Beraha Sellem will capture your heart and gently ease you into the the soft winds floating through your imagination.  Here is a snippet from her untitled piece:   The homeless musician of Champs Elysées Plays an old jazzy piece with a rusty saxophone. The pure sound of his music pierces my heart. It sounds like my cry when we fell apart. I stop and I stare at him; a tear falls down Against his cheek, but he keeps playing. I feel his body shaking and his brown Eyes, full of pain, are bringing Me back to you. Love is killing us. Slowly. Surely. ***   Eloísa Pérez-Lozano shapes thoughts into understandings many of us have experienced.  From her "Distractions During Spanish Mass." a priest speaks clumsy Spanish his “oh’s” turn into “ows” and “eh’s” turn into “ay’s,” stumbling on the precipice of holy words in an alien tongue like a toddler who’s learned how to walk, his moving feet giving momentum to

"On November 17, 1968, the Oakland Raiders score two touchdowns in nine seconds to beat the New York Jets and no one sees it, because they're watching the movie Heidi instead." Well, this is not a NFL "throwback" day.  Watch the real deal...Heidi Nightengale, poet, writer, college instructor, and more....this t'ain't 1968! Heidi Nightengale, May 28, 2015, Theater Mack, Auburn, NY....an aaduna fundraiser.  Watch Now: https://youtu.be/-NUgu8iVfZg Share it on your social media platforms.  It is time to erase the 1968 memory with something real! Help us build community!  Share with your friends,  "like" our Aaduna-Inc facebook page and follow us on twitter @ aadunaspeaks !  aaduna-Inc  Visit regularly for updates ! @aadunaspeaks

aaduna has a presence in the following countries as of June 15, 2015: Argentina, Austria, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, Belarus, Bohemia, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Phillipines, Poland, Portugal, ROMANIA, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam This info is not necessarily tooting our horn but just an attempt to keep it R

The aaduna spring 2015 anniversary issue is now available – celebrating our fifth year of publishing. Go to www.aaduna.org Click on current issue. Enjoy and share with your social media contacts. We thank you for your patience and ongoing support for our community of artists, poets, writers, volunteer staff, readers, social media fans and followers. Raise your glasses! Help us build community! aaduna-Inc  Visit regularly for updates ! @aadunaspeaks

Every issue of aaduna brings a certain anxiety, expectation, and nervousness before the actual launch.   Once the issue is launched, there is a sense of exhilaration and satisfaction, a sigh of relief quickly followed by festive celebration.   As one would surmise, anniversary issues tend to ramp up these feelings pre- and post launch.   This year, our fifth year of publishing, we experienced skyrocketed dynamics that escalated towards a level not seen before; and hopefully, not to be seen again.   Issues on one of our coding and uploading platforms tested the resiliency of our custom designed website.   While we had to take “extra steps” to re-position the disarray to our index files and platform, our consultants, Theodora Ravago and Christopher Gannon of Banwa Design made this unexpected situation an incident (though not trivial,) and not the disaster that we expected.   aaduna’s webmaster, Lisa Brennan, then took control.  She droitly coded and uploaded the issue with swagger

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….aaduna….sprin

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.  Melvin Douglas...

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 that fateful July night and this September night, a road littere

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 issue.      Help u

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 the

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

For our closing celebration of National Poetry Month, aaduna is pleased to share the opening stanza of Kamaruzzaman’s poem, “If You Ever Die, In An Invisible Gondola” If you ever die If you ever die from me - die of death Looking at my longing eyes In guise of a mystic veil, not unveiled Dead drop at the twilight hours White longish fangs, whitish eyes Of the piercing moments Will unfurl its wings of fire Setting sail in an invisible gondola At long last to carry you home To the isle of your birth, somehow Kamaruzzaman's poetry will be presented in the spring 2015 issue of aaduna slated for launch shortly. 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

Kathryn "Kat" Kruse (photo provided) In the January 7, 2015 blog post, I introduced you to Kat Kruse.  Don't remember?  Maybe you do! Regardless, the name is still cool and so is the person behind the name.  Click here to read my Conversation in aaduna's current issue with writer Kathryn Kruse . I enjoyed our chat.  You probably will enjoy reading what she had to say, and maybe even my responses.  Oh my! Yeah, Kat Kruse...cool name.      NOTE:  This is the final conversation for aaduna's current issue (Fall/Winter 2014) Watch for future conversations in aaduna's next issue scheduled to launch in mid-April! Help us build community ... aaduna-Inc  Visit regularly for updates ! @aadunaspeaks

Most stories find closure with these two words, “the end.”  However, with sequels, prequels, and new plots and scenarios for characters, “the end” may just be the beginning.   Find out. Read storyteller Kenneth Gary’s Conversation now available at http://aaduna.org/conversations/

"The Classical Dancer," artist, Ernest Williamson III PhD From submitters to contributors to staff to the readership, the aaduna community is comprised of people who go above and beyond, and continuously strive for being excellent in what they do.  This week, The Conversation series continues with another individual who exemplifies what is becoming the aaduna standard. Starting on Thursday, February 26 th , you will get to know Ernest Williamson III. Conversations are more than just talk.   Check out the chat with Dr. Williamson and see for yourself starting on Thursday, February 26th through to March 5th.   aaduna.org/conversations In the meantime, enjoy Ernest's artwork currently featured in The Borders Gallery of aaduna's current issue:   http://aaduna.org/fallwinter2014/gallery/the-borders-gallery/ 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/