Our Stories, Our Lives, Our Memories and Our New Discoveries – Part 2

Most of us grew up hearing one of our elders' adage about not judging a book by its cover. 

I have been thinking about that adage in reference to aaduna and our publication activities.  I know some folks consider us to be a journal that is specific to serving one group, one gender, one intellectual position on politics, economics, social justice etc. etc. etc.

I invite readers to judge us by what is in our Mission and then what you see in our pages and galleries.

We are multi-cultural in intent and organizational planning; global by strategic design and marketing initiatives; inclusive without trying to be (though philosophically we sit on the side of being inclusive,) and remain committed to advancing reviewed and judged work by people of color and others who have (and continue to be) denied access to the full range of publication opportunities.

We have the verve and swagger to present work by established writers, poets, and artists who are moved by what we do, how we do it, want to participate in championing our efforts. These artists are confident in how we present their new work to the a public who may be somewhat reluctant to embrace new work that veers from what they have previously known.

But this blog will never become a platform for bragging or testimonials even when the overwhelmingly majority of testimonials are positive.  And truth be told, those statements are all too often encouraging us to lean towards sharing such unsolicited thoughts and praise with you.

We resist.

Why?

We rather be humble and give you the opportunity to evaluate what we do without "loading the deck," So, here is the deal.


We are who we say we are.


We do what we say we will do.


We expect to be “weighed” by what you see and read. Simply, we are

aaduna. 


What is my point?

aaduna's stage is always set for dynamic voices, and in every issue we endeavor to present those fervent voices. So, after this lengthy preamble and somewhat different introduction, you are invited to delve into the intricate complexities of our shared existence to reflect through the words of

Greene and Bhuvaneswar.

They make reading enjoyable and thought provoking!

Mark Greene (photo provided)

Here is the opening snippet from Mark Greene’s story, “The Snows of August”

It was during his forty-sixth consecutive day of Christmas that Travis decided to tie a noose in the rope he’d secured to the overhanging pipe in the utility room.

He was thinking about the height of the pipe, and whether he would need to remove his trainers in order to avoid his feet from touching the floor, when a customer approached the bar. 

‘Can I have three eggnogs, two mulled wines and a mince pie, please?’

‘No problem,’ said Travis, opening the fridge and retrieving the container filled with eggnog.

The customer was an elderly woman, comfortably past seventy, with a long face and a smile which seemed scared of stretching her heavily-applied lipstick. ‘It really does feel like Christmas in here,’ she said as she settled her purse onto the tinsel-laced bar.

‘That’s the intention,’ replied Travis, having poured the first drink. 

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Physicians heal us. Their knowledge make most of our bodily or mental maladies and discomforts go away or become bearable so we can continue to live a spirited though measured life. When a physician is also a creative writer, we better understand the inherent abilities of each of us to master more than one character defining ability.  And when that person can easily address nonfiction and is poised to share a personal essay, all of us become beneficiaries of enrichment and new knowledge.

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Dr. Chaya Bhuvaneswar (photo provided)

Here is a snippet from Dr. Chaya Bhuvaneswar’s essay titled, “Why Alexander Chee’s Novel Edinburgh (2001) Made Me Glad to Cry.”

i.

Years ago, before I earned a living, I loved reading fiction. In one vaguely-defined graduate study program after another (Sanskrit? Sort of. South Asian Studies? Around there), I felt happiest in a bookstore, devouring free books. 

Then during med school, I came to hate reading, period, especially at the hospital, when tears of rage and frustration came unbidden at what I’d done to myself by choosing this. Thrown away the chance to get an MFA to obey, fearfully, the laws of medicine.  Locked myself (by sheer stubbornness? Refusal to fail?) into a program of study from which there was neither escape, nor compromise.
These were human lives that could be affected by how miserable I felt, and I never forgot that. From the beginning, I was wholly in it, a doctor, committed, caring, focused when in the room with a patient. But sitting outside, even squinting into a terminal as I wrote notes or copied down lab values, I found myself unable to even look at a book review headline. “I have done this to myself,” I thought each time I turned the TV channel in the resident lounge by accident to Charlie Rose, and saw some new and fresh author being praised. “I am here because I chose to be.” Instead of writing. Instead of doing something grand, like living for even a whole year as a writer during my early twenties, simply to see if I’d succeed.  I never took that chance. Instead, on a strangely conservative impulse, I put myself here. As a student I prayed that despite my misgivings, fears, sense of being inside the wrong life that I’d have the grit to do it well, that patients thrive.

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aaduna plans to “rock” you with our newest issue…coming soon…it will inspire your imagination and expand your sense of the literary and visual arts…so give us the next several days to do what we need to do operationally to expand your expectations, and then the issue will be manifested. Prior to the actual launch and we will promo our contributors and may continue that effort until the issue is released.

aaduna plans to quietly ease into your e-mail and possibly social media platforms with our special gifts that reflect the power of "words." Maybe...it will be like December holidays that continue to be wrapped by gift giving and unselfish sharing.  

Thanks for your support!

And please stay poised for additional snippets from our other Vol. 8, No. 1 contributors over the next several days.

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aaduna - an online adventure with words and images - 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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