I saw him and his family at the now defunct Electric Circus, an entertainment Mecca that graced the middle of the block (which had become the east coast epicenter of youth culture as I knew it… even tried to get a job at the “Circus,” maybe it was 1963…didn’t happen…I was not weird enough…so I knew the venue well especially the downstairs space that was devoted to soul music and R&B on Sunday evenings for dancing and other frivolities…. The Circus balanced St. Marks Place, East Village, NYC where the counter-culture lifestyle of hippies and   so called “flower children” reigned supreme and the air always had a distinct aroma and hazy aura. So, when Auburn’s adopted daughter and sister friend, Cyd Charisse Fulton took to the mic at aaduna’s May 28 th Theater Mack fundraiser and started to talk about Sly and the Family Stone and her poem that centered on his music, I knew she was ready to rock it.   Oh…if you don’t know, Sly was a west coast DJ named Sylvester Stew...

Ho Cheung Lee (Peter) is a prior aaduna contributor.   His poetry graced the winter/spring 2014 anniversary issue , and it is fitting that he returns for this year’s 5th anniversary issue.   To our pleasant surprise, Peter returned with a different gift of words, a fiction piece simply titled “12.” Here is the opening paragraph: The room was spacious and plain . E mptiness was gathered as if to leave room for people’s imagination s . He rested himself on the russet sofa against the cream wall at the back, as he had been told to do , and examined every corner of the interior. The scent of sterilization struck his nose. Is that what I’m here for? The black leather massage chair next to the interlocutors lay motionless like a feminine silhouette against the blinded windows, which glow ed mysteriously in blurry white. He saw himself lying on it, something he had done four days ago. Pointless. The third psychiatrist in two weeks.  **** Lee…12…...

How often have you had to tell someone that it was a “D” and not a “B?” While some of you may know Mel B (Melanie Janine Brown) from her Spice Girls involvement, as well as her judging on America’s Got Talent television show, Melvin Douglas is crafting a name for himself in other creative endeavors.   A former aaduna contributor in poetry (fall 2012 issue,) he returns to aaduna with an exhibition of his photographic work in the forthcoming spring 2015 5th anniversary issue.   Melvin has a keen “eye” for the nuances of the urban landscape and captures the essence of words through a different medium that prompts reflection and questions from the viewer.   Here is an image from his pending exhibition in aaduna : "Red Doors" by photographer, Melvin Douglas (c) 2015 Melvin Douglas, who in aaduna staff circles is graciously referenced as “Mel D” causes no confusion for us over whether it is “D” or “B”.   You will see why in a few days....

Now we are not trying to hype a piece of fiction by comparing it to the fight of all fights that left many boxing fans disappointed and lawsuits flying.   What we are saying that Marc D Regan’s fiction, “Goin Up the Country” offers a story rooted in cultural and social nuances that many of us may never experience.   The story packs a punch with “down home” language.  It jabs with literary nuances and a boxer’s prizefighting stance.   You will have to decide whether or not it hits below the belt.   With a provocative style and realistic framework, here is how  Regan’s story kicks off in aaduna's upcoming issue: Sparky: First the pivotal fact:   I was burned.   Severely.   At my sixteenth birthday party.   Monkey business gone awry, involving a group of unknown assailants, flammable liquid, and actual fire.   Probably a discarded cigarette butt.   That was four years back.   A twisted road stretches between...

Or is it all the same? Many of us have done it, taken that serene walk through a forest, regardless of the season, and found ourselves transfixed by the diversity of colors, shapes, and images that suggested grandeur and intrigue.   A Forrest in our mind’s eye conjures captivating nuances, bold strokes, and masterful interpretations of things we have already experienced and harken us back to another time in space or thrusts us forward into the unexpected. The images created by Allen Forrest are powerful and enchanting.   His range of artistic abilities and the various mediums he works in suggests a kaleidoscope of human interactions.   aaduna is pleased to be able to present an exhibition of works by Allen Forrest in the forthcoming spring issue. Here is one of his works: Oil on Canvas, Allen Forrest (c) 2015 Bring your spirit, imagination and intellect, and casually stroll through our Forrest.   Coming soon....spring 2015 anniversary i...

Delve into an atmosphere of deceit, silence, acceptance, and transformation in Sarah Khan’s story, “A Knotted Piece of Rope” in aaduna’s spring 2015 anniversary issue. Ms. Khan weaves a story that is timely and full of denial, mis-understanding, abuse, and love. Here is a short excerpt:   I was always hyper sensitive to my father’s approaching footsteps, all the time wondering what it was this time that I did wrong and how he managed to get it done right. My mother, a teacher in a government school was a hand to mouth sort of person who seemed to live under the family’s same roof like some deaf or dumb entity. How could she be so insensitive? I wondered that whenever I looked at her busying herself in the kitchen cooking dinner while father rampaged throughout the house like an angry ox, looking for some misplaced possession of his. She seemed to have sewn her lips together whenever father bellowed at her over silly pointless things. With me standing in a corner watching...

