, and about fighting for justice for immigrants in my work as an immigration lawyer.  Very early on in my career, one of my Chinese calligrapher clients gave me a beautiful calligraphy scroll on which  was expressed the vision that "I would help many people with the power of my words".  Having done so for over 20 years as an immigration lawyer, it is now one of my deepest desires to continue doing so from this moment on as a poet as well.

To read more poetry by Kelly Giles utilize the following links:

Kelly Giles on Facebook

Kelly Giles Storyteller

Spotlight on Kelly Giles

Edgar Allan Poet's Macabre Manifesto

Happy  Halloween. Join us for a decadent macabre treat and read some of our featured dark chocolate for the soul.

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This Quiet Burn

This Quiet Burn

This Quiet Burn by Apryl Skies

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Jessica Wilson ~ Viva La Poetry

Jessica Wilson of Los Angeles possesses an enthusiasm for poetry that is as genuine as it is infectious. As host of several readings across Los Angeles, she has featured some of the most prolific poets in the city. Writer’s Row takes place each 2nd Wednesday of the month at the beautiful Last Bookstore in downtown LA. From 7:30-10pm, which Wilson developed as an answer to the lack of representation for the written art form at Downtown LA’s monthly Art Walk. The Last Bookstore is an amazing venue with an artsy aesthetic and Jessica has proved to be a very generous host. In addition to her accomplishments with Writer’s Row, she also founded Los Angeles Poet’s Society and the SoapBox Poets, which meets at the Green Carrot Coffee House in North Hollywood, the last Sunday of each month from 4-6pm, this week featuring Rick Lupert, author of Sinzibuckwud! & host of Cobalt Poets. In Addition, she has helped organize Poetrypalooza going on right now and has jumped onboard as an organizer for 100 Thousand Poets For Change a global effort by poets to share and read their poetry in hopes for change and unity.

To read the article in its entirety and to enjoy poetry by Jessica Wilson Click the link below:

Jessica Wilson ~ Viva La Poetry

Writer's Row - In Celebration of Women Writers

The Last Book Store Aug. 10, 2011

Sherman Oaks Publishing House Celebrates Women Literature

Sherman Oaks small press publisher Edgar & Lenore’s Publishing House celebrates women’s artistry & literature with a brand new website & poetry archive. The publisher’s master website www.EdgarAllanPoet.com has come along way since 2006, when it was only one page highlighting poetry by only a few select poets. Now featuring poets and writer’s from all over the world the site takes an artistic approach to contemporary publishing and offers a Master Library where viewers can look up content by title and or by a List of Writers.

Calliope’s Closet, the new website features select poetry and artistry by women from across the globe, including several talented local Los Angeles poets and writer’s such as  Alicia Winski, Amanda LaPera, Camille Solari, Helena Hunter, Jessica Wilson, M. K. Presson, Sheila Crawford, Trish Falin and myself, Apryl Skies.

To read the editorial in its entirety click on the following link:

Sherman Oaks Publisher Celebrates Women's Literature

As If...

As If...

by Apryl Skies

From the poetry collection

A Song Beneath Silence

Article Author Wayne Allen LeVine Has A Lyrical Awakening

Article Author Wayne Allen LeVine Has A Lyrical Awakening

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Interview With Wayne Allen LeVine

How long have you been writing?   

I suppose the literal answer would be; ever since I learned how.  And that knowing how began to unfold and open outward into song lyrics when I was in the 7^th grade – which I quickly started to recognize as poems.  Of course, when I was in the 7^th grade – in the Windy City, music was cool and widely acceptable, but poetry… not so much.  So I shared the lyrics that lent themselves to romantic rock songs, and kept the poems to myself.  I kept my poetic spirit a well-guarded secret for years to come – even from myself, by writing poems periodically, and forgetting about them rather quickly.  I wrote covertly for several decades; stories, poems, soulful speeches I would sit alone in my living room, and imagine myself giving to a riveted audience.  One way or another I think it’s fair to say I’ve been writing my entire life – maybe even before I learned how?  Although for the last sixteen years I’ve been doing it openly, prolifically, deliberately, and with lively, unbridled passion.

