TODAY

Reading Joan Didion's oeuvre in an attempt to keep my own head together, or rather to acknowledge that it has also left my body, I came upon this, still relevant today--the opening of Slouching Towards Bethlehem:

"The center was not holding. It was a country of bankruptcy notices and public-auction announcements and commonplace reports of casual killings and misplaced children and abandoned homes and vandals who misplaced even the four-letter words they scrawled. It was a country in which families routinely disappeared, trailing bad checks and repossession papers. Adolescents drifted from city to torn city, sloughing off both the past and the future as snakes shed their skins, children who were never taught and would never now learn the games that had held the society together. People were missing. Those left behind filed desultory missing-persons reports, then moved on themselves.

"It was not a country in open revolution. It was not a country under enemy siege. It was the United States of America in the cold, late spring of 1967..."

We are now a country in open revolution. We are now under enemy siege. And it is the United States of America in the winter of 2016.

BLACK SCAT REVIEW--NOIR--AND OBSESSION

I've had the pleasure and privilege of appearing in a few lit mags over the years. Black Scat Review counts among the most exquisite in terms of its look and includes an unusually interesting cast of international authors such as Alphonse Allais, Adrienne Auvray, Paulo Brito, William L. Gibson, Agnes Potier, Douglas Skinner, Mercie Pedro e Silva, among others, in its current issue on "Obsession." The piece of mine that is included is titled, "A Play of Jeans," and pays homage to Jean Seberg as well as the art of cinema.

If you are a reader who is fond of noir, dada, surrealism, existentialism or radicalism explore Black Scat Review. And if you are a writer who is drawn to these realms, you have found your niche.

https://blackscatbooks.com/black-scat-review/

Here's an excerpt from The Obsession Issue #16:

"They sat together on the beach in silence. It was drizzling and he cupped his hands against the wind as he lit up. He had felt hungry before, but now all he wanted was the cigarette. She was boring a hole through his side, knowing he sensed it. He pretended not to notice, and continued to puff in silence. In the water three mallard ducks with shiny green heads were gliding past, bobbing in and out, filtering the briny food through their bills in the mud. She looked over at him again, and this time he offered her his cigarette."

--From "Out of Time," by Adrienne Auvray

POETRY REVIEWS

Here's my review of Kendra DeColo's poetry collection, THIEVES IN THE AFTERLIFE, featured in the current issue of Cider Press Review: http://ciderpressreview.com/reviews/the-numinous-nighscapes-of-kendra-decolo/#.V-XUuiMrKRt

Another sensatioal collection of poetry is Cynthia Atkins's IN THE EVENT OF FULL DISCLOSURE. Here is my review of that in Cleaver Magazine:
http://www.cleavermagazine.com/?s=arya+f+jenkins&x=4&y=12

"In this poor body, composed of 100 bones and nine openings, is something called spirit, a flimsy curtain swept this way and that by the slightest breeze. It is spirit, such as it is, which led me to poetry, at first little more than a pastime, then the full business of my life. There have been times when my spirit, so dejected, almost gave up the quest, other times when it was proud, triumphant. So it has been from the very start, never finding peace with itself, always doubting the worth of what it makes."  - Matsuo Basho

"Great poetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond what he can do." - Stephen Spender

NIGHT OF THE LIVING STARS

NIGHT OF THE LIVING STARS

a reading of
flash and poetry
featuring

Pauline Beck
Douglas A. Fowler
Arya F. Jenkins

Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016
7-9 p.m.

The Mocha House
467 High Street
Warren, OH

Be prepared to enjoy yourself and hang with
poets and writers afterward.

*      *      *

READING AND MUSIC AT THE SOAP GALLERY

ARYA F. JENKINS WITH MARK HANLEY

FRIDAY, SEPT. 2

@ 7 PM

THE SOAP GALLERY

117 S. CHAMPION STREET

YOUNGSTOWN

http://soapgalleryyo.squarespace.com/

SATURDAY AUGUST 6 AT THE SOAP GALLERY

TONIGHT

August 6, 2016
at The Soap Gallery
117 S. Champion Street
Youngstown
SABOTAGE
a collaboration
with Mark Hanley, Tony Armeni and Zac Hanley
@ 7 PM

I'll be performing an experimental work, "A Play of Jeans," which pays homage to Jean Seberg and the art of cinema.

