Ascent Aspirations Magazine Print Anthology Eight Winter 2010

Contributors

Peter Austin is a New Formalist poet who lives with his wife and three daughters in Toronto, where he teaches English at Seneca College. Over a hundred and fifty of his poems have been published, in magazines and anthologies in Canada (including Queen’s Quarterly, The Dalhousie Review, CV2, The Prairie Journal, Sonnetto Poesia and The Eclectic Muse) the USA and several other countries.

Helen Bar-Lev:Born New York 1942, in Israel for 40 years, 85+ exhibitions of her watercolour landscapes. Poems and artwork in numerous online and print anthologies. Cyclamens and Swords and other poems about the land of Israel, with Johnmichael Simon. In Moonlight the Sky Will Slide with Katherine L. Gordon. Senior Editor of Cyclamens and Swords Publishing, Former editor-in-chief of Voices Israel Annual Anthology.

John Barta:Born in Budapest, 1941. Made his escape, 1956. Immigrated to Canada, 1957. Honours BA in history, 1963. Married: 1964 to ?. Taught history, English, drama 1964 to 1996. Fathered two name-prolongers, and a humongous amount of prose and poetry, 3.71% of which has been published in hIBrow magazines. Some name dropping: Ascent Aspirations, New Quarterly, Event, Windsor Review, The Saving Bannister. Member of the Green Party of Canada.

Susan Braley lives in Victoria, BC, where she writes poetry and fiction. Her poems have been published in the anthology, Madwoman in the Academy and in Canadian Woman Studies and Island Writer. She has just completed Falling Home, a novel which challenges definitions of home in personal, cultural and virtual settings. Her short fiction has been published by the Harpweaver and the Canadian Writers’ Collective.

April Bulmer has published six books and four chapbooks. Her most recent is The Goddess Psalms (Serengeti Press). She is an award-winning poet who has published widely in journals such as the Malahat Review, Arc, Harvard University’s Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Prism international and the Anglican Theological Review. She is interested in many forms of spirituality and holds Masters Degrees in religious studies and theological studies as well as creative writing. April lives in Cambridge, Ontario with her dog Lichee.

Jay Chollick has a cranky aversion to formal Bios, but, capitulating to amiable insistence, here are some rambling facts: extensive feature readings throughout NYC and environs, out-of-state as well; appears frequently on TV and Radio; is a many-time recipient of prizes and awards. His work, published extensively in prominent literary journals over a period of many years, but that’s enough—finis, the final word, and it’s a gem.

Laura Cleary is a twenty-four year old Irish girl living in Dublin. She has been pursuing a PhD in synthetic inorganic chemistry for the past four years and has turned to writing in an attempt to ward off insanity. She has been published in DCU’s 2008 anthology, Sleepless Nights and a couple of scientific journals. Her interests include poetry, modern and classic fiction, chemistry, poi, dresses, vodka and hugging strangers.

Cynthia P. Colby: Brought up in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Cynthia P. Colby spend 20 years in radio news and now runs her own multi-media promotion and marketing business in Kitchener, Ontario, partnered with her black cat, Misha. While she does voicing and corporate writing for a living, she is thrilled at having a chance to express herself creatively in this issue.

DB Cox is a blues musician/writer from South Carolina. He can often be found in the early-morning hours bent over a Fender Stratocaster guitar in roadhouses, honky tonks, and juke joints throughout the south. His poems and short stories have been published extensively in the small press in the US and abroad. He has published five books of poetry: Passing For Blue, Lowdown, Ordinary Sorrows, Empty Frames, and Nightwatch.

Joan Donaldson-Yarmey was born in Vancouver, B.C. She has had seven travel books about Alberta, B.C., and the Yukon and Alaska, as well as several travel and historical articles, short stories and poems, published. Her first murder mystery, titled Illegally Dead, was published in 2008. Joan currently lives on a small acreage on Vancouver Island, with her husband, one dog, and five cats.

Telka Duxbury was born in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia and was raised on Judy Blume, Burl Ives, and smoked salmon. She lives with her son in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.