How does your work compare now than to your first few poems ever written?   

My earliest poems were written within the ferocious innocence of my tender adolescence;

while chasing lofty dreams of imagined maturity wherein, the freedom to do as I     please

would be there to greet me.  Now I’m in the middle of this astonishing odyssey –     doing   

mostly what I please, the majority of the time, while holding true to the responsibility that comes with it.  I still dream, of course, though I no longer chase them.  I’ve learned to stay centered long enough to allow fresh new aspects of old dreams to catch me.  The poems that come through now are reflections of that. The poems I penned in the early days of creative discovery were fueled, at least in part, by a chaotic longing to leap ahead into the well-imagined freedom of adulthood; freedom and adulthood, two largely arbitrary, often illusory, relative states of mind. I’m not suggesting they do not exist outside the realm of pure imagination.  But that those frames of reference could not be found, seized, and fully honored, without the power of creative imagination.  “As a child I painted like a master.  And I’ve spent the rest of my life learning how to paint like a child again.”  Pablo Picasso

What does poetry mean to you?

Poetry means never having to say you’re sorry.  Oh Wait!  Love means never to say you’re sorry. Maybe?  Maybe not?  Though poetry offers endless ways in which to apologize to the world, to yourself; to those you love – mostly for the things we have not done, but long to.  Poetry is one of the pivotal pathways to the heart of forgiveness – allowing us to face our impediments, embrace our flaws and blaring inadequacies, in order to find and honor our genuine strength and robust abilities.  Poetry means liberation — through the power of soulful expression.

How do your close friends react to your poetry?

Fortunately, the responses I get, both from strangers as well as my closest friends,
tends to be reassuringly positive and supportive.  Poetry has been, and continues to
be a wonderful way in which to establish and/or deepen those heartfelt connections;
keeping it honest; keeping it real, and permitting those artful connections to be
pillars of true support.

Will you be performing anywhere soon?  If so, where and when?

I don’t have any featured readings inked as we speak, although that could turn into several rather quickly.  Readings, features, and book signings, have been cyclical for me by design.  When I have a new book, I do what I can to promote it, including a slew of readings at various venues.  So I will make the pre-announcement, to the grand announcement, that a new one is forthcoming!  In the mean time, there are a couple open mike readings I drop in on periodically, as well as one I do frequent, which is Moonday.  Moonday is held at Village Books in the Pacific    Palisades, the 2^nd Monday of each month, co-hosted by Alice Pero and Lois P. Jones, two wonderful women and terrific poets in their own right.  And I do feel at home there.

What is something your readers don’t know about you?   

I’ve been a drummer all my life – my entire life, as far back as I can remember.  I     really can’t recall a point along the way that it wasn’t obvious.  I can almost remember, or rather easily imagine tapping my tiny newly formed fingers against the fleshy walls of my mother’s womb – kicking my tender feet to my mother’s heartbeat … pounding out primal rhythms upon wet placenta, to honor the timing of the story     now unfolding.  That may be nothing more than a semi-metaphysical fantasy, which is good enough for me.  Although, I can say, without a doubt, that being a drummer lends itself to the rhythm, measure, timing and tempo of my writing and the reading of my poems.  Also, my gymnastics and my martial arts background, help to give a     shapely arch to the movement and flow of words.

Is there anything you’d like to share about your work?
 

