Stick-to-itiveness…determination…dedication…all are characteristics that are conjoined with perseverance. So, what does this use of words have to do with aaduna? Well there are individuals who submit work to us, and in the final analysis, are not transitioned to the role of contributor. We encourage such folk to re-visit with us and submit again. And sometimes those second efforts are not successful. Some folks persevere, some do not. Getting published is a challenge that requires perseverance. But it seems that achieving success in any field or endeavor is rooted in the ability not to give up, not to walk away, not to despair and feel inadequate. Achieving success is rooted in making the necessary adjustments if there are set-backs in reaching any goal and navigating bumps in the road.  Anita Nahal, Ph.D., CDP (photo provided) With that said, we kick off promoting aaduna's summer issue contributors by catching up with Anita Nahal, Ph.D., CDP. So, sit...

Christine Green (google image) W riter and a former contributor to aaduna, Christine Green recently attended the Pink Door Writing Retreat in Rochester, New York (USA.) This annual retreat is exclusively for women of color, and is designed to promote community and discussion among writers often excluded from other less inclusive retreats and workshops. The four day retreat concluded on Saturday, July 30th with a reading at Rochester's "Poetry & Pie" hosted by Rachel McKibbens and Jacob Rakovan. Ms. Green described the event as a "weekend of rich magic. Thick, glittery, potent, poetic magic. ‪Pink Door 2016 opened my heart and my eyes. I'm changed." For further information about Pink Door visit: http://thepinkdoorwomenswritingretreat.tumblr.com/ Follow the hashtag #Pinkdoor2016 on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for posts and photos of the retreat and reading. Christine Green also founded, and coordinates "Words on the Verge,...

From carnivals to weather reports to newspaper articles throughout the USA, this is the time of year we celebrate seven words of a song that describes what this season is about, “those lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer.”   https://youtu.be/JTsx-wLq2vY When he was alive, successful recording artist, international performer, and TV personality, Nat King Cole had a hit record with the song titled with those seven words composed by Hans Carste (music) and Charles Tobias (words.)  And some of you may even remember that Engelbert Humperdink also had a hit record when he put his interpretation of the song into the public domain.  Whether it is Cole or Humperdink, many of us have crooned other parts of that song,  “…Those days of soda and pretzels and beer…         Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer              Just fill your basket full of...