ED WOODS

Reflection

after a lengthy time

on this planet I know

and call home

I gave it a try

and it doesn’t look so bad

born on the proper side

Occidental

in positive initiatives

Northern Hemisphere

peace is all I have known

it was hard to understand

worldly unrest

excessive war profits

forced starvation

and devalued life

over here I had opportunity

and admired nature

sunrise to sunset

a full moon

forests

beaches

sometimes hand in hand

now in senior years

my world is closing in

to local concerns

with blessed memories

in warm reflection

ELLEN JAFFE

Plate Tectonics: Fault lines

 

Under our relationship –

maybe under every relationship –

lie inevitable fault lines, dormant,

some tiny, hardly worth mentioning,
 
others potentially catastrophic –

these lines imply no blame,

nobody’s “fault,” just cracks

in the fabric of the world we live in,

the way we live our lives,

the chaos of history.

Discrepancies of love, perhaps –

“too much, too little” – or remnants of the past,

defenses, denials, needs that shift,

feelings that tremble, causing tremors.

Sometimes

only dishes break

sometimes a heart,

or even the whole earth

taking us deep

into the ocean

of the unknown,

the seismic waves of loving.

                                                            Ellen S. Jaffe

SIX TITLES BEING LAUNCHED

MEDIA RELEASE FROM SARNIA, ONTARIO

Spoken Word’s 2012-2013 Season Stirs Seven Emotions

SARNIA, ONTARIO (September 15, 2012) – Be it anger, fear, joy, disgust, sadness, contempt, or surprise, share your emotional tales during the official kick-off of Sarnia’s 2012-2013 Spoken Word season, Friday, September 28, from 8 to 10 p.m., at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, 127 Christina Street South, with spotlighted guest Melissa Upfold and her exhibit “Pathos (Woman, Fragmented).”
This FREE informal evening includes storytelling, humour, and poetry readings by local poets and storytellers. No pre-registration required.
            “We’re excited about our 13th season and our opening performance,” say Spoken Word co-hosts and local writers Debbie Okun Hill (president, The Ontario Poetry Society) and Ryan Gibbs (English professor, Lambton College). “Melissa stretches boundaries in her photography, writing, and art. We’re expecting her performance to explode with emotion.”
            As a former Sarnia resident now living in London, Upfold was a driving force behind numerous cultural activities including the local open mic AMP event and her own poetry e-zine variations which included contributors from across Canada.
Inspired by theme nights, new optional themes have also been scheduled for the rest of the season. As always, members of the public are invited to share their own works, read the works of a favorite writer, or just sit back and enjoy this open mic on the last Friday of every month, except July, August, and December. The March date has been moved up a week since Good Friday will fall on the last Friday of the month.  
Optional themes for the 2012-2013 season include
*Friday, September 28, 2012: The Seven Emotions: Anger, Fear, Joy, Disgust, Sadness,
 Contempt, and Surprise
*Friday, October 26, 2012: Ghastly Tales of Ghosts and Ghouls (Halloween costumes
optional)
*Friday, November 30, 2012: Stepping into the Past: Historical People and Places
*Friday, January 25, 2013: A Winter Wonderland of Snowflakes and Toboggan Rides
*Friday, February 22, 2013: Petals and Hearts: Words of Romance
*Friday, March 22, 2013: Rainbows of Multi-colours and Multi-cultures
*Friday, April 26, 2013: Poetic Surprises – April is Poetry Month
*Friday, May 31, 2013: Exploring the Animal Kingdom
*Friday, June 28, 2013: How I Plan to Spend My Summer Vacation
Spoken Word was first introduced by veteran writers Peggy Fletcher and Hope Morritt and later hosted by Susan Chamberlain (The Book Keeper), Ena Forbes (storyteller and past president of Sarnia Toastmasters), and Lois Nantais (local poet and adjunct professor of social science at Lambton College). Debbie Okun Hill has co-hosted the event for the past seven years, and Ryan Gibbs starts his sixth season.
This year’s seasonal kick-off is being held in conjunction with “Culture Days 2012,” the nation’s largest free weekend-long arts and culture celebration.
For further information about Sarnia’s Spoken Word, e-mail spoken-w@hotmail.com or call (519) 337-0507.

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ALBERTO MAGSUCI

A Walk with Time

 

I walk alone on the road 

my eyes gaze at tree lined path

the sun starts to set, dusk is falling

lamp lights come on.

 

Calmness settles in my spirit

yet a somber mood befalls me

dusk is setting over tree tops

another day gone of my life

 

Once a young man, full of life

like a young tree with full branches

now an older man with wisdom

in the twilight of his years

 

My walk is done

 I reach the gate

night has come.

