June 30, 2021 | Issue no. vii
IG: @rawcommunityarts
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Submissions are read throughout the year. For complete submission guidelines, please visit rawcommunityarts.com. Compilation copyright © RAW Journal of Arts (2021). Content copyright © respective authors, artists, photographers (2021). All artists and authors retain all rights to their own work. Cover image © Kristina_Nicolina Photography (2021). MASTHEAD: Owners: Kris and Jane Editor-in-Chief: Tori Scheetz
Issue Seven
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Contents
Emily Hyland Post Mom Poem
Jeffrey Zable The Translation
Carol Casey A Stitch Dropped
Poetry
Margaret Wagner Passing Songs
Dionisis Kaparelis
Shabbir Patharia
Photography
Catríona Reid
Contributors
Ruslana Levandovska
Simona Iacovazzi
Mel Lefebvre
Josh Hunt
Artwork
Marta
Photo & Artwork credit: Tori Scheetz
Post Mom Poem
Poetry by Emily Hyland
Smack me with an inscription and say hello on the title page a few cursive lines of a reminder to write poems hot and here real as sleep paralysis raveling me in deeper toward a doorway in a rolling chair while the words get louder help help. Nonstick Calphalon pan-set she scraped lines into inadvertently sautéing chopped onions and shallots with ginger overpower the scent of her perfume on my turtleneck how we would cry together peeling onions, she would turn the sink on. Over and over the voicemail thanking me for coming to visit lost in text threads and cubes of provolone cheese and purple grapes disinterested in her living in her last days. Words With Friends her favorite game, somebody tell my mother to put her phone down in the sunlight under an umbrella spelling words while we splatter in the water her cupboards full of cups and mugs to sip on over Scrabble, the set with our running score since I am seven, penned in various textures of felt and ballpoint blue and black and purple one long bruise down many scraps of paper and notepads made with magnets glued to their backs for the refrigerator as “honey-do” lists of reminders. Grocery lists. Lists of birthday phone calls to make. Things to get at CVS. Nail file, maxi pads, a bag of Riesen candies that are delicious in your molars. Last dance with Dad bald and in her walker muumuu gown were they thinking of their first dance as he spun her and her cheekbones caught the menorah candlelight glowing? Cookbooks like markers of what he isn’t eating ever again lining the walls annotations in the margins with notes like would try again or terrific for a party! On my windowsill spider plant descendant from her mother green arachnoid new blossoms dangle like angler fish lures baiting the cat who takes the bait who socks and swats at them, bites off their heads, carries the presents to drop in my white bedding tucked under the fluff of comforter so not discovered until I’m sliding my feet into the covers in darkness and feel the tickle and shriek. She would not like that analogy did not like things like moths or cicada shells would not like the unalphabetized spices leveled and unracked on my random kitchen shelves.
A Stitch Dropped
Poetry by Carol Casey
What is it like to live without this constant weaving of heart strings into latticework, hammock, macrame, noose? Each strand evolves as I gather, try to blend the many colors, smooth the edges. Feeling, thought, solar plexus, weave into a whole built upon that first thread, the umbilical cord, never cut completely, still there though I have walked away and you have walked away. You left behind a hole, a stitch dropped, never really mended.
Poetry by Jeffrey Zable
It roughly translates to I spit on your shadow, cook your own stinkin’ hamburger, or cross me off your damn list. You can basically interpret to fit the situation. You can also call your doctor and see if he’ll meet you through zoom for the pain in your head that means you either have a tumor or bad memories that started when you first came out of the womb. Either way, you’ll probably get through it for at least another day, which you’ve been telling yourself is better than nothing, when you consider the alternative. . .
The Translation
Passing Songs
I. Wisteria blows in the wind on my whitewashed porch its garlands tremble like bells adorning a dancer’s hips. II. There it is tire tracks from a car lines as indelible as the ones on my palm visible remnants of the past in front of me. III. What birds will sing at my passing? Doves cooing at dawn, or crows in a cornfield before it snows?
