"The void looms deep, scorched like the desert blowing aimlessly." (Exit)

As her latest book Ash attests without doubt, Gloria is both a warrior and a martyr. Her words are swords that slowly transform into tears.

Her anger at life's injustice is mighty, but mighty is her generosity and her openness towards repair, harmony and universal peace. A must-read Ash conducts the reader through thorny labyrinths of pain and despair, allowing now and then a glimpse of ultimate resolve and liberation in verses of a rare beauty:

"...but gravity is about to free me into space... People will look at me day and night and ask, "what is it?" There is no control over what happens. The cathedral is high and my freckles fell on the floor as I left. Paleness now, that no one sees, but in the universe, I will be a prism." (Gravity)

"...A hunger surrounds us, dust gathers, and is wiped off, space evading all this as songs of the wind come through the window and we all hum." (Room)
—Flavia Cosma, author of In the Arms of the Father, Val-David, QC

Constantin Severin is a Romanian writer and visual artist, founderand proponent of Archetypal Expressionism, a highly regarded global artmovement, which he founded in Bukovina, in 2001, as well as co-founderof 3rd Paradigm International Artists Group. A graduate of the InternationalWriting Program at the University of Iowa, he has published tenbooks of poetry, essays and fiction. One of his poems was included inthe 2014 World Literature Today anthology, After the Wall Fell: Dispatchesfrom Central Europe (1989–2014), aimed at popularizing post-WendeCentral European literature on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall ofthe Berlin Wall. Severin's conceptual art and artworks have appeared inArtdaily, World Literature Today, It's Liquid, Levure littéraire, Empireuma,Contemporanul, Vatra, Arkitera, Glare Magazine, Cuadernos del Ateneo,Dance, Media Japan, and other international art and literary magazines.
Cover: art by Constantin Severin
Website: http://constantinseverin.ro/

All of Constantin Severin's work which I've seen proceeds from a single steady universal pulse - his poetry and fiction, his editing, his artwork and his organizing. It's as if he'd simply alighted and settled somewhere slightly above and askew from this world, colonized that spot, and begun processing reality and producing art in this sublime frame ever since - like an own industry; like a small steady sun. In its steady universality, grounded in a strong particular European lineage, Constantin has managed to produce a body of work - and chiefly I am speaking of his poetry here, although it may also be true of his painting - which is somehow also unmarked, by which I mean both that it is unsullied, and also without jagged edges on which to snag. It is often the jagged edges by which one becomes acquainted with work of sometimes lesser or flashier poets. Thus, it becomes somehow easy to overlook Constantin's body of work, in our crush of days - to miss its significant achievement. I believe history will be kind to Constantin Severin in this regard. His work is like a beautiful species of animal or plant which exists regardless of our noticing. It is a natural fount of clear coherent poetic output simply flowing, unselfishly and whole. His is a tree of ripened aesthetic fruit, ready to nourish us unstintingly in delight and recognition - if only we happen upon it. Here it is.
Andrew Singer
Trafika Europe

A native of Washington, D.C., Brian Arundel received an MA in English from Virginia Tech and an MFA in creative writing from Louisiana State University. His short stories and essays have appeared in publications that include Salon, Mid-American Review, Bryant Literary Review, Under the Sun, The Satirist and Buddhadharma, as well as the anthologies The Practice of Creative Writing, Best of Brevity and Contemporary Creative Nonfiction, among other publications. An avid trail runner, Brian works in the nonprofit sector in southern Maine, where he lives with his wife, Manuela.

Emotionally devastated after his wife leaves him, Sam returns home, where his fisherman father has entered the family in a reality television contest. As filming ensues, the lines blur between authentic and constructed realities. Sam seeks healing while his family, and in particular his relationship with his father, descends into chaos, confrontation, and unexpected product endorsements. At turns hilarious, emotional, and philosophical, Sam, Sara, Etc. questions the meaning of identity, our roles in life, and what we might hear when everything is silent.

