qarrtsiluni

Of bodies chang’d to various forms, I sing
—Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Sir Samuel Garth, trans.)

We interrupt this program — our fabulous Water issue, which will run for another week and a half — to announce the theme of the next issue: Transformation. Submissions are now open. Be sure to read our general guidelines as well as the following description from the issue editors, Allan Peterson and Jessamyn Smyth:

Like Ovid, we both find transformation to be a basic fact, often taken for granted or overlooked. In myth, legend, art, and everyday life, shape-shifting metamorphosis is an essential feature of creation. The dynamic processes of transfiguration create moments of epiphany which transform our experience. Our bodies themselves — perhaps our most expressive metaphor — are intimate witness to its effect. We are looking for work exploring transformative instances of all kinds with an emphasis particularly on the change itself — the dynamics inside the chrysalis rather than a static image of the butterfly emerged; the moment of Daphne becoming a laurel. We look forward to seeing your work in whatever media and style says it best.

The editors prefer to limit poetry/prose/video/other to two entries per submission. There’s no limit on length this time, but shorter works stand a better chance. There’s also no limit on the number of still images that may be included in a submission, but read the guidelines and choose carefully. Query the editors on special media/ formats before submitting. Second submissions are O.K., but please wait until after notification from the issue editors regarding the first. The deadline is July 31.

Please note that for this issue we are extending the turn-around time to 20 days in order to accommodate the editors’ summer travel plans, so if you’d like to allow time for a second submission before the deadline, don’t delay in submitting the first. Readers should begin seeing the first posts of the new issue sometime in the third week of July, we hope.

The editors for this issue are, as always, past contributors to the magazine. Allan Peterson is a poet and visual artist living in both Florida and Oregon. He is the author of two full-length books of poetry: All the Lavish in Common (Juniper Prize 2005) and Anonymous Or (Defined Providence Prize), as well as four chapbooks. His poetry has appeared widely in print and online in such magazines as Agni, Gettysburg Review, Shenandoah, Prairie Schooner, and many others. He has received fellowships from the NEA and The State of Florida and been nominated eight times for Pushcart Prizes. A featured selection of poems and visual art is available in the current issue of Panhandler, here [PDF]. Allan’s numerous contributions to qarrtsiluni over the past six months are here.

Jessamyn Smyth (website) is a writer in all genres. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and recognized in Best American Short Stories 2006; her plays have been produced by Naked Theatre Northampton, Arena Civic Theater, The Shea Theater’s Festival of New Work, The Country Players, and others; her essays have aired on Public Radio; and her poetry and short prose have appeared in various electronic and print journals. Jessamyn earned an MFA from Goddard College and has received grants from the Breadloaf Writer’s Conference and the Vermont Community Foundation. She’s had a number of teaching gigs over the past few years, and created her own production company, Basilisk, as a means for getting independently produced multi-genre work by local artists into the community. She is presently at work on a novel, a novella series, and a collection of poetry. She’s been a qarrtsiluni contributor since last fall.

We look forward to hearing from past contributors and newcomers alike. Last month we passed the milestone 200th contributor, and readership continues to climb. We had considered taking the summer off, as we did last year, but we’re simply having too much fun right now. We figure qarrtsiluni can tag along with our readers on their summer vacations, appearing on laptops, mobile phones, or in MP3 players — via the website, email subscriptions, or feed readers — at campgrounds, beaches, and backyards all over the northern hemisphere. Where digital publishing is concerned, transformation is very much at the heart of what we do. Come morph with us!

—Dave Bonta and Beth Adams

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