| vagabondage press © 2008 |
| Vagabondage Press |
| New Directions in Art & Literature |
| Letter from the Editor The Art of Being Human The Battered Suitcase focuses on literature, poetry, and art that explores the human experience — for it is our stories that make us human. From the earliest moments of our history, human beings have been sharing stories — defining in each moment of time who we are, what we are and what we’re capable of. In a world filled with danger, our ability to share knowledge and wisdom through narrative may perhaps have been the only survival edge we ever had. Humanity is not defined by its shape, the number of its legs or the color of its fur. It is defined by those thing that are only recognizable to other humans; the ideal of compassion, the practice of tolerance, the monster of rage, the paralysis of fear and the necessity of love. And it is our stories that teach us how to recognize them. In the second issue of The Battered Suitcase, performer and poet Lucie Barât serves up a breakfast of eggs and angst in Joe, Ham and Eggs. E.S. Parkinson paints a stark portrait of birth and death in The Red Shoes while Eric McKinley reminds us that in love, like comedy, timing is everything. Award-winning author Melanie Haney portrays a grief-stricken mother and her ritual for redemption in Milk. Michael Mirolla's Triptych silver-plates the clouds of madness and Malachey's humorous Perceptive Norm offers a new perspective on the old tag line "A world turned upside down". Stephanie Davies reminisces on adolescent regrets and Sarah MacManus draws a fine line between lust and passion in a tale of art and angst in the Midwest. Lyrical contributors this month are Adam Franklin-Williams and Moist Bamboo of Welsh acoustical pop group Toy Horses whose refrains run the emotional scale of heart-breaking pathos to whimsical self-satire. Poetry selections for July include the editor of Tiger's Eye poetry journal, Colette Jonopulos. as well as novelist David LaBounty, philosopher Duane Locke, Colin James, Joseph Goosey, Kat Lillian Steiger, Richard Fein and the Senryu-like gems from poet and composer Suchoon Mo. Each contributor featured in the July issue takes a turn at giving the reader a glimpse into the human condition. Different voices, different viewpoints, all a part of the story that is the human experience. “Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.” ~ Hannah Arendt Fawn Neun EXECUTIVE EDITOR fawn@vagabondagepress.com |
| Volume One - Issue Two - July 2008 |
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