Yes – of course, nearly everything.  And at the same time, I guard it like a dragon     that    

can be expected and relied upon to guard their treasure fiercely.  We know about Dragons

guarding the Golden Fleece and the Golden Apples of Hesperides; and so I see    myself

as the guardian of the keep – albeit, the keep in this analogy is not the metal of the     sun we

know as gold, but a hoard of treasured verses; valued stories, and precious thoughts infused  with enriching memories.  I do guard those, quite possibly a little too much?  The thing is, I know their origin – where they came from, and what it took to dig them out of those caverns of the soul and shape them into stories, poems, and copious manuscripts – much of which is yet to be published.  They are golden to me – a genuine treasure, thus those dragon-like characteristics I’m willing to own up to, seem natural and appropriate, from my perspective.  One more tid-bit about dragon lore and/or fire-breathing mythology.  It was once widely believed that if a dragon speaks, he will not harm you – but are most dangerous while maintaining utter silence.  This interview is a welcomed interruption of my otherwise possible silence, and I am grateful to you for that.  Your questions have elicited an honest response, which would not have seen the light of day, had you not asked.  

What can we expect from you in the near future?

This may well be my favorite question you’ve asked so far, because of my deep
undeniable largely unguarded excitement about my soon to be published third
book!  My third book, albeit, my first non-fiction, and I can barely contain my
absolute elation, with regard to the birthing of this next book.  Writing, for me,
is the easy part – I’m in love with the creative process, and I feel privileged to
be doing what I love to do.  Publishing and marketing, on the other hand, tends
to be a tad more challenging, in part because those other aspects of the artful life
requires us to find other people we must trust and depend on.  And God knows
that’s not the easiest thing for an artist to do, a good part of the time.  Nevertheless,
we must find others to help us do what cannot be done alone.  And when we do,
creative celebration is in order!  And that’s where I find myself now; having found,
not merely a publisher, but the right publisher for my next book.  

www.EdgarAllanPoet.com

Untitled Until Now By Phillip Maguire

Phillip Maguire from Pennsylvania, author of Reversed, a collection of poetry and Thunder Under Water, a collection of short stories and poems is an Emergency Medicine Physician. He is a well-balanced father of four with two boys and two girls and a self-proclaimed Zen Baptist. Inspired by gardening, cooking, and reading Phillip's work is never a shallow pool of thought. Reading Phillip's work always gives the reader much to reflect upon and is like an onion being peeled back to expose its many layers, all poignant and flavorful. While many of his poems reveal his zen-like philosophy there are many that show a tender and passion sensibility. His titles are thoughtfully arranged and appeal to a wide range of readers. Please enjoy the following poem. 



Untitled Until Now

Each to each
and each alone
striving, striving
to find home
we stride upon
this rolling rock
weighted with the
sad gravity of thinking
while flowers don’t
wish or want or worry
in this wind-weary world

With stones
in her pockets
she subsided
with stones
in her pockets
she drowned

Living with
death inside me
on and on
I dance
my life


Phillip Maguire © 2011

Reversed
Available on Amazon

Photo courtesy of Phillip Maguire  © 2011

www.EdgarAllanPoet.com

Interview With Author & Poet Rick Lupert

 

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Author Rick Lupert is Sinzibuckwud!

• Who would you say are your biggest poetic influences? Why?

Richard Brautigan was definitely my first biggest poetic influence.  His straightforward language, and sometimes absurd and funny style really spoke to my existing sensibilities and informed the development of my own style. I also love Jeffrey McDaniel for his sometimes dark humor and intense imagery and of course Brendan Constantine for his overall genius. I think all experiences inform one's artistic sensibility...whether it's travel, media, or conversation.  Other writers I've enjoyed, outside of poetry but who still I'd count as influences are Douglas Adams, Douglas Coupland, Harlan Ellison and the collected output of Monty Python.

• You host the Cobalt readings every Tuesday night, who have been some of your favorite featured poets?

Wow...hard to pick...or even to remember for that matter...I've been hosting the reading since 1994 and there have been hundreds of people who've graced the stage in the featured reader spot.  I'm afraid if I started listing people here I'd end up leaving someone out.  Check out the broadsides we've published for all of our featured poets here: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/broadsides.html   Just about everyone who I picked to read is someone who I felt deserved the opportunity to put together a full featured set...plus I've given away the picking of the featured poet spot to many individuals and organizations to help expose as many people to as many other people's poetry as possible eliminating my own sensibility in who is picked to read.

• In your opinion, what makes a great performer in regard to poets in the LA community? What do the audiences best resonate with?

