Here’s to May, my friends. It could not have come any sooner. Good riddance to a screaming demon of a winter. Compared to most we got off easy. A wild wind tore off the downhill side of the house but that’s about it; seems hardly worth mentioning compared to the weather related havoc found in other places around the globe. My heart goes out to all our friends in the southern US and in Japan. I’ve lived through natural disasters, devastating earthquakes in California, but I simply can’t imagine the horrors caused by tornados, tsunamis, and floods.

 

But it’s springtime! In the front yard of Connotation Press, although the golden bloom of the Forsythia bush has already faded, the day lilies are about to blow up. The tiny, wild tulips, blueberry and raspberry bushes, strawberries, boxberries, even the Meyer lemon trees are making a comeback, and the entire uphill slope of the property is covered in dandelions. I don’t even mind the dandelions all that much. I welcomed their tiny yellow flowers covering the hillside.

 

And with the end of the snows and wind the birds have returned. They’re throwing the mackdown on any kind of seed left for them; easily hammering down a weeks worth of seed in a morning. I’m not fortunate enough to be from here, West Virginia, and I haven’t yet learned all the names of the birds seen outside my windows, but there are crazy-colorful red heads, yellows, blues, and teals in the various feathers, along with creams, browns, grays, and black. Gorgeous!

 

Yes, it is springtime, glorious, glorious springtime. Woohoo! Taught my last class Thursday night, no teaching for three months, fired up the barbeque, and started planning my next movie shoot. It’s all good. Nothing left but to kick this pig and see what it’ll do!

This month in his preface John Hoppenthaler pays his respects to Jeanne Leiby, Editor of The Southern Review, who died in a car crash April 19^th. Ms. Leiby’s love and respect for her contributors is something on the highest order of value and a standard for us to emulate here at Connotation Press. John dedicates this month’s Congeries to Ms. Leiby with new work from Donald Revell, Roxane Beth Johnson, Jane Springer, Earl Sherman Braggs, Sandra Meek, Richard Jarrette, Deborah Bogen, Laura Hope-Gill, and Andrea Witzke Slot.

 

Anna Journey joins us this month as our 11^th Guest Editor. Anna brings us a grip of outstanding poets. We were thrilled to receive her column. It starts out with a provocative interview with Sarah Vap made complete by some wonderful new poems, and follows up with new work by Norman Dubie, Bechian Fritz Goldberg, Saeed Jones, Lauren Berry, Tarfia Faizullah, Todd Fredson, Elizabeth J. Cohen, Meghan Brinson, and Sean Bishop. Great job, Anna!

 

From Plate to Palate with Amanda McGuire is undergoing some changes for the better. Come check out the new format of her column, and dine on this month’s topic du jour, “Food Obsessions”. Amanda will also be departing from the topic-based column she’s been producing so well since our first issue of Connotation Press: An Online Artifact back in September 2009. She currently has a call out to food writing of any genre. That’s right, a completely open call for any food related writing you may care to submit. Send Amanda your work at [email protected] , but before you do don’t miss this month’s new contributors: Kristin Abraham, Salli Swindell, Kate Graham, Elizabeth Eckel, and Sarah Lenz. Enjoy!

Joshua Fardon’s Drama column this month has strong work by writer/producer/actress Marja-Lewis Ryan. You may know Ms. Ryan’s work. She wrote and produced the festival hit The Four-Faced Liar, which is a terrific film. Check out the interview Josh conducted, Ms. Ryan’s new play, Everything’s Normal, and the theatrical trailer for The Four-Faced Liar. You’ll be glad you did!

 

Nicholas Baker’s Discovered travel column this month embarks on part one of a three part travelogue of the Mediterranean. Tag along with Nick, Freddy, and friends as they visit Florence, the Amalfi Coast, Pompe, and Marseille on a dream trip that’ll make you seriously consider how much taking a few grand out of your retirement account and running off to this beautiful place will actually cost you in the long run. Nick’s column, too, is undergoing some changes. Soon we will be inserting an email address into Discovered so you can ask our resident travel genius questions about anywhere in the world you might like to visit. Because seriously, Mr. Baker has probably been there! I LOVE THIS COLUMN. Thanks so much for all the hard work, Nick. Love ya!

 

Connotation Press repeat-contributor David Lopez joins our Essays On Art column once again and we are stoked! His new piece, From Dragons to Dragonflies: Five Films that revolutionized the Revolution, is a fun read for film buffs out there. Personally, I’d love to see David continue with this line of inquiry and develop this into a book. Very cool stuff. Thanks for the piece David!

 

Stephanie Brown’s Book Review column jumps off this month with a review of Lynn K. Kilpatrick’s In The House. Anna Leahy gives a glowing review of Ms. Kilpatrick’s book and finds examples of great poetry in this book classified as fiction. She “highly” recommends it.

 

Finally, as is our custom, our two Fiction and Creative Nonfiction first-of-the-month teasers are from fiction Kona Morris with her piece, “Treeside Drive”, which comes with a short video of Kona reading!, and from Creative Nonfiction Jennifer Bowen Hicks’ “How to Talk to the Living”.  Don’t miss all the great new work brought to you Fiction Editor Meg Tuite, Creative Nonfiction Editor Robert Clark Young, and Poetry Editor Kaitlin Hillenbrand on the 15^th of each and every month. And this month on the 15^th we’ve got a VERY special surprise! Stay tuned.

 

That’s it. Whew! Is this magazine getting bigger each month or is it just my imagination? Either way, I love this job. We all do. From all the editors and staff here at Connotation Press whose pleasure it is to produce this money vacuum labor of love (HA!), we wish you the best and brightest summer adventures. As for me, I’m going hiking, fishing, camping, ride motorcycles, rock concerts, swim rivers, travel, make movies, drink cold beer at the dog and pony races, and spend time with the friends I adore. It doesn’t get any better than that, my friends. Enjoy!

 

Connotation Press: Everything Is Blooming Most Recklessly

 

This issue of Connotation Press: An Online Artifact is dedicated to one of last years Academy Award winning documentarians, Timothy Allistair Telemachus Hetherington. A brilliant man, Tim Hetherington worked harder in a week than most men in a lifetime. And he did it week after week after week. Filmmaker, author, and extreme photojournalist Mr. Hetherington died with his friend and fellow photojournalist Chris Hondros in the city of Misrata, Libya covering the Libyan civil war. He will be missed.

 

Here is the last documentary Mr. Hetherington made shortly before his death. Rest in Peace, Tim.