UPCOMING POETRY PERFORMANCE GIGS

My poetry chapbook, Silence Has A Name, is scheduled for publication,
Feb. 15, 2016 via Finishing Line Press.

Subsequent to that, there will be readings at:

The Soap Gallery, 117 S. Champion Street, Youngstown
Saturday, March 5, 2016

Group Exhibition of Women Artists 

Poetry Reading: Thursday, April 14, from 7-8 p.m.

Writers: Mari Alschuler, Kelly Bancroft & Arya-Francesca Jenkins

at 7 p.m.
Ward Bakery spring open studio on April 30, 2016

STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS

ON THE DARK LEGACY OF CHET BAKER

Here's the link to a short essay and poem of mine on the dark side of the legacy of trumpeter Chet Baker, featured in Jerry Jazz Musician:


http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/2016/01/chet-baker-and-his-abandoned-shadows-an-essay-and-poem-by-arya-f-jenkins/

CIVIL ENDOWMENT, An Idea Whose Time Is Now

David McCarthy is a scholar, activist and writer who spent many years writing Civil Endowment, a revolutionary handbook on how to save the planet. To say that I recommend it would be an understatement. It is essentially that treasure for which we have been waiting, an outline on how to change the course of our thinking and therefore our lives that should be a mainstay in classrooms as well as the subject of critical panels in economics, history, and social justice everywhere.

In Civil Endowment, McCarthy outlines a simple and profound economic idea that is based on the understanding that the main challenges of our day--wealth inequality, social distress, ecological imbalances--require a rethinking of economics. McCarthy proposes an economics of compassion that would entail a decentralized system of permanent capital endowments invested for the common good of all humanity, an idea, long coming, that could benefit humanity on every level.

Civil Endowment is a book to be read and reread and shared with everyone you know.

https://sites.google.com/site/qosunimuvi/Civil-Endowment-The-Transformation-of-Economic-Power

ANNOUNCING PRESALES for SILENCE HAS A NAME

PRESALES of my latest poetry chapbook Silence Has A Name are now available through Finishing Line Press via this link:

https://finishinglinepress.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=arya+f.+jenkins&submit-button=Search&search_in_description=1

Many thanks to poets Cynthia Atkins and Douglas A. Fowler for their wonderful blurbs, which will appear on the back of the book:

"I read these poems early on a green morning, sitting in my backyard of wildflowers, oak and moss. Each poem complies with the scene and joins in with a counterpoint needed to overcome memory. They stay with me at night when I look up at the stars and hear jazz from a workbench radio."

-- Douglas A. Fowler
Condensed Matter And Other States of Mind
Finishing Line Press, 2005

"The poems of Arya F. Jenkins open up an eyelet view into a familial world laden with the delicate flux of human relationships. This speaker engages and invites us in with the compelling ardors of language, making music out of sorrow and decay, imbuing it with heft and permanence. The poet shows us the gifts that only memory can provide when infused with the honesty of insight. These spare narratives stir our own ghosts, 'their hearts bleat out unholy stories,' and compel us to look for hope and redemption."

 -- Cynthia Atkins
In the Event of Full Disclosure
WordTech Communications, 2013

THANKS to all of you who buy my chapbook, and who support the art by reading and buying poetry.

Flash Fiction: “A Dog Is A Dog Is A Dog”

This, today, in The Feminist Wire:



Flash Fiction: “A Dog Is A Dog Is A Dog”

FOR READERS

Thanks to Five 2 One Magazine for recently featuring my flash fiction, "A Story of Moments."

http://five2onemag.onimpression.com/2015/05/thesideshow-may-15th-2015-story-of.html

COMING SOON:

A poem, "Ode to Green," in Blue Heron Review, scheduled to run, July 2015.

