The New Southerner Anthology

The New Southerner has a new anthology out. It is the best of the year’s writing. New Southerner is a quaterly online magazine of literary journalism about Southern people, places and issues. They are soon going to printed version. They encourage readers to live a more meaningful, self-sufficient life through thought-provoking and instructive articles on good stewardship of our land, conservation of natural resources, neighborliness and support of local communities. They also highlight visual art and literature that show appreciation of these values in Southern culture.

Editor Bobbi Buchanan was and is a support and inspiration in the creation of Miranda Literary Magazine and we would like to thank her for that and encourge everyone to visit their website and buy their anthology. The Mountaintop Mining Exposed was a fascinating article that revealled to me a tragedy going on in our own backyards here in America.

The New Southerner

MOUNTAINTOP MINING EXPOSED:
Residents, Activists Speak Out

The Local Solution for
ECONOMIC FREEDOM

THOMAS BERRY: How Science and Religion Have Failed to Support the Human Relationship with the Natural World

WENDELL BERRY on Usefulness,
Family and Community

Salvage Art, Eclectic Music and
a Windfall of Literature

Gardening, Hunting, Recycling …
The Art of DO-IT-YOURSELF LIVING

CONTRIBUTORS:

JANISSE RAY
THOMAS CROWE
KATY YOCOM
RICHARD GARCIA
CHRISTINA LOVIN
AIMEE ZARING
SARA JENKINS
HOLLY M. BROCKMAN
SILAS HOUSE
TERRY PRICE
ERIN KEANE
STACY BORDEN
GLAD GREEN
BRENDA MUTTER URIAS

HEATHER T. SHAW
ELLEN BIRKETT MORRIS
DIANNE APRILE
CECILIA WOLOCH
LESLIE SMITH TOWNSEND
ZOLA TROUTMAN NOBLE

INCLUDING INTERVIEWS WITH:
WENDELL BERRY
KATHRYN STRIPLING BYER
THOMAS BERRY

Upcoming Ideas & Concepts

Graphic Stories
We would like to begin a search for people with illustrated stories and graphic stories. We don’t mean graphic in a violent way, but illustrated stories. If you are interested in speaking with the art editor about a possible submission, go through the submissions page and query the editors. We haven’t set up guidelines, but would be willing to communicate with someone with a finished, quality piece of illustrative fiction. Graphic novels are becoming so diverse and dynamic, while this webmagazine is a perfect way to deliver that kind of content. We are excited and we hope you will be too.
Literature that Speaks
In the next six months we would like to begin recording for download some of the content in the magazine. I think it would be a nice addition for the magazine to hear our writers read their work. Initially, the selected pieces would be free, however a subscription or fee will be attached for the entire collection of Miranda Speaks for that particular issue. This is still something we are developing and I wanted to inform our readers and explain the directions we are exploring.

These two concepts are part of developing MLM into something more than what is in every literary journal. We would like to deliver content that will give you a different look at words, art, and aesthetics. Please feel free to leave your comments or suggestions on any of the entries in this blog. – RS

Submissions Notes

Submissions are something that we always talk about in editor’s meetings and it’s important to share some of the information in those meetings with our readers. One important aspect of submissions is guidelines. People who follow the guidelines get read. People that don’t – don’t get read. It sounds harsh, but let’s face it; our submission guidelines are not tough and they are common to many of the guidelines in other magazines. Email has made communication easy and often casual, however, we often get submissions with attachments (which is not accepted), nice emails with no story or poetry, or just work with no name attached to it. That’s a problem. Even email submissions need to have guidelines.

For the Summer Issue of MLM we had more than 320 email submissions and 60 mail submissions. That is a large amount of work for a handful of people to read. We are not complaining, but you can see why we have to be critical. Last issue we published about forty pieces. That’s a hair over ten percent of the work we received. We want to create a literary endeavor that will last. We also want to build a lasting relationship with writers, readers, and publishers. In order to do that we need to be critical, diverse, and inspired by the work we see. The computer, the screen, the PDF files, and the links all facilitate great sparks of creativity, inspiration, and emotion. This being said, it is the work that is the core of our purpose. Submit and move forward. – RS

Flash Fiction / Death of the Forum

Flash Fiction
We will be doing an article on flash fiction. We have had some submission in this category and this article will kick off a new category in the magazine. It will include a history of the form, some examples, and some of the founding advocates for this form. Look for it in the Between Issues August addition. There will be links to articles and related material.

Where did the Forum Go?
For those looking for the forum, it’s gone. We’ve replaced it with an editor’s blog and believe that interacting with the forum was a bit confusing. Who was moderating the discussion? Who could post? What would be said? So, like all works of progress we are trying something that might be more accessible to our readers. If you would like to comment on these posts and our issue, this is a great place to do that. You can talk about your favorite piece, ask questions, and interact with the staff and editors. / RS

Strange Results – The Connecticut Primary

I hate waiting for political results. Nothing is worse than watching news anchors, particularly local news anchors, fill time while they wait for the polls to close. With the national media looking at Connecticut, I knew I was in for a long night. I’ve been trying to work on my novel, and stay away from the television. There had to be a better way.

Before my wife came home, I filled the fire pit up with some wood, lit the bug away torches, grabbed a few beers, a cigar and a portable radio and headed to the back yard. As the fire lapped up under the pine and kindling, the result came in on NPR. With the torches and the fire coming up, it felt primal and simple. The crackle and the pop on the radio was confused with the splitting wood in the fire. The bats came out three, four, and five, catching bugs and dancing in the fading light. My wife came home and joined me and I stoked the fire. I listened to reactions, and early returns, but I was also waiting for the best part of my night. By nine, when everyone was speculating on early returns, the full moon showed beams of light through the trees.

I found it odd that the bats would swoop in and try to catch the sparks of the fire, like wicked fireflies. It was uneasy to watch them pull in close and then spin away, realizing that what spiraled up like a bug, was burning hot. The moon lit the lawn like a negative to the sun and the world seemed significant.

With the smoke in our clothes and the elections still coming in, we slid through the grass with the drew on our feet and the fire mere embers of a night of tempered politics and lasting moon beams still glistening on the skin. Politics and voting is a construct of civilization, but the bats will always sense the hot embers before they catch one. And the silver moon light is like medicine for the soul.