Someone who is in tune with the audience...who isn't flipping through their work trying to decide what to read in the middle of their set...someone who knows how to read their work in a way that emphasizes their words and images, almost like an actor would to best connect emotionally with the listeners...humor is always a winner...someone who is prepared, knowing how much time their set will take and doesn't go much longer (or longer at all) than the allotted time-slot they've been given.  The strongest performer has what my college speech teacher called "the X factor"....this is someone who is so engaging when they are reading, people forget about the time limit and are drawn in to their words.

• How would you describe the poetry community in Los Angeles as a whole?

Disparate, eclectic, strong, non-existent.  There are so many pockets of communities in L.A...sometimes they interconnect and often they don't. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses and styles, and there are a handful of people who might make their way between them...it makes it difficult to give a single description to the 'community' as one can easily argue that there isn't a community...rather a lot of separate communities located near each other that sometimes cross over.

• You have been a strong part of the poetry scene for nearly 20 years, how has the poetry community changed/remained the same since 1990? (2 questions)

The main way it has stayed the same is that it still exists.  Readings come and go; new poets come and go; magazines and publications come and go...but there are always venues, poets and places to publish poetry.  Beyond Baroque in Venice has been an important mainstay and, I think, centerpiece of poetry in L.A. since long before I was a part of it. Poetry in Orange County and Long Beach are going strong.  Of course the Cobalt has been a mainstay in the Valley since before any of us existed.  Mainly, the players and venues sometimes change but, for better or for worse, the community stays the same.  Or I'm completely wrong and it's very different.  I'll have to consult my oracle.

• When you aren’t writing, working or volunteering what other activities or hobbies do you enjoy? How is this reflected in your work?

I love to travel...having a day off is nice...but it's not until I'm completely removed from my normal element do I really feel my eyes are wide open and able to take it all in.  This is why most of my books are poetic travelogues of sort.  I write a good amount of poetry throughout the year, but never more than when I'm in a new place with no responsibilities other than feeding myself.  I'm also very involved in the Jewish community in L.A....particularly through music...most of my most cherished memories and experiences revolve around Jewish music in some way or another.  (Not that seeing Jane's Addiction playing in a bar in downtown L.A. a couple years ago didn't have me floating above L.A.'s skyline for a few days...)  I also love food.  I've been making homemade pizza the last few months on Sundays. (dough from scratch and all).  I'm not sure it is reflected in my work, but on the other hand if the word "yeast" accidentally appears in a poem, you'll know why.

• You have over a dozen books published, do you have any advice for writers who are just starting out and want to succeed publishing books of their own?

Step 1: write good poetry.  Anyone with even a little bit of skill can design a nice looking book and take advantage of the many on-demand/self publishing houses to get their book out there...but if the content is not good, it is not worthwhile.  Attend poetry readings and read your poetry in the open readings. You'll get to know your own work better and be able to gauge from how it comes out of your mouth, as well as the audiences immediate reaction and after-the-fact feedback what works and what doesn't. Try poetry workshops...not every workshop teacher is the right one for every poet, but there will be one out there that will help you generate good work as well as help you make your existing work the best it can be. Try submitting work to online publications and print journals. Getting some poems published before putting a collection together is helpful to understand what, of your work, works outside of your own sensibility.

Don't be afraid to self-publish a collection. Many people seek the validation of someone accepting a body of work but in the end, unless you're fortunate enough to be one of the very small group of poets being published by major publishing houses, with just a little bit of marketing savvy, your book will be at least as successful with you at the helm as it would be coming out on a small press. (The marketing savvy is key here.)

Look at other books you like for examples on how a book should look, what should be included besides your poetry, and how to put together the actual poetry...the order of the poems...what to include and not include etc.

  • What would you like to share with readers about upcoming events in the poetry community?