Poetry by Margaret Wagner
Photo credit: Kristina Nicolina
Margaret Wagner Margaret Wagner is a writer, dancer, and artist who has written articles for World Screen and won three Travelers’ Tales Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing. She has studied with Ellen Bass, Marie Howe, Jericho Brown, and Julia Cameron, in addition to conscious dance pioneers Gabrielle Roth and Anna Halprin. Margaret is the founder of WRITE IN THE BEATTM, workshops that pair mindful movement with written poetry and visual art. She graduated with a B.A. in American Studies from Mount Holyoke College and attended the public sessions of Dominican University of California’s MFA creative writing courses and the AWP Conference 2019 (Portland, OR). She has served as visiting faculty at the Omega Institute, Kripalu, and Mount Holyoke College and is a certified Open Floor and 5Rhythms® dance teacher. Her work has been published in Cacti Fur. Jeffrey Zable Jeffrey Zable is a teacher and conga drummer who plays Afro Cuban Folkloric music for dance classes and Rumbas around the San Francisco Bay Area. His poetry, fiction, and non-fiction have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines and anthologies. Recent writing in Red Eft, Awkward Mermaid, Ink In Thirds, Alba, Corvus,Tower Journal, Uppagus, After the Pause, Spelk, Chrome Baby, Former Cactus and many others. In 2017 he was nominated for both The Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize. Carol Casey Carol Casey lives in Blyth, Ontario, Canada. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and has appeared in The Prairie Journal,The Anti-Langourous Project, Please See Me, Front Porch Review, Cypress, Vita Brevis and others, including a number of anthologies, most recently,i am what becomes of broken branch and We Are One: Poems From the Pandemic. Facebook: @ccaseypoetry; Twitter: @ccasey_carol; Webpage: https://learnforlifepotential.com/home-2/poetry/ Emily Hyland Emily Hyland’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming inApple Valley Review, armarolla,Belle Ombre, Belletrist Magazine, The Brooklyn Review, The Conglomerate, Free State Review, Mount Hope Magazine, Neologism Poetry Journal, Sixfold, Palette Poetry, The Virginia Normal, and Stretching Panties. A restauranteur and English professor from New York City, she received her MFA in poetry and her MA in English education from Brooklyn College. Her cookbook, Emily: The Cookbook,was published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, in 2018. She is a member of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and studies writing with Mirabai Starr at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Emily is the co-founder of the national restaurant groups Pizza Loves Emily and Emmy Squared Pizza. Ruslana Levandovska Ruslana Levandovska is a contemporary fine artist who practices visual fine art with an emphasis on representational style. The technique is influenced by various art practices from Old Masters and the New. She has studied with various masters that honed her classical technique and thereafter self-learned to combine the available knowledge into the work that is seen today. Ruslana explores the human condition, emotions, and the nature of who we are through her work. Ruslana has exhibited internationally in solo and group exhibitions, she has won multiple awards for her art, her pieces have also been published in various magazines and journals worldwide. Instagram: http://instagram.com/ruslanalev FaceBook art page: facebook.com/ruslanalev.art Dionisis Kaparelis Dionisis Kaparelis is a 31 year-old Greek nature, landscape & natural-light-portrait amateur photographer who captures when he finds free time since 2016, using only prime lenses. He grew up in Zakynthos Island and family is a key priority in his life. Dionisis also loves traveling, gymnastics and studying ancient Greek philosophy. Currently, he is an MSc Risk, Disaster & Crisis Managment student of University of Athens. You can find his photography on instagram: @a_journeyer_who_captures Catrìona Reid Catrìona Reid is a Scottish artist based on the west coast, currently developing a new body of work to describe and share the awe felt in our landscape. Views and spaces that have been experienced are translated into ink with both movement and crisp detail combined. www.catrionareid.scot https://www.instagram.com/catrionareid.scot?r=nametag https://www.facebook.com/ScotsPineTrees/ Shabbir Patharia Shabbir Patharia is a 19 year old ambitious photographer and traveler who