Flash fiction, "A Dog is a Dog is a Dog," in The Feminist Wire, appearing Aug. 12.

A short story, "La Frontera," in Burrow Press Review for Sept/Oct. 2015.

WRITERS NEED READERS! Thanks for reading!

*****************************************

A REVOLUTION IN TIBETAN BUDDHIST SPIRITUAL LIFE AND ART

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, a Tibetan Buddhist nun who is founder of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery and a spiritual friend, is helping to revolutionize the way the feminine is viewed in Tibetan Buddhism. For many years, she has been raising the consciousness of individuals worldwide to the needs of Tibetan Buddhist nuns while pushing for their equality within male-dominated traditions. As a result of her efforts, the young nuns in her lineage at the DGL Nunnery are receiving the same level of education as Tibetan Buddhist monks studying in monasteries, and this is a historic first in Tibetan Buddhism.

The newly erected temple at DGL Nunnery in India also features feminine deities and this is another historic event, the first time feminine divine images have ever predominated in a Tibetan Buddhist temple. On Jan. 14, 2015, she spoke to an audience at The Rubin Museum in New York about those remarkable images and paintings, which were featured in a slide show.

Jetsunma's work has helped to inspire male monastics such as HH the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist male leaders to turn their attention to the need for equality for Tibetan Buddhist nuns.

In a historic recent announcement, The Gyalwang Karmapa, who is head of the Kagyu tradition, said that in 2016, he will restore the novice (getsulma) and (shikshamana) training (shikshamana) nuns' vows. They will be conferred with the assistance of a second contingent of nuns from the Dharmagupta tradition and will lay the foundation for the bestowing of the full nun's (bhikshuni) vows in the future. This is a huge step forward in the struggle for spiritual equality for Tibetan Buddhist nuns and will help to open fresh venues to the spiritual fulfillment of female practitioners worldwide.

KYSO, A RARE ONLINE MARKET THAT PAYS

KYSO Flash's brazen new online issue is out.

Check out Knock-Your-Socks-Off Art and Literature's site, which includes my micro-fiction, "Descent," a dark tale based on a true story.

Please note, KYSO pays artists and writers for their work. So fellow writers, consider contributing your brief best to this wonderful e-zine.

http://www.kysoflash.com/JenkinsDescent.aspx

JJM and the Blues Narrative

From the Dec. 3, 2014 issue of Jerry Jazz Musician:

“'HEAT' is a story set in modern times that is meant to convey the pulse and fervor of hot blues, and that echoes in its script, the storyline of some of the lyrics of tunes of the period, some of which are interspersed throughout as headings.

 I intentionally wanted to move toward something both new and experimental in this story — which is not about jazz or the blues, although the music and ideas about it thread throughout. The exaggerated characters, fast pace, intensity of emotion, high drama, all of these are elements of hot blues lyrics as well.

 I would like to thank Editor/Publisher Joe Maita for his open-mindedness and encouragement regarding the experimental narratives he has commissioned me to write for Jerry Jazz Musician. It is a writer’s dream to be allowed to stretch her own boundaries, and I am truly grateful to be supported in that enterprise."

http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/2014/12/heat-short-story-arya-jenkins/

AGAVE MAGAZINE

From the Editors at AGAVE MAGAZINE:

And… the Agave Magazine nominees for the 2015 Pushcart Prize series are:

Vol.1, Issue 2 {Winter/Spring 2014}
Sean O'Siadhail, "Big Toe Little Toe"
Catherine Evleshin, "Maceo's Rumba"

Vol.2, Issue 1 {Summer 2014}
Arya F. Jenkins, "Incorrigible"
Charles Thielman, "Southern Moss"

Vol.2, Issue 2 {Fall 2014} - forthcoming
Charlie Baylis, "Along the Westway"
Dana Roskey, "Smoking"

Congratulations to all!