Of course I host a weekly reading at the Cobalt on Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm.  The most up to date information about this series (including who the featured readers are) can be found here: http://PoetrySuperHighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html

The most up to date info on where I am reading (besides the Cobalt) can be found on my website here: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/rick/upcoming-readings/

The most comprehensive listing of readings throughout Southern California, updated every month can be found here: http://www.poetix.net/calendar.htm  If you run a reading and you are not listed here, email calendar@poetix.net with info about your reading.

• What are some recommendations offering resources for poets?

Poetix.net is a great source of information about poetry in Southern California...especially their calendar section.  Subscribe to the Poetry Super Highway Newsletter ( http://PoetrySuperHighway.com/PoetLinks.html ) for a weekly listing of new links to poetry websites.  A subsciption to Poets and Writers Magazine (or read it for free in the Library) is one of the best global resources for poets with contest listings, articles and more. http://www.winningwriters.com/ also is a great resource (including their newsletter) for those looking for contests to enter or publications to submit to.

www.EdgarAllanPoet.com

Author Jesse Minkert Comes Around

"I came around in time to the idea that writing is one of those deep mysteries, so deep that a lifetime may not be all that I need to understand it." ~ Jesse Minkert

Author Jesse Minkert of Seattle, Washington is the mad wordsmith of emotion and articulation, drawing curiosity with the intensity of the Man In Black.

Minkert reveals a wide spectrum of cinematic, profound and often obscure storytelling in his book Shortness of Breath & Other Symptoms, a collection of micro-fiction, poetry and prosaic vignettes. Describing us all as "flies in the ointment", his take on love is like a big spoonful of cough syrup; harsh, rebellious and palpable. His outlook on life is a mixture of acceptance, resistance and understanding shaken like a dry martini just enough to coat the poetic palate. 

Minkert's craft is harvested from a humorous and faceted perspective offering readers a variety of tragically off-beat and metaphorical characters. As a writer of wisdom, resolve and relevancy, he explores the textures of experience, shaking his finger at the poetry of common conundrum. 

Many of the pieces in Shortness of Breath & Other Symptoms twist our existential spine, On to the Ocean is slightly reminiscent of Kafka's Metamorphosis, while A Big Responsibility is one to carry in the shirt pocket...asking the poignant, multi-layered question,

"If the world depends on me to observe it, what happens when I forget?"

Through celebratory laughter, Jesse Minkert acknowledges the roaring dysfunction of our ironic human condition, but he never wraps reality in a bow, rather he slaps a stamp on it, with no address and hopes for the best possible destination.

Shortness of Breath & Other Symptoms is a must-have for the true literature connoisseur. A beautifully crafted, thread-stitched edition, which book lovers of all genres will find artful.

 

Jesse Minkert shares the following few poems:

Checkerboard Fedora
The Sisters

The Woman in Red Rubber Boots

 

Reviews:

Belle Randall

Thomas Hubbard

Author Interview:

Do you have a website or blog?
I am planning to set up a website which will, I hope, include sound files of readings.

Which poets have influenced you the most? Why?

I’ve been influenced by several artists, not all of whom were poets. My father was a painter, sculptor, and ceramist in central Texas at a time when to be such was like walking around with an extra head. He demonstrated the value of creativity as a mission, as a way to face the world. Much the same could be said of my friend Charlie Burks, a legend and a bit of a phantom in Seattle poetry. His influences were everybody everywhere, but most obviously, stand-up comedians. Listening to Charlie read was like a break with reality that turned out, when you looked at it closely, to be reality after all, just not from an angle you’d ever used before. Next in line is William Shakespeare. I spent some time as a playwright, and I was obsessed with WS for several years. Rhythms in English speech and poesy are rooted in Shakespeare, so I try to be, too. I started writing rhymes under the spell of Belle Randall who got me excited about the possibilities of rhyme in irregular line lengths and unexpected patterns. She also introduced me to Frederick Seidel. Samuel Beckett is in this group with several different hats on, playwright, writer of microfiction, and so on. Two early influences were Edward Fitzgerald and Henry Miller. Fitzgerald’s translations of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam gave me perspectives that were hard to come by in the Texas of the 1960s. Aside from the celebrations of dissipation, they provided some hard-headed talk about what one may expect of the universe. My 18-year-old self enjoyed the naughty parts of Tropic of Cancer, of course, but those vulgar passages kept being interrupted by lyrical flights and surreal pyrotechnics that were at least as stimulating, although to different glands. Richard Dawkins, Jared Diamond, and Carl Sagan were as important to me, ultimately, as Omar Khayyam, and for many of the same reasons. But the tone of my work is set by the influence of a grassroots tradition. If one listens carefully, one may hear Robert Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, and those that built upon their genius in every one of my poems.