want to see the whole world and capture it in his camera. Photography and traveling has always been his passion and something he was always curious and excited about. He is from Pune, India. Instagram- @pathariashabbir Mel Lefebvre Mel Lefebvre is a Canadian photographer who is inspired by the marvels of nature. Regardless of what is happening in the world, flowers still bloom, rivers still pass by mountains, and abandoned fences provide a macabre reminder of human ingenuity. Mel’s background in journalism and environmental science informs her photography, and she is constantly striving to capture the world’s small, important details. Instagram @melllfoto Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/mlynnebean/ To purchase prints: https://mellefebvre.picfair.com/ Josh Hunt My name is Josh Hunt (27), I live in Leeds (UK) and I am an amateur photographer who loves landscape shots. I shoot solely on a 35mm prime lens and am developing my skills slowly but surely. Instagram link:www.instagram.com/joshhunt0611 Marta This is Marta, always with a smile on her face and kind to those who meet. Living abroad for years but originally from Barcelona city and currently living in Malahide - Co. Dublin. Loves adventures, helping others and the peace that the ocean offers. She captures the little moments with her camera to save big memories afterwards. Her best model is her dog Simon. His smile makes everyone happy.He is a two years old weimaraner. He loves being outdoors and adore being photographed! Her mum dress him up with funny clothes and he laughs. He really loves to wear bow ties and bandanas, it's so cool. He collaborates with some brands. She would be really happy to be part of your team and to show her pictures to the world. This is the link of her Instagram. - You can see all her pictures. @heysimonhere https://www.instagram.com/heysimonhere/ Simona Iacovazzi Perlamadredesign’s creations are born from Simona’s excellence in working Venetian glass using the traditional lampwork technique.Every bead contains history, and careful research in colour and product potential that gives life to a gem which interprets the past and transforms it into the present. Creations which reflect the Made in Italy concept and its desire to rediscover the role of the artisan and local design. https://www.instagram.com/perlamadre_design/?hl=it http://perlamadredesign.com/ https://www.facebook.com/perlamadredesign Chef Jane Chef Jane worked as a private chef for over 25 years. She specialized in restricted diets, including GFCF. She was very involved with the autistic community in Southwest Florida and was, for years, in the resources list for Autism Speaks. She still volunteers in creating recipes for people with food allergies. Kristina Nicolina Photography Kristina went to Penn State University with no clear idea for a major. A close friend noticed her penchant and love for helping children and suggested a career in education. At first, it was a thrilling career, shaping little minds into future learners and leaders, but soon that became too much like "a job.” After taking a much-needed break, Kristina rediscovered a passion she has held since her teenage years. She once again picked up a camera and spent countless hours capturing and editing thousands of images in order to hone her craft. She was rewarded for her hard work with a solo photography exhibit in her home town. Her exhibit sparked a flame inside her that still burns to this day. The burning for the perfect shot. The striving for the perfect composition. Kristina believes that she has yet to take her best image, and it is this desire that fuels her ambition for perfection in every frame she shoots. www.facebook.com/kristinanicolina Tori Tori is a poet, photographer, potter, and editor. Tori discovered her love of poetry by accident. She had no idea that poetry would soon become her lifesaver. Her means of communication, of understanding. At first, that was all poetry really was for Tori. It wasn’t until college that she really started to develop her love and skill for the written word. After taking many poetry workshops with a professor who would soon become her mentor, she realized that poetry wasn’t just a passion, it was what she was meant to do. Tori is also a potter who loves to make vases, mugs, bowls, teapots, etc. on the potters wheel. She enjoys playing with various glazes and firing temperatures and finds relief in creating something out of nothing. You can find her on Instagram: @tori.s.designs, @poeticallycoping, @tsphotography95,