-The Editors at Agave Magazine

PRINT ISSUES of AGAVE MAGAZINE are now available from its shop:

http://agavemag.bigcartel.com/

PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINATION

Thrilled to share the good news with fellow poets, writers, readers and bibliophiles that my poem "Incorrigible" has been nominated for a Pushcart Award by the editors of AGAVE MAGAZINE.

Thank you so much to the editors!

Review of Cynthia Atkins' IN THE EVENT OF FULL DISCLOSURE

Cleaver is a wonderful magazine, and Atkins, a remarkable poet. Please put IN THE EVENT OF FULL DISCLOSURE on your reading list.

http://www.cleavermagazine.com/in-the-event-of-full-disclosure-by-cynthia-atkins-reviewed-by-arya-f-jenkins/

PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE POETRY

Two poems, "Ferguson," and "St. Louis," published on this site:
http://www.socialjusticepoetry.com/

YOUNGSTOWN TAKING A STAND AGAINST FRACKING

by Arya F. Jenkins

TIME TO STAND UP FOR COMMUNITY

by Arya F. Jenkins

Whenever I happen upon that marvelous quote by Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has,” I think of Mahoning Valley and Trumbull County anti-fracktivists, who are standing up for the place they love that is their home and will not back down--not in the face of bigger foes and moneyed bullies, not for anything.

If you live in Mahoning or Trumbull County, chances are you are familiar with fracking and know people, as I do, who have been negatively impacted by it.

I know folks who have gotten ill as a result of noise, air and water pollution from nearby wells, and who live in a constant state of siege due to fracking on their land, fearing for their health and safety and that of loved ones.

It’s not a good way to live. It’s not the American promise or dream, but the new nightmare that Americans and people worldwide are facing as oil and gas companies attempt to take over communities for corporate gain.

Where I live in McDonald, the flow of fracking trucks is constant, polluting the air, reminding me of what is coming, what is here. There is even a sign, just off Route I-80 welcoming frackers to the area.

When I first saw that sign a few months back, I almost pulled off the road. Who would put it up?—Frustrated activists? I envisioned, a shiny, little diner just off the road, serving frackers free toxic cocktails, a taste of their own medicine.

In truth, fracking is hardly a laughing matter. The hydraulic fracking process involves the injection of fracking fluid--a blend of sand, chemicals and water--thousands of feet into the earth, to loosen shale rock, so that natural gas can be extracted.

While the process yields more gas and oil from drilling sites, it also harms the environment and water supplies as many of the chemicals used in fracking are dangerous to humans and animals--While thousands of gallons of chemicals are used in fracking, not all are removed in the process.

Some of the toxic substances used in fracking include formaldehyde, benzene and lead--even diesel oil, which is illegal, has been found in fracking fluid.

Residents in this and other areas impacted by fracking are not just concerned about the dangers of fracking. They fear their rights are being usurped by gas and oil companies intent on foisting their own agendas on communities. But resistance may win out in Youngstown, where grassroots efforts could model for the rest of the nation how a community, even an economically challenged one, can empower itself while standing up for its rights against corporate entities.

The oil and gas industry has spent thousands of dollars trying to defeat The Youngstown Community Bill of Rights (CBR) Charter Amendment, which has been on the Youngstown ballot three times and has been shot down three times, although it’s steadily gaining momentum. It has picked up 1830 more YES votes in its favor since the May 2013 election, and the margin is closing in the CBR committee’s favor.

The CBR upholds the right of citizens to self governance, “to protect drinking water, homes and air quality—no matter what businesses come to the city of Youngstown.” At least 1,126 signatures are needed for the proposed charter amendment to be certified for the November 4th ballot this year.

As I write this, anti-fracktivists are busy doing what they do-- spreading awareness, educating neighbors, garnering signatures they hope to get to the city county clerk before the September 5 deadline. If you see them, join them, sign up to help preserve this community.

As Susie Beiersdorfer, a geologist and member of CBR said recently, “The truth doesn’t change, and we don’t lose until we quit.”

Self-determination is as American as apple pie. It is the reason we got started as a nation and the reason we are still here.