Sherri Felt Dratfield graduated from Goucher College and is a memberof the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She received an M.F.A. in Actingfrom the University of Denver and holds a J.D., with election toOrder of the Coif, from New York University School of Law. Sherri isthe author of two previous collections of poetry, The City (FinishingLine Press, 2013) and Water Vigils (Finishing Line Press, 2014). Bothcollections were nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her poems haveappeared in various journals and anthologies and have been awardedrecognition in the Margaret Reid Contest for Traditional Verse,Jewish Currents' Raines Poetry Competition and the Passager PoetryContest. Sherri lives in the West Village of Manhattan with herhusband, Simon. They visit their shore home in Ventnor City, NewJersey during all seasons.

Sherri Felt Dratfield's new collection Millie Collins, Your Barn Is Gone explores change, loss, healing and renewal. Its sections correspond to Ecclesiastes' "to everything there is a season..." The poems take us from Venice, Italy to the seashore to the cafes of New York City; from learning a vaudeville song with Jimmy Durante to engaging the Madona in a Bellini Triptych to examining the divinity of an egg.

Sherri Felt Dratfield goes from strength to strength in this, her third book of poems. Gazing on minute details, she finds miracles in ordinary life, whether on city streets, on the shore, in her beloved Venice, or in her childhood. She writes joyfully of the woman on a dune, Murano leaves, a remembered song. And yet, devoted as she is to earthly realities, an underlying mysticism pervades this collection. Reading it, we are taken far beyond and under and above the world she captures in words to a place where only silence prevails. This is the remarkable effect of "Two O'Clock Bells," in which she watches the Campanile and hears, "three bells in unison./ I saw sound and felt life echo - /brief, gone."
-Grace Schulman, Winner of the Frost Medal for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in American Poetry and Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters

The exquisite poems in Sherri Felt Dratfield's brilliant, luminous Millie Collins, Your Barn Is Gone draw on mythology and geography to explore themes of identity, memory, love, and loss. At once spiritual, intimate and worldly, they weave a rich tapestry of alchemical music. Inhabited by recurring angels, bristling with flurries of animals and a cornucopia of flowers, this collection is a feast for all the senses and a testimony to the redeeming power of beauty.To read Felt Dratfield is to be edified and entranced. She takes us down the rabbit hole in the magical "Arboreal," one of several stunning ekphrastic poems. Her timeless, exacting poetry lavishes us with blessings that "course veinlike through [our] hearts" and like "stronger tides forge fiercer bonds."
-Hlne Cardona, Independent Press Award and International Book Award Winner

In 2017, Kurt Davis traveled to Africa and volunteered at many business accelerators and humanitarian non-profits. Finding Soul, From Silicon Valley to Africa gives readers a detailed description of not only what Africa is like, but also how the experiences changed and inspired him. Each chapter reads like a vignette while developing the key themes in the book: experiencing deep empathy for others, releasing ego and identity, and discovering a deeper meaning for life. There are other moments that emerge throughout its pages, such as understanding the roots of racism, the power of entrepreneurship as a tool for development, and learning how to enjoy a journey without a plan. Finding Soul, From Silicon Valley to Africa is for anyone who is a traveler looking for a few tips about Africa, a student wanting to learn more about the continent, an entrepreneur or businessman/woman interested in Africa's potential, or just a curious reader wanting to learn about a personal development story.

Michael C. Keith is the author of 15 story collections and an acclaimed memoir (The Next Better Place). He retired emeritus professor in the Communication Department at Boston College. Prior to his four decades in academe, Keith was a radio broadcaster. He has been nominated for several awards for his fiction and is the recipient of numerous accolades for his books on media subjects.

"Stories set in the West inspired by landscape that has long intrigued and beguiled the author."

