qarrtsiluni

We’re back, with a new blog-host and several new features. More about that in a moment. But first, we’re pleased to announce our September-October theme, Making Sense. Here’s how the guest editors describe it:

Writers often lean on what they see. But for this issue, we challenge you to build up a world in scent, taste, touch, sound, or any combination of these. We are not outlawing imagery, not at all. We value a clear, active connection with the world. As Wislawa Szymborska said in “Conversation with a Stone”: “Even sight heightened to become all-seeing/ will do you no good without a sense of taking part.” To have a full and concrete awareness of space, physical detail, and emotion, you do not need sight. Take your impetus from another sense, or let material from another sense define or guide the piece.

Please limit text contributions to 1000 words or fewer. Contributions from visual artists are also encouraged.

Send your submissions as soon as you can. They’ll be considered until October 15, for publication throughout September and October. Please note a major change in the submissions procedure: we are no longer encouraging attachments in Microsoft Word. Instead, text submissions should be submitted through the Contact form, or as inline text in an email (qarrtsiluni at gmail dot com).

The editors for this issue are both past contributors to qarrtsiluni. Katherine Abbott just completed an MFA in fiction from the University of New Hampshire, and has placed stories, poems and essays in a number of magazines. She blogs at Spring Farm almanac. Rob Mackenzie is a Scottish poet; see the sidebar of his blog Surroundings for links to his chapbook, The Clown of Natural Sorrow, and to the more than 30 poems he’s published in online journals.

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In other news, we’ve just completed a big move. Qarrtsiluni returned from its summer vacation (prompted by Dave’s six-week loss of high-speed internet access) with a brand-new site at WordPress.com. We’ve kept the same domain, and also preserved the URL structure so that old links to individual posts at qarrtsiluni should all still work. Even the RSS feed from the old location seems to still work, though we urge readers to subscribe to the new feed just to make sure. We also now offer email subscriptions. Additions to the site include a comprehensive Index of Contributors and a new mission statement on our About page. We welcome feedback from our readers on any or all of these changes.

–Dave Bonta and Beth Adams

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