Do you feel that you make more of a connection or a disconnection with others
in your work or is that dependent on the poem itself?
My work is my connection. I don’t really have enough personality to get by without it. Some of my pieces connect with a live audience instantly. These are not necessarily my best, just my most approachable, pieces. They tend to rely on cleverness, glib turns of phrase, and so on. My better pieces will connect with somebody, maybe one or two in a roomful. Poets I respect will come to me and say something. Some pieces don’t connect because they’re not that good. They need work, or to retire. Some don’t connect because I didn’t write them to connect. I wrote them to say something people don’t want to listen to, so naturally people don’t listen to these.

What are some of your favorite quotes? Yours or otherwise?

Aphorisms bore me. Pithy little sayings to oversimplify any situation. I mean, life is too short, eh?

What advice do you have for young poets?
Reading is the only thing you can do that will help at all. Read things you don’t think you’ll like. When performing, speak up. Not everybody has perfect hearing. Slow down. You’ll never get paid by the number of words you can fit into a minute. Better to impress with your language than with your ability to spew.

What would you advise a young poet NOT to do?
Don’t go over the time limit, don’t ignore the guidelines, and, trust me, your sex life is not that interesting. Before you show anyone a poem, before you read a poem to someone, go over every single phrase. For each one, if you can think of a single instance you’ve heard it used by somebody else, cut it and write something that you haven’t heard anybody say ever.

Jesse Minkert
Arts and Visually Impaired Audiences

Bio:

Jesse Minkert lives in Seattle, Washington. He writes creative non-fiction, short stories, microfiction, novels, and poetry. He founded the non-profit corporation Arts and Visually Impaired Audiences. In 2008, Wood Works Press published a collection of Minkert's microstories and poems titled Shortness of Breath & Other Symptoms. Each summer for the past fifteen years, at Jack Straw Productions in Seattle, Minkert participates in the Blind Youth Audio Project where he teaches radio theater to visually impaired teenagers.

The micro-story "Betty and Dupree" has been accepted by the online literary journal, Tattoo Highway for publication in September 2011. http://www.tattoohighway.org

The poems "Mother Apprehension" and "Seasonal" were posted by the online journal Chantarellle's Notebook, February 2011. http://www.chantarellesnotebook.com

The poem "Tofu Supreme" was posted by the online journal Snakeskin for their food-themed issue, February 2011. http://www.snakeskin.org.uk

Women Author's Paying It Forward.

Ladies, we are currently working on a new site, Calliope's Closet which will be promoting not only the upcoming anthology, In The Company of Women, but YOUR books as well! That's right; in our efforts to promote the work of talented and creative women both domestic and international, we are going to be offering featured authors and their writings on this upcoming site. If you would like to have your book featured under The Book Shelf page on Calliope, please send a picture of the cover, a brief synopsis and where it can be purchased. Also, please send a picture of yourself and a short bio.

This is your opportunity to get yourself out there and Calliope is more than happy to help!

Send the required information to Alicia Winski and Apryl Skies at eappublishing@gmail.com. We anticipate launch of the new site at the end of the week and hope to see many of your faces and your books on it!