"The short imaginative bursts in Leaning West capture the feel and mystique of the west. The book filters the western experience through Michael Keith's unique and somewhat twisted view. His stories are humorous, thought provoking, weird, and always entertaining. I grew up in the west. The stories ring true and I can relate to the places he takes us. For anyone interested in the west, or simply a unique perspective on life, this is a great read."
-Michael Brown, Emeritus Professor, University of Wyoming

Cover Art: Susanne Riette

Svet DiNahum was born in 1970 in Sofia, Bulgaria, and is of Jewish ancestry. He is a graduate of the Department of Philosophy at Southern Illinois University and currently lives in New York City, Sofia, Vienna, and Frankfurt. He has published short stories in numerous literary magazines in Bulgaria and throughout Europe; his work has been translated into English, German, Russian, Serbian, Turkish, Spanish, and French. His fiction has appeared in US literary magazines such as Drunken Boat, Gloom Cupboard, Danse Macabre, and Audience. DiNahum is the author of The Wolf's Howl (Short Novel, 1994); The Unicorn in Captivity (Collection of Short Stories, 2007), RAPTUS (Novel, 2009) Nicola Against Nicola (Short Novel erven Barva Press, 2020

Corey Mesler has been published in numerous anthologies and journals including Poetry, Gargoyle, Five Points, Good Poems American Places, and New Stories from the South. He has published 9 novels, 4 short story collections, and 5 full-length poetry collections, and a dozen chapbooks. His novel, Memphis Movie, attracted kind words from Ann Beattie, Peter Coyote, and William Hjorstberg, among others. He's been nominated for the Pushcart many times, and 3 of his poems were chosen for Garrison Keillor's Writer’s Almanac. He also wrote the screenplay for We Go On, which won The Memphis Film Prize in 2017. With his wife he runs a 145 year-old bookstore in Memphis. He can be found at https://coreymesler.wordpress.com.

Camel Jeremy Eros, 60s Memphis poet, bon vivant and scenester, appeared in two earlier Corey Mesler novels. Now he gets his own biography. Beginning with his birth in Frayser, a gray carbuncle on the side of Memphis, Tennessee, and following him through his academic success and then his political/poetical awakening at the University of California, Berkeley, the novel touches on numerous multi-hued, phantasmagoric, hippiefied cultural landmarks, including the small press, bookstore scene in San Francisco, protests in the streets, and free love. Eventually Camel finds his way back to Memphis where he meets the darling of his life, the willowy sculptress, Allen. The novel’s latter half takes place mostly in Memphis as the lovers struggle with earning money, making art, setting up house, and eventual health issues that threaten to burst their rainbow bubble.

"The Adventures of Camel Jeremy Eros has an exuberant voice that pulls you in and a swaggering, larger-than-life character to keep you happily entertained. And then - just when you least expect it - this vivacious, colorful tale of a man's pursuit of literature and love also manages to break your heart."
-Tova Mirvis, author of The Ladies Auxiliary and The Book of Separation: A Memoir

"Corey Mesler's new novel The Adventures of Camel Jeremy Eros is a wonderfully Gumpian Memphis and San Franciscan Roman à clef, infused with aching lyricism, sharp wit, and ramped-up-to-eleven literary cleverness, its crackling prose delivered with a soft West Tennessee twang. The story of a Memphis poet and teacher named Camel Eros, his sculptor wife Allen and their love affair both with each other and with life itself is told through a redolent halcyonic haze, evoking memory of a time in America-the middle decades of the last century-that were a swirling paradox of protest, rebellion, free love and unfettered spiritual and artistic expression. Mesler's characters offer warmth and depth to this poignant tale, which is funny, wickedly sexy, and terrifically engaging."
-Mark Dunn, author of Ella Minnow Pea and We Five

"Rascally on the page, subversive in spirit and style, Corey Mesler just may be Memphis' answer to Ken Kesey. Here is a rip-snorting, picaresque tale of the Bluff City from the fifties and sixties that will make most Memphians smile-and will make non-Memphians wonder what the hell they've been missing."
-Hampton Sides, bestselling author of Hellhound On His Trail

A nonprofit grant writer by day, Karen's poems have been published in Writing in a Women's Voice, Nixes Mate Review, Vox Populi, The Lily Poetry Review, Constellations, and others. Her previous book, Places That Are Gone, was published in 2019 by Nixes Mate Books. She lives in Boston with her husband, two dogs, two cats, and a few too many plants.

