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

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