Alvin Ens A retired high school English teacher, Ens writes poetry, short fiction, family history, a religious column, and other prose articles. He has been published in religious and secular journals and on the web. He has written five books and received Word Guild Canada awards for three of them. He enters a variety of contest and wins or is short listed just often enough to keep him writing.

Jann Everard lives in Toronto. Her personal essays, poetry and short fiction have appeared in the Globe and Mail, Existere, Storyteller, The Toronto Quarterly and Threads, in the anthology Ten Stories High, and online at Glossolalia Flash Fiction, 4 and 20 Poetry and elsewhere. Fiction and non-fiction are forthcoming in The Los Angeles Review and The Nashwaak Review. Jann keeps busy feeding her athletic children, who occasionally morph into musicians.

Jenny Fjellgaard has published in multi-genres, for both children and adults. Most notably, she’s written in the voice of a male logger (“Dirty Shade of Blue,” in Islands West: Stories From the Coast), a feminist rant (“Searching for Recognition/Re-Cognition,” in Netherwords), and humour for children (“Hannah Palindrome” and “Recipe for Disaster,” in Crow Toes Quarterly). Her most recent publication (“The Body Tale,” in Chameleon), is a socially-conscious young-adult humourous-feminist-fairytale.

Lorraine Gane is a poet, writer, teacher, and editor. Her poems, articles, essays, and reviews have been widely published. She is the author of Even the Slightest Touch Thunders on My Skin, and is now working on a new volume, The Blue Halo. She teaches writing through online courses, private workshops and universities such as Royal Roads.

Jane Garrett-Peat lives in Fonthill, Ontario with her husband, Chris, and teaches English and creative writing in a small town near-by. Her work has appeared in The Saving Bannister and Ten Stories High, both publications sponsored by the Canadian Authors Association. She has been invited to read her work on the Fringe stage at the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival, and many public libraries in the Niagara Region.

Greg Gregory has worked in educational media although his first love is language and the printed word. He was raised in Los Angeles, but now resides in Sacramento where he loves the seasonal changes, especially in the bird-rich marshes and rice fields that still haven’t yet been developed. He has been published in California Quarterly, Rosebud, Windsor Review (Canada), The Aurorean, Amherst Review, and Poetery Nottingham (UK).

Andreas Gripp is the author of 11 books of poetry including his latest, Anathema: Poems Selected & New (Harmonia Press, 2009). His poems have also appeared in earlier volumes of Ascent Aspirations, as well as The Toronto Quarterly, Carousel, Literary Review of Canada, Van Gogh’s Ear, Canadian Zen Haiku, and a number of anthologies. He lives in London, Ontario, with his cat “Clea.” His website is www.andreasgripp.com

Ann Howells is a long time member of Dallas Poets Community, a 501c3 literary non-profit, and currently serves as its president. She has edited its bi-annual journal, Illya’s Honey, for eleven years. In 2001, she was named a “distinguishd poet” by the city of Dallas. In 2004, her poem, “La Resistancia,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her most recent chapbook is Black Crow in Flight (Main Street Rag, 2007).

I.B.(Bunny) Iskov is the Founder of The Ontario Poetry Society. Her work has been featured in many fine literary journals and anthologies. She has several private collections. Her most recent full collection, Sapphire Seasons was published by Aeolus House. Visit www.theontariopoetrysociety.ca.

Yala Korwin is the author of To Tell the Story - Poems of the Holocaust. Many of her poems found their way into scholastic handbooks and anthologies. She had poems published in magazines such as Midstream, Blue Unicorn, NEOVICTORIAN/Cochlea, The Deronda Review, Ginosco, The Hypertexts, Móbius, Poetica Magazine and others. She is also a visual artist who works hard to reconcile two competing needs: to express herself with words and with images.

John B. Lee was appointed Poet Laureate of Brantford in perpetuity in 2001. His work has appeared internationally in over 500 publications. The most recent of his nearly 50 published books include, Island on the Wind-Breathed Edge of the Sea, (Hidden Brook Press, 2009); and two award-winning chapbooks, Let Light Try All the Doors, and One Leaf in the Breath of the World. His next book, Dressed in Dead Uncles is due out in the spring of 2010 from Black Moss Press.

