Welcome to Issue II, Volume VI: November 2014 of Connotation Press: An Online Artifact. As you may know, Connotation Press is published in Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia and although we’ve only been in our new offices since July of last year, this has been one of the more gorgeous autumn seasons we’ve experienced in the eight years that we’ve lived here in the Mountain state.
I shot this video on and around the grounds of our offices, as well as the photos taken from a boat on the lake just outside our door. It is far more stunning than these images can possibly show, and yes, it is extremely difficult not to be in love with this place, even with the fracking idiots hammering at the door. But that’s another story for another time.
For now, I hope you enjoy the video and photos, but we both know you’re not here to listen to me pine for the seasons. No, you’re here for another far more pressing reason. Namely, to help me kick this pig and see what it’ll do!
Issue II: Volume VI launches with strong new offerings from our curated column, A Poetry Congeries with John Hoppenthaler. John opens the column this month with an impassioned call to vote. From there he brings us strong new poetry from Sarah Rose Nordgren, Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach, Kate Northrop, Brynn Saito, Jenny Browne, Rosalie Moffett, Norbert Krapf, Ellery Akers, Diane Kirsten Martin, and John’s featured artist of the month, Geffrey Davis. We have a terrific interview conducted by John with Mr. Davis
accompanying the poems, too. A great start to Issue II. Thanks, John and welcome to all the new and returning poets! Erica Goss, editor of our film-poetry column, The Third Form, braved a Lufthansa airline strike and well over 11,000 miles of travel to once again bring us the definitive review of the Zebra Poetry Film Festival from Berlin, Germany. This is the 7th happening of the biggest and most prestigious festival on the film-poetry circuit, and Erica was all over it. We have interviews, reviews, and a GRIP of new videos that dominated the festival’s offerings. To be clear, we are exceptionally lucky to have Erica on staff with us and doing such amazing work for this now more than just burgeoning genre, and to be quite honest, the film-poetry people are lucky to have her, too. I can think of no one more vested in presenting this blended genre and none who do so more lovingly or with a higher degree of professionalism. GREAT JOB, E!
Drama editor Kathleen Dennehy rocks issue II with a playwright intent on bringing fairies to death row, Ms Heather Jones. Yep, you read that right, fairies to death row. And if Heather’s brilliant, hysterical play Every Creature’s Shadow isn’t enough, Kathleen also brings us a DO NOT MISS interview with the author who is a self-confessed lover of poetry, too. Nice! Kathleen has brought us a lot of great dramatists over years, but few come with the Dennehy seal of approval quite this way as she writes, “I love this writer. I want to go out drinking with her.” And that, my friends, is how we choose just about everything we publish here at Connotation Press. Welcome Ms Jones, and great job, Kathleen!
Book Review Editor Julia Bouwsma brings us an informed look into the new poetry collection No Matter the Wreckage by well-known spoken word artist Sarah Kay. Guest reviewer Melissa Adamo does a great job getting to the core of this collection, and we’ve got a couple of videos of Ms Kay performing her work, including her appearance on TED Talks where she “read” her poems B and Hiroshima, and a YouTube video of her poem The Type. If you’re like us, this’ll shake you up. Wonderful review. Thank you Melissa & Julia!
All things wine (hold the cheese!) John Turi takes his column A Drinker with a Wine Problem to the Maybach Family Vineyards in Napa Valley, California for a taste of their 2005 Materium, Cabernet Sauvignon. Clocking in at $200 a bottle and difficult to get without connections or spending an inordinate amount of time on auction sites, Maybach’s Materium scores high marks from John on his newly released Y9 Point Rating System. And speaking of new release, John’s assembled a collection of his reviews that ran here on
Connotation Press and bound them in a GORGEOUS print collection, A Drinker with a Writing Problem: A Wine Lover’s Retrospective. I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of the book in print, e-book, or audio format, and not just because yours truly wrote the forward, either. Well, maybe a little because of that, but mostly because it’s a lovely work that I know you’ll enjoy. Congratulations on the new book, John!Finally, our Diva-Divine Meg Tuite levels the gaze of her fierce fiction eye on two knockout features this month, both returning authors to the pages of Connotation Press: Eric Barr and Pat Pujolas. Meg has interviews with both authors alongside truly genius work. I’m telling you, kids. DO NOT MISS these guys. And also, don’t miss coming back on the 15th of the month for our entire Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction columns, either. More great stuff coming your way!
That’s it for now. Whew! And I’ve got to say, this is one powerful issue. I may be the only person in the entire world that reads this journal e-cover to cover, but the genuine feeling of achievement in the face of overwhelming odds permeates this issue and at times borders on awe inspiring. It is entirely my pleasure to publish such attentive and accomplished artists. Enjoy!
Connotation Press: Autumn Leaves
All best,
Ken Robidoux
Publisher/Founding Editor-in-Chief
Connotation Press
