The Smoking Poet Launches Spring 2013 Issue

The Smoking Poet

www.thesmokingpoet.com 

"Words that turn the page to flame"

Pages of Decomposition by Ladislav Hanka

The hours move quickly, and they accumulate. Hours become days, days become weeks, months, years, and then, we are looking at a lifetime. What have you accomplished in yours? How do you use your time?  

In spring 2013, a group of artists and writers gathered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and, under the direction of Sydnee Peters, created art around the concept of Hours. The result was a book, an art exhibit, and a poetry reading. In this issue of The Smoking Poet, we share a few of the poems and many of the art pieces from Hours. You'll see the art of these many artists on every page, and something about all the members of this group on Kalamazoo Arts: Hours.

We have also set aside a few hours to have fascinating conversations with two dynamic authors, Juris Jurjevics (Red Flags) and Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya (The Watch). Both of these writers have taken on the heartwrenching topic of war in their novels, and both have given it a very different perspective. Jurjevics writes about growing up during WWII and being a veteran of Vietnam, and Roy-Bhattacharya examines the war in Afghanistan through the lens of mythology. Is humanity doomed to forever be drawn into war—or is it possible to resist and bring war to an end? Read what these two have to say.

Along with fiction, nonfiction and poetry, we include social commentary on the page we call A Good Cause. This issue's contributor is Jeanne Hess, author of Sportuality: Finding Joy in the Games. She has taken on a controversial topic in sports—the objectification of women. Consider the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated. Are women a sport? Jeanne offers a fresh perspective.

Browse our book reviews. We add new reviews throughout the season, so come back now and then to see what we've been reading. And, we are offering a special on author interviews for future issues of The Smoking Poet. If you're a published author and would like to be interviewed, you may be interested in an interview/book review package.

With this issue, we are also introducing our newest Kalamazoo College intern, Stefano Cagnato, who came to us from Ecaudor. Stefano is interested in fiction and screenwriting, so along with helping us with this issue, he will be our fiction and nonfiction editor for the upcoming Summer 2013 issue. Welcome, Stefano!

Spend your hours well! Read, write, create, add your mark and make a difference.

With a good word,

Zinta Aistars

TSP Editor-in-Chief

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