Of course, there is Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen…

Crowley, Morton, Moran, and Sundaram.

Well, “Tis the season” to be jolly with ornaments, candles, multi-colored lights, observances to renew the spirit, gift sharing, being merry and happy with family and friends, and being courteous to strangers. It is also the time when many of us just want to curl up and read, or browse through social media platforms to discover and share. So, did you know that Donner was originally called Dunder, and Blitzen was referred to as Blixen? Now, I am sure reindeer historians and aficionados will correct me if I am wrong! Nevertheless, here are our contributions to your relaxation time via snippets:

John W. Crowley (Photo Provided)

John W. Crowley provides some ‘brain food’ with his provocative essay, The Klan is Coming! The Klan is Coming! Here is the opening paragraph:



The Birth of a Nation (1915), an epic silent film about the Civil War and Reconstruction, has a reputation as the most racist American movie ever made. Nolo contendere. The underlying theme is that the horrific war was tragically meaningless insofar as it was fought over slavery. The fate of the sub-humans was simply not worth all the carnage and its divisive political aftermath. After all, North and South were united as embattled Aryans, joined in a crusade for continuing racial hegemony. The promise of reunification and reconciliation in the long run hinged on this alliance. Indeed it worked out just this way, thanks to segregation and systemic racism!

Lauren Morton (photo provided)

Lauren Morton also challenges our sense of appropriateness with her piece, “Scaling the Pyramid” and enables us to focus on the life-long, cross-cultural affects of white privilege.

 In the fourth grade Kelsey Scott committed to growing her white blonde hair until she could sit on it and her mom must have obliged. She kept a purple pocket sized brush in her backpack and made a grand show of pulling it out after lunch and stroking her hair until it lay like a heavy blanket against her back. The teachers often had to remind her that personal grooming was reserved for before and after school and Kelsey, savoring the attention, would pocket the brush with a smile.
One day after Kelsey’s 100 stroke performance Shanita Thompson shyly asked if she could touch it. She fingered the blonde hair letting it run through her fingers and finally remarked, ‘I wish my hair was like this.’

 

 

Sarah Frances Moran (photo provided)

Sarah Frances Moran, a poet, is the founder and editor of Yellow Chair Review, a “must check out” literary journal. Two of her poems will grace the pages of aaduna’s Vol.6, No.3 issue. To introduce her to you, here is a snippet from “El Nopal” for Pulse:
 

The Right claims we cultivated the intensity

of the hurricane, then learned to dance in it.

They never realize they are the storm

and we, the maniacally rooted prickly pear swaying and withstanding.

Entangled and incapable of death.

An unnatural evolution,

to be so strong

            so influential.

They don’t see all the holes they’ve poked.

Sneha Sundaram (photo provided)

Sneha Sundaram has published work in several journals and is a prize winning poet for her Haiku. Her words captivate and inspire. Here is the opening stanza to “Swim”

Swim

I must learn to swim.

When the time comes

To run away in a boat,

Doesn't that increase my chances of survival?

 
And a few opening sentences from “Draupadi”

I’m still here. Stuck between walls that close in. Like hands on her saree, pulling, tugging at every last shred of my faith in man. How can a person be wagered for dice?

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So, the giant universal wall clock in the elves’ workshop is winding down the final hours; the sleigh is being loaded; last minute shopping sprees are becoming exhaustive... procrastinating stalwarts are just getting ready to traverse the mall’s shops; everyone just wants to get home and relax.

We are big on relaxation.




You relax. We will give you more snippets to read. Come back for more!

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aaduna - a timeless exploration into words and images - is a globally read, multi-cultural, and diverse online literary and visual arts journal established in 2010.  Visit us at www.aaduna.org where we put measurable actions to our words.

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