My latest poem, Death of Narcissus, is in Decanto Issue 56.
Reading Decanto Issue 56 en route…
…What is a shed? What do you dump in your shed? How many sheds do you have in your life?…
Read Joseph Robert’s new short story, Best Taste, in Kaleidotrope this month. It’s an eclectic dark fantasy inspired by Japanese horror. Love the great twist near the end! 🙂
I heard somewhere that baseball players turn their socks inside out before a game, to ensure good success (this might be completely off base – apologies for the bad pun!) I’ve never heard of such a ritual for good luck in the writing world. But personally, when I send off a submission by post, I have my own little ritual – a kiss on the envelope for good luck. Fair enough, I haven’t noticed any improvement in my chances with a submission when I do it, and in fact, I’m more of a cynic than a superstitious type of person, but it’s become something of a habit for me over the years. Maybe I’m simply too sensitive. I think I’ll just go off and write some poems about sunsets and serene oceans now…!
Poetry this month – ‘Eternity in a Chasm’, in issue 55 of Decanto.
Literary life... Decanto Issue 55 and manuscript draft with suggested revisions!
This poem was inspired by Venus Figurines. But, more to the point, what happened to them after the religion died?
I like to experiment with a variety of styles in my writing. Symbolic, esoteric, subversive – the main thing that I try to achieve as a writer is to offer the reader a didactic story or poem as a bit of food for thought (with a lot of salt thrown on top!). When I read a story myself, I prefer it to have ambiguity in meaning. A reader should be be able to take away their own interpretation of the art – the food may be there for thought, but it shouldn’t be offered up so readily on a silver platter!
…as a young woman
Self-portrait: ink on paper
Poetry this month – ‘Glass Vision’, ‘Idle’, ‘Fodder’ and ‘Damsel’, in Issue 17 of Sarasvati
Issue 17 of Sarasvati
I’ve heard it said before that a first time writer will sometimes see their own experiences unintentionally coming through in their work, so that it ends up becoming a biography of sorts, or even worse, a journal or emotion dumpster. I guess it was kind of the other way round for me – my first work was too absurd to be real life and in a way, was a form of artistic escapism. Makes sense, since I do spend a good 60% of my day in my own head.
Recently though, I’ve been doing a lot more outpouring as a result of inward analysis. I’ve tried to do it as more of an exploration, rather than a pretentious soul-cleansing that really wouldn’t benefit anyone other than myself. After all, my prime motivation as a writer is to have an audience. My forthcoming poems focus on self-exploration, especially Belemnite Soup, coming out in Inclement over the summer, and a few more on understanding oneself, like in a selection to appear in Sarasvati, over July/August.
As Socrates so aptly put it: the unexamined life is not worth living. Too true!
Leilanie Stewart 