YOUNG RAVENS LITERARY REVIEW
ISSUE 11
Contributors:
Duane Anderson, Jennifer Battisti, Lily Beaumont, Holly Day, Judy DeCroce, Gary Duehr, Edilson Ferreira, Meg Freer, Rebecca Fullan, Tay Greenleaf, John Grey, Randel McCraw Helms, Katherine Johnson, Janina Aza Karpinska, Margaret King, J.I. Kleinberg, Bob MacKenzie, MD Marcus, Barbara A. Meier, Mark J. Mitchell, Antoni Ooto, Dayna Patterson, Fabrice Poussin, Donna Pucciani, Fariel Shafee, John Sweet, and Larry D. Thacker
Introduction
In Issue 11, we explore humanity through the theme “interface.”
No person’s journey to understand themselves and their place in a universe rife with wonder and despair will ever be the same. One may seek for the deeper significance of our fragile existence from the eye of a sparrow, while another treasures glimpses of a promised land beyond the reach of unrealized dreams. Some will discover solace, but not lasting companionship, with other human beings. And yet they will still grasp for the eternal heart beating in the space between us, as tangible and red-rich as Dayna Patterson’s “Heart Beet.”
Many find themselves entangled in a “ceremony of doubt,” prompting Antoni Ooto to ask if there is such a thing as an “unconflicted mind.” Our desires, fears, and as Katherine Johnson asserts, “nonsensical fruitions,” all vie to control us. Maybe we are all seeking communion with our better selves. But what will that realization require of us, and can we find the courage to pay it?
The time to meet and become this “beautiful stranger” is not guaranteed to anyone (Johnson). As mass consumption increasingly becomes the driving force of our species, we erase vital boundaries with the natural world. We evict the bounty of life itself and prompt Margaret King to ask, “Is there a planet B?/ The land, the land,/ the lake, the lane,/ the sky, the sky,/ Customers only.”
Duane Anderson contends, “The apple does not know man/ and never has.” Whether humanity can successfully coexist upon our ephemeral sphere is still being written in the strata of the earth. Yet for all the sorrow and wrack that may prove our undoing, we are not done inking the glory of living now. Rebecca Fullan celebrates the potential of a “creature not yet made,” beckoning a zygote to take human form within the womb. Tay Greenleaf declares, “I see the stars move with me and at once I feel whole again.”
The creators of this issue of Young Ravens Literary Review meet together on the page, joining in a new interface of word and image. We hope you will find their vision revelatory, that you will discover your own unique interfaces, and that you will seek to make them known in whatever medium you may choose.
In Issue 11, we explore humanity through the theme “interface.”
No person’s journey to understand themselves and their place in a universe rife with wonder and despair will ever be the same. One may seek for the deeper significance of our fragile existence from the eye of a sparrow, while another treasures glimpses of a promised land beyond the reach of unrealized dreams. Some will discover solace, but not lasting companionship, with other human beings. And yet they will still grasp for the eternal heart beating in the space between us, as tangible and red-rich as Dayna Patterson’s “Heart Beet.”
Many find themselves entangled in a “ceremony of doubt,” prompting Antoni Ooto to ask if there is such a thing as an “unconflicted mind.” Our desires, fears, and as Katherine Johnson asserts, “nonsensical fruitions,” all vie to control us. Maybe we are all seeking communion with our better selves. But what will that realization require of us, and can we find the courage to pay it?
The time to meet and become this “beautiful stranger” is not guaranteed to anyone (Johnson). As mass consumption increasingly becomes the driving force of our species, we erase vital boundaries with the natural world. We evict the bounty of life itself and prompt Margaret King to ask, “Is there a planet B?/ The land, the land,/ the lake, the lane,/ the sky, the sky,/ Customers only.”
Duane Anderson contends, “The apple does not know man/ and never has.” Whether humanity can successfully coexist upon our ephemeral sphere is still being written in the strata of the earth. Yet for all the sorrow and wrack that may prove our undoing, we are not done inking the glory of living now. Rebecca Fullan celebrates the potential of a “creature not yet made,” beckoning a zygote to take human form within the womb. Tay Greenleaf declares, “I see the stars move with me and at once I feel whole again.”
The creators of this issue of Young Ravens Literary Review meet together on the page, joining in a new interface of word and image. We hope you will find their vision revelatory, that you will discover your own unique interfaces, and that you will seek to make them known in whatever medium you may choose.