Barbara Lefcourt, of Waterloo, Ontario, is a former teacher of Literacy and Basic Skills. She started writing poetry as she neared retirement. Her pieces have appeared in a number of anthologies, chapbooks and journals. She is a member of the Cambridge Writers Collective and The Ontario Poetry Society. Barb’s muse quickens, particularly during summers on Manitoulin Island (Lake Huron) and on periodic travels in Australia and Japan when visiting family there.

Robert Martens grew up straddling heaven and hell in the small Mennonite village of Yarrow, and was blasted into the bewilderingly individualistic future when he attended Simon Fraser University. He settled down in Abbotsford, where he writes poetry as a quaint antidote to the toxins of global pretensions. Robert has coedited and cowritten several regional histories, as well as an anthology of west coast literature, Half in the Sun. His two long-haired cats, however, do not care for his writing.

SheLa E. Nefertiti Morrison recently left small island living; she misses natural wonders, such as pockmarked rocks, and kind folk but...alas, concedes there’s no rock big enough to hide behind when the local bipeds get to hunting each other with gossip-tipped spears - and deadly aim! Depending on degree of healing, “Marathon In A Bubble” is as much shield; white flag; and “nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah” - as poem. SheLa has been Short-Listed for Descant’s Best Canadian Poem; and Aesthetica’s 2010 Annual.

Lois Nantais Since joining Writers in Transition and The Ontario Poetry Society at the turn of the century, Lois Nantais has written a couple of chapbooks, and has appeared in several Canadian literary journals such as Harpweaver, Room, and Quills. She likes teaching sociology and psychology at the local community college in Sarnia, Ontario and tries to sneak in as much downtime at home as is humanly possible.

Jude Neale: There is power in brevity, says poet Jude Neale. Her process is to start with a larger version of a poem, then pare it down to its essential self. She was mentored for a year with Elisabeth Harvor through Toronto’s Humber School for Writers. She has been published in Ascent Aspirations Fall 2008 anthology, Spring 2009 anthology, Winter 2009/Spring 2010 Anthology, Ascent on line journal, January 2010, Leaf Press, a Patrick Lane Anthology.

Mark Nixon: A Life condensed to a tragically comprehensive biographical Haiku
Mark; fat guy, ponytail.
Left Alberta for BC
to play with Lego.

Diane Attwell Palfrey was born in Toronto and has lived in Cambridge for the past twenty years. She is a poet and prose writer. Diane is a member of the Cambridge Writers Collective and has poetry published by the Waterloo-Wellington CAA, Serengeti Press, Craigleigh Press, Hammered Out, The Ontario Poetry Society, Cruickston Charitable Research Reserve/RARE, & Ascent Aspirations Magazine.

Carl Palmer, a professional hobbyist, full time papa and hospice volunteer, spends his spare moments submitting flash fiction stories and poetry to magazines around the world. Over 400 literary journals worldwide have published his works to include Scotland, England, France, Germany, Algeria, India, Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and the United States, with selected poetry translated into Arabic, Hindi and French.

Nora Ryan is the author of three works of fiction, published in cooperation with Trafford Books: Across the Great Divide, 2002, Cracked Conch, 2005, Marie’s Story, 2008. Her works are also available through Amazon and www.noraryanbooks.com. Her poem, “On Becoming My Mother”, was selected for Ascent Aspirations Magazine, Spring 2008. Nora Ryan is a pen name. The author writes freelance non-fiction under her given name. Ryan lives in Squamish, BC.

Patricia Smekal: After spending many years in Australia, Patricia Smekal returned to her native west coast, to take up residence in Nanoose Bay, by the sea. Her poetry has won several prizes in recent years, and has been published in various Canadian anthologies, chapbooks and print magazines. Pat’s own chapbook, Praise without Mortar, was launched in Nanaimo in 2009. A firm believer that poetry is best read aloud, Pat is a regular reader at spoken-word events around Vancouver Island.

Luminita Suse lives in Ottawa. She has a M.S. in mathematics and computer science. Her poetry was published in several magazines: Bywords Quarterly Journal, Ditch Poetry Magazine, New Stalgica Hymnal, Sage of Consciousness, and anthologies: Anthology One, Agua Terra, Borderlines - Ascent Aspirations Publishing, Enchanted Crossroads, Butterfly Thunder, Frost and Foliage - The Ontario Poetry Society, The Saving Banister - Canadian Authors Association.