Back in the Eighties, Kool & The Gang taught many people how to party with their song “Celebration.”   How and when to celebrate has been a rich and dynamic ancestral tradition among many people and cultures worldwide. aaduna will give you a glimpse of one aspect of that rich tradition through the eyes of Peter Nakhid .   A multi-faceted New Orleans based photographer and documentarian, Peter will exhibit his work that centers on celebration, legacy, and tradition.   Here is one visual image from his exhibition featured in the forthcoming spring 2015 issue just to get you curious.     (c) 2015 Peter Nakhid, Congo Square, New Orleans See much more of Peter Nakhid’s photographs…soon in the spring 2015 issue of aaduna . Help us build community... aaduna-Inc  Visit regularly for updates ! @aadunaspeaks

Desi or more formally Desiree is not the Desi more formally known as Desiderio who played the husband (Ricky) of Lucy Ricardo in the situation comedy series, “I Love Lucy.” Desi St. Amant is a poet whose poems of power and enlightenment will generate reflection, understanding, and appreciation for the things in life that many of us take for granted. Seneca Lake State Park, Geneva, NY (c) April 2015, Photographer, Lisa Brennan Here is a teaser from her soon to be released poem, “Every Spring” With each winter comes a shedding a sort of forgetting of the year’s growth, labored through love. The pained drop of each shriveled leaf from this grand tree— a quiet, steady loss of a once effortless strength— piles on the ground, baring a collection of affections that have since gone dry. It stands, determined, with its exposed branches stark against the pale, chilled sky, waiting…. for absolution amidst the rain. "Spring Tulips,"...

Poetry has the power to captivate and intrigue.  In the forthcoming issue of aaduna , Marthe-Elise Bertrand will bring you into her world of words and magic. Here is one of her poems, "Deep Rest."  {Three others will grace the pages of aaduna ...coming at you in a few weeks.}   ~Deep Rest~ I tell myself That they don't care what I do, But I can't Get myself to care less about that. Instead, I dwell on the idea that I, too don't even care what I do And for once I don't feel any sadness About wanting to die Or the idea of being gone. At times When I want to die It's like there's no emotion attached I feel nothing as if I’ve Already left my body And the transition- The transition had been in progress The moment I realized a void That something was missing And I have no idea what it is. Maybe My soul will slowly detach itself From this body because Nothing in this world could suffice. Perhaps what's missing...

Gonzalinho da Costa’s poems will embrace the pages of aaduna’s forthcoming spring 2015 issue with a launch date towards the end of National Poetry Month, which is this month...April! With permission of the poet, we celebrate POETRY with a da Costa poem followed by his brief narrative that will enhance your understanding of an aspect of Filipino culture and tradition. THE RICE PLANT I held him by his slender neck To pierce him under his chin And saw white sap trickle forth Like milk spills from a tin. I shook him strongly by his thigh To feel him flail like a fish And heard his hands’ helpless sigh Like sand shaken in a dish. I bravely bent his youthful bone, Which sprang with a painful cry— I wondered how one so green and wet Should so resemble I— For I am brown and dry. Gonzalinho da Costa shares: Rice is a symbol of Southeast Asia—kindly note, for example, the bound rice sheaf in the ASEAN logo. Malays, who incl...

May 29, 2014 …in Auburn , NY , aaduna, Inc. presented a literary affair featuring poets, writers, and musicians who recreated the ambiance and spirit of the historical Harlem Renaissance period.   The affair was a fundraiser for aaduna , the global online literary and visual arts journal based in that City.   Comments after the affair and then on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media raised the same question or statement, “Are you going to do this again next year?”   …“You should do this again next year.” “Don’t believe me just watch.” Flash forward… May 28, 2015 , Theater Mack, Auburn , NY …aaduna, Inc. will be back at it!  In the Spirit of the Harlem Renaissance…Revisited, 2015…doors open at 6:30 pm with a artist meet and greet…vibrant words and live music…poetry, fiction, spoken word from Cyd Charisse Fulton, Dr. Kevin Jenkins, Howard Nelson, Heidi Nightengale, Bobbie Panek, Catherine Poku, Tearz, and Raymond Nat Turner. Bringing the “...

So, here is the deal.  As you know, every so often and usually once in a blue moon, we get the rare  opportunity to see another shade of bill berry.  Wasn't it just the other day that we saw him read one of his works and then talk about his approach to craft?  And while he still rather exist in the shadows behind the shadows, on the other side of the moon, other folks find ways to tell us a bit more about who he is.  And the moon shines brighter on all its sides then what we expect. See video story here  or view below:  

Scott Laudati has a voracious appetite for weaving words into subtle forms, never lingering on or catering to artificiality or pretense.   His “HAWAIIAN SHIRTS in the ELECTRIC CHAIR” erupts into a road trip through life where he masters love, despair, hopelessness, sentimentality, courage, and stark realities.   Laudati’s poems slap you in the face with kid gloves and the emotional ambiance lingers in the corners of your consciousness, waiting for your re-assessment…. Scott Laudati, reads at aaduna fundraiser event May 18, 2014 An aaduna contributor and participant in last year’s “In the Spirit of the Harlem Renaissance” fundraiser at Bill’s Place in Harlem/NYC, Scott’s book of poems is now available on Amazon. amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=scott+laudati free ebook http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/496531 youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKX29FQ34pA   OR...

Does what? When? How? Where? To whom? Check out Ernest Williamson III’s Conversation.   Right HERE:  http://aaduna.org/conversations/ The answers await…. Ernest Williamson III, PhD (photo provided) aaduna-Inc  Visit regularly for updates ! @aadunaspeaks

Julie Ascarrunz (photo provided) Get to know aaduna contributor, Julie Ascarrunz in her conversation with publisher, Bill Berry http://aaduna.org/conversations/ Check it out! Julie's poetry is published in aaduna's current issue: http://aaduna.org/fallwinter2014/poetry/julie-ascarrunz/