Welcome to Issue V, Volume III: February 2013 of Connotation Press: An Online Artifact.
Things here at Connotation Press have been a bit on the crazy side lately. For the past six months we've been working on our first print collection, during which time our release has been delayed by seemingly infinite distractions and a death in the family. But tonight, with great excitement and a little nervous energy, I'm proud to announce our first print edition, the ekphrastic collection Smoking Mirrors, is en route to the printer this month!
Smoking Mirrors features the artwork of Matthew Tuite and an ekphrastic response from the following superb, hand-picked, Connotation Press contributors: Gregory Sherl, Michelle Reale, Len Kuntz, Kristine Ong Muslim, Nicelle Davis, David Tomaloff, Ryan W. Bradley, Nicolette Wong, Robert Vaughn, Eryk Wenziak, Kona Morris, Mary Stone Dockery, Corey Zeller, Tara Laskowski, Meg Tuite, Joseph A.W. Quintela, and Frank Reardon.
When Meg Tuite, Melanie Huber and I first created this project we decided Smoking Mirrors would be, like Connotation Press, a labor of love. It is hand-sewn, hand-stenciled, and hand-textured-- a large but manageable 10"X10" book, and each copy is signed and numbered by the featured artist, Matthew Tuite. We will only be printing 200 copies of this, our first collection, and it we will begin presale later this month. We expect to sell out quickly so don't miss out. Keep up with our Facebook page where we'll announce the presale release date soon.
A HUGE thank you to Matthew & all the authors, and to my dear friend & fellow editor Meg Tuite for pitching me this book all those months ago. And a special thank you to our book editor Melanie Huber whose tireless babysitting of me and endless patience with layout & design made this expression of written art possible.
Until then, it's time again for another killer issue of Connotation Press and so, as is our tradition, let's kick this pig and see what it'll do!
A Poetry Congeries with John Hoppenthaler jumps off this month with John's take on all the hoopla over "One Today," the poem Richard Blanco wrote and read for the Obama inauguration. From there John delivers terrific new poetry by, and an interview with, Jonathan Fink, and a grip of new poems by Angie Estes, Kevin Stein, Daniela Gioseffi, William Wenthe, Lisa Lewis, Terry L. Kennedy, January Gill O'Neil, Jonathan Minton, and Martin Walls. Another wonderful Congeries!
Discovered Travel column editor Nicholas Baker brings us a wonderful guest writer this month in the form of his pal Eric Waldorf. We're in for a treat! Eric & his husband take us for an interesting look at Seattle, Washington. Sweet! In addition to Eric's wonderful take on the city, he also brings some stunning photographs. Thanks again for a wonderful escape, Nicholas, and a very special thank you to Eric.
This month Drama editor Kathleen Dennehy is R-O-C-K-I-N-G with a very adult piece by award winning playwright and recent WGA award TV writer for Another Cinderella Story, Erik Patterson. The Sex Lives of Strangers, will knock your socks off, although we have a feeling you'll probably not be inclined to read it naked on a webcam with strangers. Although, stranger things have happened. Enjoy!
Eric Goss focuses her videopoem column, The Third Form, in the direction of what the poets think about seeing their work interpreted in the form of videopoems. Erica talks with Al Rempel about the videopoeming of his work, "Sky Canoe," and we have the video, too. Erica then takes a look at another four videopoems before introducing a video poem made from one of her own poems by our friend Swoon. Sweet! Very cool column this month. Enjoy!
Recently, I was chatting with our resident sommelier-in-training, John Turi, and expressed my excitement for all the high-end, award-winning wines that he has been reviewing. John is an excited champion of all things grape, and I've enjoyed the passion he brings to the column. However, I took the opportunity to lay down a little challenge. I had noticed a pattern in his choices. Namely, that I couldn't afford any of them. My challenge was for John to find a wine for less than $20 worthy of the praise he gives to the expensive stuff. It took him three months to do it, but drop into A Drinker with a Writing Problem and find out what he discovered. For you wine lovers out there, you will love this one!
One of the shining lights at the West Virginia University MFA program is professor Ethel Morgan Smith. She is a true gem and a pleasure in the classroom, but she is also a brilliant writer. Our friend, the astonishing author in her own right Sharon D. Johnson, takes a look at professor Smith's new collection, Reflections of the Other: Being Black in Germany. Unsurprisingly, Ms. Johnson returns a glowing review of Ms Smith's work, and we encourage you to check out the review and then buy your copy today. We here at Connotation Press are junkies for Ethel's work and we guarantee you'll love it.
Finally, as is also our custom, we bring you a featured Fiction & Creative Nonfiction writer as a teaser for our mid-month post. Creative Nonfiction editor Robert Clark Young has chosen to feature Thomas Palmer's work, A Little Thing, and Fiction editor Meg Tuite delivers a knockout interview and series of micro-flash by the talented Patrick Welsh. Please check out these two terrific authors and then come back on the 15th as we pull out all the stops with all new Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction columns in addition to our other killer content like our Artisan Review.
That's about it for now. More news on Smoking Mirrors coming soon. Stay tuned! And thanks for all the support and love for the past 41 months of our love note to you, Connotation Press: An Online Artifact.
Enjoy!
Ken Robidoux
Publisher/Founding Editor-in-Chief