ED WOODS

Timeless Times

the day is easy
my mind wanders
I think of our love
a past love
remote from today

I couldn’t wait to get home
light a candle
undress you in tease
play in silken hair
kisses to eternity
covers of pleasure
pillows that harbor
far too many secrets

now and then
I drift back
into loveable pleasures
never to forget
timeless times

--------------------

Sisters

as two as one
bound and bonded
for life

trust never failed
secrets kept in secrecy
secrecy kept in secret
fashion and style shared
thoughts and suitors abound

but stand back
when dispute arises
nuclear eruptions
accusations in jealousy
emotions burst and breach
a catfight to the end

then sisters
two as one
toast champagne

--------------

Canadian Breeze

far from strife
sunlit day
cottage ambience
lawn and hills
lush green
slow waves
lap a rowboat

foreign affairs
are exactly that
foreign affairs
my glass in nearly empty
this is a local affair
something I can solve

now and then
worldly problems
remain worldly problems

----------------------

Vagrant

a vagrant
tried to fool me

stench and staleness
ragged clothes
unshaven face
out of style coal pile hat
open toed running shoes
filth encrusted pants
from waist to cuff
mismatched socks
and homeless stride

what gave him away?
an ergonomic squeegee
salon tan
blonde highlights
designer sunglasses
and new Rolex

JEFFREY LUSCOMBE

Chelsea Station Editions, 362 West 36th Street #2R, NY, NY 10018 www.chelseastationeditions.com For Press Inquiries: info@chelseastationeditions.com, 917-407-9276

 

Shirts and Skins

a debut novel

by Jeffrey Luscombe

 

Available from Chelsea Station Editions July 16, 2012

 

A remarkable debut novel from Jeffrey Luscombe—a compelling series of linked stories of a young man’s coming-out, coming-of-age, and coming-to-terms with his family and fate.

 

Josh Moore lives with his family on the ‘wrong side’ of Hamilton, a gritty industrial city in southwestern Ontario. As a young boy, Josh plots an escape for a better life far from the steel mills that lined the bay. But fate has other plans and Josh discovers his adult life in Toronto is just as fraught with as many insecurities and missteps as his youth and he soon learns that no matter how far away he might run, he will never be able to leave his hometown behind.

 

Praise for Shirts and Skins by Jeffrey Luscombe

 

“Tightly written and keenly observed, Shirts and Skins is an impressive debut from a writer we’re sure to hear more from.”

—Nino Ricci, author of Lives of the Saints, Testament, and The Origin of Species

 

“Shirts and Skins is an assured and compassionate novel. Jeffrey Luscombe understands the power of what isn't said and has created a work that sizzles with repressed sexuality and family tension. The characters are utterly believable. A satisfying and compelling work.”

—Lauren B. Davis, author of Our Daily Bread, The Radiant City and The Stubborn Season

 

“Shirts and Skins is a novel that will speak to anyone who has ever felt the inextricable bonds of the past, or felt the long shadow of family and home places as they strive towards the light of wholeness of identity and self-ownership. A first novel deeply felt and skillfully told, by a writer with insight, compassion, and talent to burn.”

—Michael Rowe, author of Enter, Night and Other Men's Sons

 

Jeffrey Luscombe was born in Hamilton, Ontario Canada. He holds a BA and MA in English from the University of Toronto. He attended The Humber College School for Writers where he was mentored by writers Nino Ricci and Lauren B. Davis. He has had fiction published in Chelsea Station, Tupperware Sandpiper, Zeugma Literary Journal, and filling Station Magazine. In 2010 he was shortlisted for the Prism International Fiction Prize. He was a contributor to the anthology Truth or Dare (Slash Books Inc. 2011). He lives in Toronto with his husband Sean. Shirts and Skins is his first novel.

 

Shirts and Skins

by Jeffrey Luscombe

ISBN 13: 978-1-937627-00-3

ISBN 10: 19376270-0-4

 

226 pages, paperback, $18 retail

9 x 6 x .7 inches, 12.8 ounces

Publication date: 7/16/2012

Also available in digital formats at $9.99

 

For Press Inquiries, Review copies and Interview Requests

info@chelseastationeditions.com

917-407-9276

 

Chelsea Station Editions was founded in 2010 to fill a growing void of independent presses devoted to gay literature. Among the authors the press has published are debut writers Craig Moreau, Michael Graves, and David Pratt, and veterans Felice Picano, Walter Holland, Jon Marans, Charles Silverstein, Wesley Gibson, and Jameson Currier. In November 2011, the press launched Chelsea Station, a new magazine of gay writing.

 

 

Other titles available from Chelsea Station Editions

 

True Stories: Portraits from My Past a memoir by Felice Picano 978-0-9844707-7-8 $16	Bob the Book a debut novel by David Pratt 978-0-9844707-1-6 $16	The Temperamentals a play by Jon Marans 978-0-9844707-9-2 $16
The Wolf at the Door a novel by Jameson Currier 978-0-9844707-0-9 $16	Circuit poems by Walter Holland 978-0-9844707-5-4 $14	The March a novel by Walter Holland 978-0-9844707-4-7 $18
Chelsea Boy debut poems by Craig Moreau 978-0-9844707-8-5 $15	The Third Buddha a novel by Jameson Currier 978-0-9844707-2-3 $20	Dirty One debut stories by Michael Graves 978-0-9832851-0-6 $16
The Gay Man’s Guide to Timeless Manners and Proper Etiquette by Corey Rosenberg 978-0-9832851-4-4 $15	For the Ferryman a memoir by Charles Silverstein 978-0-9832851-2-0 $20	Personal Saviors a novel by Wesley Gibson 978-0-9832851-3-7 $16
Where the Rainbow Ends by Jameson Currier 978-0-9832851-6-8 $20	Dancing on the Moon by Jameson Currier 978-0-9844707-3-0 $16	Still Dancing by Jameson Currier 978-0-9832851-8-2 $20
My Movie by David Pratt 978-0-9832851-7-5 $18