Out of the blue, I started to reflect on my primary education through to high school and how educators taught about Africa, and what was available in school books.  Africa was a homogeneous “country” instead of a continent that comprised a multitude of countries, cultures, and ethnicities rich in socio-economic, religious, and health maintenance beliefs.  Back then, “Africans” (everyone was an African and not a citizen of a specific country) were savages with bones through their noses and scantily clad or half-naked women instead of a region marked by kingdoms, scholars, dynasties, complex civilizations, and lasting gifts to world knowledge.  Africa was dark, the land of Tarzan, King Kong, pygmies, apes, and the breeding ground for popular world-wide racist attitudes.  “Go back to Africa” is a phrase that many African-Americans of a certain age heard incessantly by people who were raised in ignorance and misplaced privilege based on white skin.  Anyway...

Routinely, at aaduna , we have something to say either via the blog, Twitter, Facebook or the available or pending issues.  However, I do remember when the cavalcade of words became an erupting volcano with superlatives cascading all over the place and then an unexpected silence.  You do become speechless when words no longer convey what you want or need to say.  The reason for this stupefying silence was when a young photographer submitted her work to us.  Eleanor Leonne Bennett, (Photo on file/aaduna contributor Summer 2012) In 2012, Eleanor Leonne Bennett was an award winning photographer and a wunderkind for her age (16).  aaduna , at that point, was an embryonic online journal trying to manifest our mission to be multi-cultural, diverse, multi-generational, edgy, and somewhat traditional.  Eleanor grabbed our attention and we presented her work in  aaduna's summer 2012 issu e / The Kuta Gallery .   We recently re-visited with ...

Along comes… Gregg Dotoli , a beacon of guiding light, a burst of heart thumping thunder, a bolt of vibrant lightning (and we are not talking about Usain Bolt,) a reflective  thinker, a masterful poet, the calm after the storm. Gregg Dotoli, artist rendering provided Gregg Dotoli…Just when I was beginning to despair, along came Dotoli with his gentle songs, lines that do sing, that endure long after they ring. In the summer 2016 issue of aaduna , Gregg will present a body of work, “Ice Storm Art,” “That Rain,” “Day Dreamer,” “Leafspring,” and “Flashback.” We are tempted to give you a teaser from each poem.  But isn’t that like going to a wine/beer/champagne/distilled spirits/apple cider or food tasting; trying several items; loving each one and wanting more?  And then you are denied...maybe another round of tastings, but not a full glass.  You are disappointed.  Saddened. Guess what? We will not deny you.  However, we are ...

It is easy to sit, rest, and ignore all that we WANT to do.  I just wonder how many dance or yoga classes, gym memberships, workshops, pursuing a creative aspiration, hobby or volunteering lay dormant at our spot of sitting and resting.  And we say, “I am going to get into….”  Is this an example of a dream deferred?! Let’s hug the example of Phylise Smith , aaduna contributor for the  spring 2016 sixth anniversary issue .   Phyllis Smith, Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA (photo provided) Phyllis took and completed an advanced poetry workshop with Martha Rhodes at the Fine Arts Work Center located in Provincetown, Massachusetts from July 24-30, 2016.  During this experience, Phylise read “Halloween,” a poem which was published in aaduna's spring 2016 issue. What you may not know, is that Phylise lives in California on the west coast of the USA.  Massachusetts is on the east coast or actually considered a Mid-Atlan...

OK.  Let’s get real.  We all (well, at least a significant number of us) have fantasized about living the life that some celebrity, friend, or family member enjoys. While these desires probably do not approach coveting under biblical strictures, we project and then try to keep those thoughts or actions as private as we can. So, here is the question for the day.  How many of us fantasize about the life of a writer?  Gotcha on that one, heh. We enjoy the words, the creativity, the manner in which writers bob and weave, intersect and juxtapose words, sentences, paragraphs and meld those characteristics into a piece that changes our life. And there is Tara L. Marta . Scranton, in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States, is a city “at the center of the Lackawanna River Valley…nestled between the Pocono and Endless Mountains.”  Scranton exhumes nature as evidenced by “Nay Aug Park designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, and [the park] includes a zoo, mu...

When do you read poetry?  I suspect many of us read fiction on the beach, riding on public transportation, before falling asleep with the novel on our chest or lap, or with morning coffee instead of the morning’s delivered newspaper thrown haphazardly towards our doorsteps. I may be wrong, but poetry brings forth images of sitting in a rocker with a multi-colored designed throw or blanket covering part of our body.  Enjoying a cup of herbal tea with the tea ball resting on a side plate, maybe a plate of cookies to nimble on, or the warmth of a sifter of brandy with recessed low lighting to reflect shadows in the room.  Of whispering the words of the poem infused with the cadences of soft speak to a loved one as that person seeks solace in our embrace, the sweetness of the spoken word.     When do you read poetry? Identify that ambiance setting for yourself, and when the next issue of aaduna comes out, nestle into your “spot” and read A...

So what does a Bengali author who is currently based in Columbus, Ohio do? She does what she is destined to do…learn, discover, broaden her creative horizons, stretch her intellectual capabilities, and grace aaduna’s pages with her poetry. Torsa Ghosal (photo provided) Torsa Ghosal weaves thematic stories in the poetic tradition to captivate and embrace her readers.  She brings a sense of intrigue and subtle mystery to the interactions of her characters.  And I know you are wondering about the term “Bahurupi.”  Ms. Ghosal states, “ Bahurupis are quick-change folk artists who beg on the streets of Bengal, India .”   To whet your appetite for what is to come, enjoy the first few opening stanzas of “Bahurupi or Polymorphous:” When the bus brakes on National Highway 34 between Calcutta & Berhampore I decide to worship Lakshmi because I would have the owl, her mount, bring wealth. Running long hauls that stray dogs out of breath I l...