S undays evoke a variety of meanings for different folk, but it is singularly the day for praise, celebration, and recognition of a force larger than humans. In the African-American community, Sunday is the day for worship, testifying, fellowship and prayer.  Duke Ellington’s sacred jazz piece “Come Sunday” from his instrumental jazz suite, Black, Brown and Beige, that premiered at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1943 weaves a hymnal quality offset by a majestic “use of dissonance” as the Duke examined the celestial nuances of praising the Lord through music.  Decades later on a Sunday, aaduna celebrates the vitality of this day by launching its spring 2016 anniversary issue featuring a diverse array of poets, writers and visual artists.  And keeping in the realm of Ellington, Jacques Wakefield delivers his poem “ Harlem Morning” evoking the same contextual feel Ellington {who lived in Harlem up on Sugar Hill} brought to his musical piece. Here is the openin...

Dharma Lefevre (Photo Provided)   It is rare that you can find a fire performer, dancer, and fine artist all in one person. As illustrator of the new Merlyn Fuller book, The Merlinian Legend, Dharma Lefevre brings whimsical and subtle artwork to visually presenting components of the new age story of the legendary wizard, Merlin.  Dharma resides in southwest Florida but her sense of subtlety and grace make her a global artistic visionary. Specializing in creating Fantasy/Mythology artwork, her art forte rests in watercolors, acrylic, pen and pencil. While a single image graces aaduna’s excerpt from the book’s introduction, Lefevre’s work captivates the imagination and effortlessly weaves magic throughout the book. See Dharma's artwork in aaduna's coming spring 2016 issue scheduled for launch in mid-late May!  *   *   * aaduna - a timeless exploration into words and images - is a globally read, multi-cultural, and diverse o...

Rachel Z. Ikins  (Photo Provided) Catch up with this multi-talented creative artist whose words and images have the power to captivate and intrigue.  Discover Rachael Ikins and go beyond her talent as she shares who she is and why with bill berry in aaduna's next featured "Conversation"     http://www.aaduna.org/conversations/  *   *   * 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. 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

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 droit...

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....