An ordinary neighborhood on the edge of the city comes to life in Karen Friedland's Tales from the Teacup Palace-its dogs, trees, houses, spouses, and people, living and gone. With humor and insight, Friedland mines the nuances of her particular terroir as well as her own memories, all while striving to follow Forster's dictum, "only connect." This is a collection of vivid, contemplative poems that were expressly written to be enjoyed.

Karen Friedland's poems invite us into her West Roxbury neighborhood where the teacup sized yards mark the spaces between houses and we witness the "frail human connection" between neighbors. For Friedland "words on a screen, on a page are the lightest of filaments, that connect us, that make us, that save us." And that is what these quotidian poems achieve - they bring the reader into a Zen state and entrap us in the amber light of 1970s photographs where we hear the poet's confession that "Eros and the arts are my main forms of transportation." We are transported through the neighborhood, through the seasons, through memory and loss where we are reminded that poetry is a testament to the living, stronger than disease, and poetry is what we need to appreciate the fragile beauty of daily life where "nothing is in fact preordained - it's all just happenstance magic."
-Annie Pluto, author of The Deepest Part of Dark

Philosophical, cautiously optimistic, Tales from the Teacup Palace reveals Friedland's native intelligence, deep attachment to home, and other places on and off her map. Heart drives this stunning new poems collection.
-Susan Tepper, author of Confess and What Drives Men

In Tales from the Teacup Palace, Karen Friedland returns to the wistful imagery that serves as the foundation of her poetic work. Within these pages Friedland shares her formative years growing up in the 1970s, the quiet comforts of her humble home, and the small wonders of nature's beauty. We see it all. Whether conveying the blessing of springtime or ruminating on the correlation between "Eros and the Arts," Friedland's observations give readers a heightened awareness of life's small but critical moments. These poems serve as a precious chronicle of landscapes, both organic and contemporary. With subtle humor, robust femininity, and acute kindness, Tales from the Teacup Palace explores the finest nuances of our human experience.
-Renuka Raghavan, author of Out of the Blue and The Face I Desire

Mark Fleckenstein was born in Chicago. Six states and dozens of moves later, he settled in Massachusetts. He graduated from University of North Carolina Charlotte with a B.A. in English, and Vermont College of Fine Arts with a MFA in Writing. He's been very involved in the poetry community in and around Boston, for over 30 years. He was an assistant editor for (BLuR), the Boston Literary Review, founder/coordinator of two bi-weekly poetry reading series in Boston and a workshop leader, He is also a painter. He has two amazing daughters and a large, eccentric, long-haired black cat named Ariadne.

A Name For Everything is an impressionistic, densely imaged book of poems that explore memory: the residue, metaphysics, existential condition, the emotional location. The poems require the reader to put aside conventional expectations of contemporary lyric poetry and demand the reader's full attention. Whatever narrative exists, is fragmentary; elliptical and developed imagistically. It's best to surrender to these poems, with your eyes and mind opened wide.

Cover Artist: Mark Fleckenstein

Charles Cantrell's chapbooks are Cicatrix and Greatest Hits. His awards include grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board, a scholarship from the Fine Arts Work Center, residencies from Ragdale, Ucross, the Vermont Studio Center, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and three Pushcart Prize nominations. Mr. Cantrell, an Air Force veteran, received his MFA from Goddard College (now at Warren Wilson). He taught for several years at Madison Area Technical College and lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife and son.

"Make some music in the wreckage," fictional poet Paul Chowder advises in Nicholson Baker's Traveling Sprinkler (2013), and real-world poet Charles Cantrell takes up that challenge in poems that thrum with romanticism amid bruise and ruin, amid the clamorous machinery of America. Wild Wreckage offers homage to labor and language, and to the "great / distance between love and silence" that these poems make palpable with clarity and affection.
-Michael Waters