Anna Sykora has been an attorney in New York and teacher of English in Germany, where she resides with her patient husband and three enormous Forest cats. To date she has placed 107 poems and 56 tales in the small press or on the web by editorial selection. This August an extract from her first novel, The Ballad of Calamity Mom, appeared in Rosebud.

Lynn Tait lives in Sarnia, Ontario. Her poetry has appeared in four Ascent Aspirations anthologies, Quills, Carousel, Windsor Review and Contemporary Verse 2. She was co-editor and illustrator/photographer for the 2008 TOPS anthology Sounding the Seconds and her photo won first prize in the 2008 Toward the Light:Journal of Reflective Work & Image photography contest.

The poet Spiel is published online and in independent press journals in Nepal, Wales, Britain, Indonesia, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and U.S.A. with diverse works of personal conflict and social consciousness. He’s published more than a dozen books; most recently, she: insinuations of flesh brooding, March Street Press, and once upon a farmboy, MadmanInk. Learn about his short stories, poetry, spoken word and lifelong career as an artist at www.thepoetspiel.name.

Adele Kearns Thomas , former R.N. Supervisor, has authored two poetry books, been twice finalist in Shaunt Basmajian Chapbook Poetry Competitions, and tied for second place in Shaunt Basmajian Poetry Chapbook Competition, 2006, and has published in The Prairie Journal, Carousel, Sandburg/ Livesey Award, and Dark Lullaby, in US. She is a member of The League, and past president of Sarnia branch of CAA. She resides in Sarnia, Ontario.

Rosalee van Stelten is a Victoria writer whose second book of poetry, Pavlov’s Elephant, was published in 2009 by Frontenac House. “The Three Sisters” a composition for wind band and narrator, incorporating her poem of the same name, was commissioned by the Calgary Stampede Foundation and premiered at the Alberta International Band Festival 2009, in Calgary. She recently completed a manuscript about her service in the Royal Canadian Navy.

W. Eric Vandever, from Tulsa, OK, has lived in Portland, OR, Chicago and Avignon, France. After earning a Master’s degree in History of Religion at the University of Chicago, he moved to the New York area, where he teaches literature and composition. His work has appeared in Louis Liard, Tickled By Thunder and AlienSkin, and he received honorable mention in Writer’s Digest’s Annual Competition in 2004 for his story, “Nostalgia.”

Wendy Visser is an award winning poet living in Cambridge, Ontario with a husband and two cats, or is it two cats and a husband? A contributor to five Ascent Aspirations Anthologies, her work will also appear in Tower Poetry, and Haiku 111. She is a member of the Cambridge Writers Collective and was a 2008 Kitchener/Waterloo Arts Awards Nominee in June 2009.

Danielle Walker has been published in several literary magazines as well as an anthology. She graduated in 2008 with distinction from the University of Victoria and also works at her nail salon to help pay for graduate school. She has a ten month old daughter, Bronwen, a black cat, Major, and a lovely husband, Cody, a Sergeant in the Canadian Forces.

Cristy Watson is a teacher and aspiring poet, living near the Pacific Ocean. She loves to take walks by the water, and strolls in the urban forest. She has enjoyed seeing a few poems in local publications, including two previous editions of Ascent Aspirations. She is grateful to her poetry group for their continued support and inspiration. Cristy recently enjoyed a public reading of her poetry in White Rock, B.C.

Jan Wood, Poet Laureate for Utmost Christian Writers (2008-2010) some of her work may be viewed at utmostchristianwriters.com. Jan Wood has twice been chosen as the winner of the poetry section for Canadian Word Guild Awards. Through her business Out of Ink she produces hand-made leather journals from old leather coats and recycled papers.

Y.L. Wu lives on the beautiful west coast of British Columbia.She likes to explore the discomfort zone in her writing. Previous work has appeared in Gusts: Contemporary Tanka, Ascent Aspirations, Spring 2009 Anthology. Currently she is completing her BFA at the University of British Columbia. Forthcoming in the new year will be a fine press chapbook.