Of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer & Vixen…of course,



There is Wakefield, Faris, Udofia, and Goodman.

As we settle unexpected coding and uploading tasks pertaining to the forth coming issue of aaduna (Vol.6 No.3,) we still want to give you glimpses of what is coming your way this Holiday Season. So, as you take your much needed break from holiday related tasks, and just looking to relax, consider these snippets:


Jacques Wakefield (photo provided)



From Jacques Wakefield’s “Memoir of a Black Sixties teen”

Ok, now wait a minute. I went blank. What was I in here for again? My whole idea, whatever it was, became null and void. The room changed. My flesh loosened on my bones. I began to see differently than when I first entered the room, as if the room was a mirage and slowly disappearing and transforming before me. I now saw the slowed down slither of sunshine coming from the open curtained window warmly resting on papers on the principal’s desk, and the intelligent looking books in the bookcases behind his desk began to glow, and the principal’s family pictures smiled affectionately from the adorning picture frames. The Persian rug was a myriad of receptive colors. I was standing on it but it wasn’t attached to the floor. I was uplifted.


Karen Faris (photo provided)

Karen Faris  offers a partial sense of her poem,

“Hot Flash Mama”

I am burning up
with things to say
things you’re going to
have to
listen to
because this is my poem
my body
my work
and if I want to get all worked up
about something that is
never
going to happen to you,
that you’re
never
going to truly understand,
well then,
you’d be the woman
in the poem
in the books


Itoro Udofia (photo provided)

Itoro Udofia challenges our thinking with this brief excerpt from her story, “Preparation”



First Daughter sounded more like her mother. She spoke in a deliberate tone. Enunciating her words to work out the lisp the mother passed down to her. In an early attempt to teach her a bit of the home language, First Daughter began to pronounce American words differently. An American kid shouldn't have an accent, look at where ours got us. The father scolded the mother. Despite the confusion and switching of language, she kept her smart mouth. It did not matter whether she spoke the mother tongue or the mumbling tongue (English). Her mouth always said what the eyes saw. That got her in trouble. It also made her keeper of the family’s traditions and secrets.






Daniel Ross Goodman (photo provided)



Daniel Ross Goodman brings a poignant sense of humor to this season of observance and holidays with an excerpt from his story, “Prélude à l'après-midi d'un rhinoplastie: or, When the Rabbi Went for a Nose Job”

Is it me? I thought—are they laughing at ME? Do they know why I’m here?
“Yeah, we had our noses and eyes done, but a guy’s doing it? What is he, sick or something?” Was that what they were thinking? Could they even see my nose under these thick sunglasses and oversize scarf that I wear to hide my hideousness like I’m the phantom of the seminary, the elephant man of the rabbinical school? Ah, there are two other offices in this suite, I noticed, an alibi…plausible deniability…
They walked out of earshot and I let out an anxious sigh: beauty is in the eye of the beholder—yeah, right. And if you study and work hard, when you grow up you can become anything you want. Tell me another bedtime story from the book of American Fairy Tales. 



Over the next little while, we will whet your appetite for what is coming in a few days. So, as you prepare for Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, another new year, and any other celebratory festivity, remember to check our blog for more glimpses into the world of words and images from Vol.6 No. 3 contributors.



More reindeers. 











Even more contributors.



Much to celebrate!



 *   *   *
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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