In a world of wild wreckage-a world of piss odors and mop buckets, salt sweat and snake skins, black rot and fodder-an alcoholic father might die drunk on the railroad tracks, a long-suffering mother might be attacked with a kitchen skillet, someone might light a fuse in his sock on a passenger plane or knock a daughter's teeth out, and sadness might ultimately be expected to win out over happiness. But if that world also contains a father who teaches his son to write his name on a fogged-up windowpane, a mother who encourages her son to dance, and a poet who manages, time after time, "to say it right, rhythm/ and tone exact," allowing that although "love and shit get mixed up," "maybe the light holds a story," then the wreckage of Charles Cantrell's title is not only wild, but wonderful and necessary. If Cantrell's is a world of blues and bruises, it also embraces Wittgenstein's "sense of care," and Lorca's "brief, but furious hope," finding ways, like Levertov, "to ease the dread and silence." With a toughness of mind and heart, in richly textured and often luminously lyrical language, Cantrell finds "the perfect knowing" as, shining through the wreckage, "love stands on every corner" of this wild and wonderful book.
-Ronald Wallace

In this spare novelette, acclaimed flash fiction writers James Claffey and Tara Lynn Masih collaboratively create an original tale of loss and love, as The Bitter Kind deftly alternates between Stela, the daughter of a ship's captain, burdened by her family secrets, and Brandy, a Chippewa orphan, haunted by ghost wolves and spirits. The authors cross genres and borders between historical and contemporary, speculative and realistic, presenting two unforgettable characters on a journey toward their inevitable, fateful destination.

"With two writers as well matched artistically as Tara Lynn Masih and James Claffey, a collaboration is cause to celebrate. This richly woven, haunting novelette transcends the confines of its brevity; feels tender, sprawling, immersive. The Bitter Kind is an alchemy, a duet, a gorgeous melding of two of our most treasured literary voices."
-Kathy Fish, author of Wild Life: Collected Works from 2003-2018

"With short, alternating passages, James Claffey and Tara Masih vividly illuminate the separate and commingled lives of Stela and Brandy in this original and elegantly textured novella. It is a story, human and soulful, of place, mysticism, and the hard-won ground we all struggle toward."
-Robert Scotellaro, author of Nothing Is Ever One Thing

"From ghost-soaked frontier towns to leafy waterways, frozen river basins, and the open road, Tara Masih’s and James Claffey’s parallel narratives tumble along through stunning landscapes of loneliness and beauty. The writing is evocative and tender, exploring both the haunted and the haunting; touching in its examination of broken things and masterful in its prose."
-Kimberly Lojewski, author of Worm Fiddling Nocturne in the Key of a Broken Heart

"With beautiful imagery and a seamless voice, Masih and Claffey move us through decades as two parallel lives seek solace and healthy human connection. Stela, long plagued by abusive relationships, and Brandy, spurred by tragedy and unlucky in love, are shaped and steered by the things that haunt them, and, perhaps, the things that will someday guide them to heal. This winning collaborative effort is both stirring and satisfying."
-Mel Bosworth, author of FREIGHT and coauthor of Second Acts in American Lives

"With their binocular lyric lenses, Masih and Claffey provide a lacquered and sanded depth to this compilation set in the chambered karst of our heartfelt heartland. The book is a layered lanyard, a laurel wreath, an ouroboros, Mobius’s Mobius, an effortless enso, and a terrific torqueing torus. The diastolic/systolic dub-Dub, a syncopated sink or swim, of the call and response had me reeling, a time step timed to hit the one and the three. What I am saying is that this is a tour de force, a fait accompli."
-Michael Martone, author of Brooding and The Moon Over Wapakoneta

Reviews:

"To read The Bitter Kind is to witness two writers who, in this slim 68-page volume, manage a marvel by beautifully performing two seemingly impossible tasks... the first astonishing thing about The Bitter Kind: Masih and Claffey blend their styles so seamlessly that, aside from a very few turns of phrase, it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between their voices. The second astonishing aspect of this book is that Masih and Claffey create a rivetingly cohesive central narrative from flash segments... Even more extraordinarily, they form a novelette with the scope and sense of fulfillment one would expect of a much longer work."
Emma Bolden, Tupelo Quarterly
To read full review click here...