Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Announcing The Smoking Poet Fall 2010 Issue

Live now at http://www.thesmokingpoet.com/


“A fine cigar and good literature―two of life’s most enduring pleasures.”


Artwork by Ladislav Hanka


I know, I know, I say this every issue: it’s our best issue yet. Thing is, it’s always true. However good you get at what you are doing, what really matters is not to sit in that limelight or on those laurels, but to keep moving forward—keep doing better what you’ve done before.

The Smoking Poet is now well into our fifth year of bringing you fine literature in a smoky ambiance. In April 2011, we will be throwing a grand celebration at The Wine Loft in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with five candles—or cigars—burning on our anniversary cake. If your work has been published or reviewed in TSP, you are eligible to participate in our author’s reading. If you’re a fan, we’d love to have you there to help us cheer in the next five!

So come on in. Enter into our pages and be spellbound. On most every page, you will find the stunning artwork of Ladislav Hanka. Learn more about this artist and sense the mystery in his story and in his art. Look closely, listen … you can very nearly hear the heart beat in his art.

Conrad Hilberry is our gentle spirit, our feature poet, but there is fire hidden in those Hilberry lines—and whipped cream. Enjoy our interview with Con, and then dip into his poetry.

Gail Griffin’s new book, The Events of October, the true story of a murder-suicide on the beautiful campus of Kalamazoo College, is difficult, moving, alarming, and inspires to thought. It’s not always easy to confront the shadow in ourselves or in others, but it’s potential to explode is always present. It is not the stranger we must fear. It is, far too often, the person standing closest beside us.

It’s not just the person next to us, however. It is the world we create around us, and what we do with the world we live in. Olga Bonfiglio speaks to current environmental issues, but touches also on matters of the writer’s heart.

Our editor Andris Silis usually writes about music for TSP; this time, he has picked up a camera. Visit Andris' Blue Note for a photo essay of his native Latvia.

Poetry, fiction, nonfiction are filled with wonderful works. Kalamazoo & Beyond brings local talent from southwest Michigan. You won’t be able to take it all in with one sitting. Keep coming back, and we promise you will find new treasure with each visit. Our book reviews are updated with new reviews throughout the season, and the Cigar Lounge may just be the best we’ve ever had … ah yes, I said that already.

See if I’m not right.


With a good word,

Zinta Aistars
TSP Editor-in-Chief



The Smoking Poet

FALL 2010
Issue #16

CONTRIBUTORS

Eddie Blatt

Martin Bolton

Olga Bonfiglio

Robert Lee Brewer

Joaquin Carvel

Rebecca Coffey

Sara Fitzpatrick Comito

Belle Crawford

Holly Day

Aaron Deutsch

Murray Dunlap

Mary Bess Dunn

Michael Frissore

Gail Griffin

Hedy Habra

Ladislav R. Hanka

Nels Hanson

Monique Hayes

Conrad Hilberry

Lisa Hirsch

Jessica Barksdale Inclan

Kristin Isgett

Kathy Jennings

Gayle Kaune

Raymond Keen

Len Kuntz

Dane Kuttler

Henry W. Leung

Helen Losse

Maryann Miller

Amy Newday

J. A. Pak

Cheryl Peck

David Pilling

Robert Schladale

Birute Putrius Serota

Anna Simmons

Carolyn Syrgley-Moore

Bron Trathen

Răzvan Țupa

Jed Waverly

Natalie Williams



Cigar Lounge


The Cigar Maker by Mark Carlos McGinty

Excerpts From: A Cigar Smoker’s Summer Hell Diary by Mick Parsons, Cigar Editor, The Smoking Poet

Grandpa's Toscano by Olivia Arieti

Mick Parsons, TSP Cigar Editor, Interviews Mark Carlos McGinty, Author of The Cigar Maker

Diamond Crown Robusto #3 by George Davis

Unholy Cocktails by Garrett Ashley

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