Apryl Skies and Alicia Winski
                                                                                  Coming Soon
                                                                             The Panty Drawer

INDISCRETION by Wanda Morrow-Clevenger

"Wanda Morrow-Clevenger has an extensive & impressive writing history. An extremely versatile writer capable of anything. She writes with a keen observation and acute perception. With a poetic undertone Wanda Morrow-Clevenger possesses the penchant for taking the complex and distilling down the emotion to either something pure and touching or to a sagacious, vacuum-packed wit. Her writing is honest and intuitive always revealing humanity with all its precious flaws. Reflective and full spectrum Wanda holds it all together, putting things into perspective she the Wonder Woman of written word." 

~Apryl Skies - Edgar Allan Poet

She recently unearthed poetry written when she was nineteen, calling it an angst filled embarrassment, yet she holds onto the verse - a reminder of how far she has come.

Essays and creative nonfiction are her first love, but she dabbles in flash, micro and poetry as well. Over fifty pieces of her work embracing the human condition appear or are forthcoming in: the Storyteller:  Nuthouse; The Nocturnal Lyric; Up The Staircase; Flash Fiction Offensive; Leaf Garden; TheRightEyedDeer, Issues 4, 5 and 6; Every Day Fiction; Matter Daily; Short Story Library; Clockwise Cat; the Short-Humour Site; Long Story Short; the Ultimate Writer; Conceit Magazine; Staccato; Golden Apple; Daily Flash 2011 and 2012; The Scrambler; Falling Star Magazine; Boston Literary Magazine; Ink-Filled Page; Thumbnail Magazine; Gay Flash Fiction; People of Few Words; Daily Flashes of Erotica Quarterly, Issues 2 and 3; The Literary Burlesque; The Bicycle Review; Nostalgia Magazine and In The Company of Women Poetry Anthology. She continues to expand her memoir.

  

INDISCRETION

by Wanda Morrow-Clevenger

They weren't mistakes. Rather, each encounter, each alcohol fueled lapse in judgment, was forward motion. I won't apologize for just trying to keep up. I was no guiltier of offense than my fellow cohorts en masse. We were all careening in dizzying fast-forward. The only surety of halting the momentum was thoughtless disregard, or in more instances than not, a well aimed fatal blow to the heart assured sudden death, and by effect, undeniable conclude.

It is impossible to forget past liaisons. Memories persist through the dense fog of forgotten faces and lost embrace. You could attempt to put it behind you. You could assume a new identity. You could pretend your love life began at the words “I do.” But you would be a liar, and you would eventually be found out. The past, along with any indiscretion therein, always breaks free its prison walls.

On an ordinary work day, while secure in absolute anonymity, my past walked through the door of my new job, stuck its face through the window above my desk, and looked me right in the eye. It recognized me immediately and it forced me to do the same.

Hard crush is the only description that does justice. The big, pounding, twenty-something crush that screws with your brain until you betray yourself beyond any semblance of dignity. It is the persistent thought that pings around in your head long after it's done and dead. Years later, when you have categorically moved on, it's the last shard of a long ago broken heart that still irritates.

He was the one. In my twenty-something world at least, I thought he was the one. The instant our eyes met and he smiled, I was his. He had a gap between his two front teeth and I thought it singly the sexiest thing I'd ever seen. I fell fast, skinning my shins raw in the process. He was one of those guys who knew what to say and how to say it to get exactly what he wanted. I bowed before his every word. I would have done anything he wanted, a fact eagerly proved. I was in it body and soul for the long haul.

Unfortunately, he was just enjoying a free test-drive of the latest model. My devotion, trailing my heart behind it like a dissipating comet tail, was flung into oblivion the day I found out he was engaged to another woman while still with me. Getting kicked to the curb in favor of a blond set of tits wasn't just devastating, it was humiliating beyond words.

In the five months that followed I slowly reassembled my trampled pride and dried the last stinging tears. Then I saw him again, came across him at a local bar, minus the wife. He still had the smile that could melt my intellect into pathetic puddles. I knew it was unequivocally wrong, but I wanted to feel him near me again. And secretly, I wanted to one-up the blond set.

There were no brain cells functioning in either of our heads when we left the bar that night. At the risk of possibly quoting an old love song, it felt like there was one spark left in the smoky embers that hadn't been successfully ground out. We were both too weak to snuff it and save ourselves the inevitable singe, so stupidly fanned it back into flame; I guess we thought it worth the pain.

