ON THE REFUSAL TO SERVE Books and music lead to more books and music. New releases refer to past ones, famous and obscure. Genres cross over, involving similar concepts, tropes, devices. Writers lift, pay tribute, re-imagine, claim as their own and take it a step further in their effort to tell gripping, original stories. Pick up the trail and we end up making extraordinary connections. Welcome to Connection Degree Three … Time for another Extraordinary Triangles Exercise. The Portrait Of An Artist As A Young Man; Κατα Τον Δαιμονα Εαυτου; Jim Morrison. Three points along a dangerous highway where collective … Continue reading Connection Degree Three – June 2020

Name: Shannon Elizabeth Gardner                    Resident of: Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA Place of birth: Sauk City, Wisconsin, USA 4 bums on a rugby goalpost Why do you create art? There is no question that I was born to be this way. I have and always will be an artist. Horror and the macabre have occupied most of my life as I’ve always found fascination with death and decay. The study of Folklore, Cryptozoology and Mythology will continue to constantly inspire me. I have always had this personality and feel grateful to have been born with a purpose. I wake up every … Continue reading An interview with Shannon Elizabeth Gardner

Collected Plays of Gary Beck Volume I ISBN: 9390202124  This collection of plays starts off strong. Not only strong but highly relevant to the conversations happening all over the world right now. Race. It’s always been a little taboo, an avoided conversation. The proverbial elephant in the room. What Gary Beck does with skill is distill all of the idea, ideals and social stigmas down to the real lives of four differing characters from two diametrically opposed families. The plot evolves nicely allowing perspectives to be explored and a real sense of togetherness to be found. The stories keep on … Continue reading Collected Plays of Gary Beck Volume I

Michael T. Smith is an Assistant Professor of English who teaches both writing and film courses.  He has published over 150 pieces (poetry and prose) in over 80 different journals.  He loves to travel. Cover Letter: Bands will typically cover other bands’ songs.  This collection of poems is meant to be a collection of poetry “covers.”  The term cover was meant to be broad, ranging from writing a different version of a poem (Old Man at the Café) to censoring a poem (To My…), alluding to the life of the original author. Fixing the Wheel (a cover of John Lennon) … Continue reading Michael T Smith

Born on October  11. 1980 in Paraćin, Serbia.  Underground poet and writer.  Published in a fanzine “Green Horse”, Serbian and regional poetry anthologies. DEVIL We are at the concert. We sit. We drink. Fight broke out. Close by. Kids. The skinheads, metalheads, punks. Local madman approach us. He speaks to me: “I saw the devil, damn ! I saw hiiiim !!! ” “O really? I saw him also, yesterday, when I watched TV news. ” We give him a beer. He’s leaving.   We are all lacking so little love a couple steps toward each other just a few steps but … Continue reading Marko Antić

Gerald Jatzek is a poet and musician from Vienna, Austria, who writes in German and English. He published books for children and adults, short stories, plays for radio and essays. 2001 he got the Austrian State Prize for Children’s Poetry. His books have been translated into Korean and Turkish, his poems have appeared in anthologies and literature  papers in Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, the Netherlands and the UK. He runs a facebook page on poetry in several languages at https://www.facebook.com/jatzekpoesie/ Artwork by Gabriele Müller Gabriele Müller is an Austrian-Spanish translator and a painter. She spent many years … Continue reading Gerald Jatzek

James Brownold is largely retired from doing voiceovers. This is evidenced by the lack of calls he gets from his agent. Prior to reading other people’s words for money, he worked at several radio stations from WALL Middletown NY, to WPLJ in Manhattan writing and acting in commercials and comedy bits. Jim has been a part of various improv and comedy groups and was voted the “Funniest Person in Broadcasting” at the StandUp NY comedy club. Currently he teaches improvisation for Westchester Community Theater, and Westchester Community College. With Linda Hendrick, Jim also sings at senior facilities as “Senior Moments”. … Continue reading James Brownold

Susanne Thomas reads, writes, parents, and teaches from the wild and windy west in Wyoming. Besides her five kids and husband, she loves fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, poetry, children’s books, mythology, science, coffee, and puns. And socks. She really loves socks. That’s a lot of things to love, but luckily, there’s a lot of love in the world. When you try to be an island My face grows hot and my ears tingle as I watch your jaw tighten with the stress of holding everything   Alone, using your hands as if there were eight of them   But … Continue reading Susanne Thomas

Strider Marcus Jones – is a poet, law graduate and ex civil servant from Salford, England with proud Celtic roots in Ireland and Wales. A member of The Poetry Society, his five published books of poetry  https://stridermarcusjonespoetry.wordpress.com/ reveal a maverick playing his saxophone in warm solitude.  His poetry has been published in the USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Wales, France, Spain, India and Switzerland TAKING OFF MY COAT each evening is like taking off my coat. i sit down apart from the day and nothing happens. i let silence sing her supernatural note- in the air, i drown in how the lonely play … Continue reading Strider Marcus Jones

John Tustin’s poetry has appeared in many literary journals, online and in print, in the last decade. fritzware.com/johntustinpoetry contains links to his published poetry online. IT USED TO SLAY ME It used to slay me Watching her clean her ears So carefully and fervently With cotton swabs After her eternity in the shower, Wearing nothing but a t-shirt and panties – Thinking to myself about the moment, her in the moment, Me witnessing the moment, Thinking about the perfection of it: A masterpiece of a moment To be painted over and over In different contexts, from other angles Until the day one … Continue reading John Tustin