Welcome to Issue X, Volume V: June 2014 of Connotation Press: An Online Artifact. May was a difficult month, and to be honest, I’m glad to be rid of it. Between dealing with the mind-bending greed of the net neutrality destroying capitalist idiots and the irreparable damage they will do if let run wild on the internet, and the loss of one of the great ladies of writing, Maya Angelou, May can just go on, then. Get on out of here.
At 6:51 AM (ET) on Saturday, June 21st, summer officially begins and here at Connotation Press that means submissions slow down a little, we begin to gear up for our August retrospective issue, and if I play my cards right, I’ll spend quite a lot of time in a row boat owned by my amazing friends Gary & Lisa out on the gorgeous West Virginia lake just outside my office door.
I’ll also be working hard on our next print collection, doing some restructuring of the magazine, and most likely getting married to our Poetry Editor Kaite Hillenbrand, so I got that going for me.
Yep, summer 2014 promises to be a good one, but it’s still three weeks away. For now, let’s kick this pig and see what it’ll do.
A Poetry Congeries with John Hoppenthaler launches this month as John welcomes summer with some timeless poems about fishing. From there he introduces and interviews our featured author for the Congeries this month, Pascale Petit. And the talent continues to flow with new poetry by Rebecca Morgan Frank, Marcus Cafagña, Jennifer O’Grady, Rochelle Hurt, Judith Vollmer, José Antonio Rodríguez, Laurie Clements Lambeth, and Sandra Hoben. Strong work here, throughout.
Erica Goss, Editor of our video-poetry column, The Third Form, takes a special turn this month as she looks at two young men in Boston and the short film they created. I Write Because I Must focuses on 18 year old Emerson College student Gabe Kittle who sold poetry at the T stop at Harvard Square this past winter, and his friend Jake Cushnir who thought that just interesting enough to create an outstanding piece of collaborative art. This one makes me smile. Well done, gentlemen.
Julia Bouwsma, Editor of our Book Review column, takes a look this month at Rimbaud the Son (Rimbaud le fils), by Pierre Michon, and most recently translated by Jody Gladding and Elizabeth Deshays for the good folks at Yale University Press. Written for the 100 year anniversary of Rimbaud’s death, Rimbaud the Son is, to say the very least, a wild ride. Check out Julia’s break down of the book. It’s enough to whet the appetite. If you haven’t read this one yet, she’ll convince you that you should.
John Turi, our resident Drinker with a Writing Problem, spends his coinage this month on an exception Chardonnay from the California vineyards of Kosta Brown and their 2009 One Sixteen. John gives high marks to this Russian River Valley, Asian pear and green apple finishing wonder. I might have to try this one myself.
Finally, Meg Tuite, our intrepid Fiction Editor, sits down to talk writing with Melissa Pritchard. Ms. Prichard is the author of Palmerino, “a fascinating historical novel of the life of Violet Paget, who wrote under the pseudonym, Vernon Lee.” Meg briefly reviews Palmerino and delivers, along with an interview with Ms. Pritchard, a compelling excerpt from the novel. And remember, our complete Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Drama columns run on the 15th of the month, so please come back to see us again, soon.
This issue of Connotation Press is dedicated to the memory and writing of Dr. Maya Angelou, may she rest in us in peace.
Connotation Press: Love Liberates