We sank to the lowest innate response, him by taking the first step out of his marriage, and me by choosing to ignore the obvious. It was an indiscretion I was immediately after ashamed of, and still am.

His visits to the office were uncomfortable. Each time he appeared at the window he made an intentional effort to unnerve me. On several occasions he even tried to flirt. I resolved not to let him make inroads, but my will faltered, caving some every time I saw his face. Time turned 1975 again and I was back on the dance floor of the Coliseum, his arms wrapped so tight around my waist I couldn’t breathe. But not caring, not needing the air, wanting only his body pressed against mine.

The day he met with his lawyer for a closed-door session I knew something was up, and it was. His time was up. His wife had served divorce papers; she did her time in solitary and was seeking gratuitous exoneration. Seems he committed a few too many indiscretions – too many to count. I purely enjoyed the thought of them both getting what they deserved. When he left that day and the door closed behind him, I smiled a cruel, malicious smile.

And in that moment my guard slipped just enough for me to feel pure respite. Before it all came back in a rush, the whole crap-load of it: the night we had pizza and beer in his parent’s kitchen– how he jumped up, grabbed a rifle, and ran out into the dark, but not before pushing me against a wall and saying to stay still and be quiet – the blast of the gun – being scared to death – waiting for him to return – crushing into his arms when he did.

I know now it was a sophomoric ruse to make me believe he was protecting me. The manipulations are now sadly clear. But I also remember the days spent together sliding in and out of fluid time, and the crazy nights rolling around on top of each other in his old car. I didn't want it to, but the whole of it came back at me hard on. My past wasn't dead, it was alive and well and waiting for an opportunity to debase, enduring despite avoidance and denial. I've always known at some point in time I would forgive my own lack of morality and let slip quietly into blessed absolution. As for him . . . I knew holding a grudge would never make for good closure.

I found, however, passive revenge was an exceptionally enjoyable vindication. You could call it karma, or even luck. I called it sweet reward. The fates set me up in place and time like none since. For some unforeseen reason I was granted a pardon of sorts. In the end, I got a front row seat to watch the fall of the person who fell me.

Published in Up the Staircase; Summer – Issue 2; 2008

Check out Wanda's Most recent published works below:

Published in Daily Flashes of Erotica Quarterly; April-June 2011

 www.EdgarAllanPoet.com

Ventura Boulevard: A Bookstore’s Last Safe Haven

Ventura Boulevard has been the main artery of the San Fernando Valley for decades, even Tom Petty sang about it in Free Fallin’ but could it be the last safe haven for bookstores?

Read my most recent article on Examiner.com

The Unexpected ~ By Apryl Skies

From IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN 
February 2012

The Unexpected

Under a firelight, shining distance
Angels observe with wings spread wide
Orion arches his bow
Above the hills of Los Angeles
And beneath this hazy sky
Where an unexpected stranger
Enters Neptune’s orbit,
Love spills over like wine
or April rain.

In the air, a scent of something
Unexpected, destined, new.
Somewhere an infant cries
In this crowded, crumbling house
Where its weary eves bend
Beneath this heavy dale of time
And with the independence of St. Lucia
A ghost wanders these narrow hallways
creaking the wooden floor boards
And tells a tale
Unfolding like a wailing accordion
In this settled unquiet.

An old woman rocks in her chair
With, gray locks twisted tightly
Like a cinnamon pastry
Her tiny frame swallowed up
By colorful quilts sewn
with two crooked, calloused hands.

In the backyard orange groves bend
Bearing fruit, as the grapevine
Trolls the terrace in search of sun
And beneath this February storm
Rabbits seek the dry warmth refuge
Of handmade hutches,
Crafted of wire and wood.

This day arrives with joy and fear,
Tears of uncertainty and celebration.
A bouquet of flowers
Stands tall in the dining room
And in its smiling, bold beauty

…renders the poet a name.


Apryl Skies © 2011