Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of Coventry Review of Virginity Or Death! Review of Imperial Reckoning Poetry Politico By Beth L. Block Peonies By Natasha S. Garnett A Foreigner in the Street By Tony Zurlo Sand Hill Cranes and Other Eccentricities By Jaqueline Powers On Sleepless Nights By Joy Harold Helsing I Don't Want To Be Hughes By Joe Koch Fiction Baseball Games and One-Eared Cats By Pete Laffin Beige By Dawn Merrow Geezer Cage By Scott W. Alten Sandlot By J. Conrad Guest Dinosaurs and Barbie Dolls By Michelle McMahon Burlesque Show By Stanley P. Anderson About the Contributors © 2006, River Walk Journal and respective authors and artists. All rights reserved. Do not use or reproduce without permission. River Walk Journal, Inc. Board of Directors Chairman - Elizabeth Ross Vice Chairman - Joseph Koch Secretary/Treasurer - Geri Stock-Ross Editorial Director - Patti Kurtz, DA Literacy Director - Vacant Policy Director - PA State Rep. Jess Stairs Advisory Board Chairman - Patti Kurtz, DA Asst. Chairman - Dan Lachenman, PhD Samuel Hazo Christopher Leland Edwin Yoder Joseph Bathanti Journal Staff Publisher - Elizabeth Ross Editor-In-Chief - Joseph Koch Sen. Fiction Editor - Patti Kurtz Sen. Poetry Editor - Neeldhara Misra Sen. Creative Nonfiction Editor - Brenda Coxe Contributing Editor - Robert Dittman Blog Contributing Editor - Maggie Koster Publicity Director (PA) - Geri Stock-Ross For information about submissions, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/subs.html. Questions about promotions, subscribers' services, and advertising should be sent to publisher@riverwalkjournal.org. River Walk Journal, Inc. is a non-profit corporation run entirely by volunteers. For information about volunteer opportunities and internships, visit VolunteerMatch. |
Editor's Note Hello and welcome to the November/December 2006 issue of River Walk Journal. This issue’s poems are simple, but not at all simplistic. Sentiment doesn’t have to be convoluted to be important, or to affect a reader. Beth L Block‘s poem “Politico’ is a brief comment on those who take too much. Her piece is contrasted with Natasha S. Garrett’s “Peonies”. “Peonies” is a poem that celebrates the warm, afternoon glow of fulfilled love. Our final poem for the issue is Jaqueline Powers’ “Sand Hill Cranes and Other Eccentricities”. Her poem is a snapshot, the capture of a moment somewhere sandy, and warm. Tony Zurlo’s “A Foreigner in the Street” explores the wonders of first connection; that spontaneous flash of being when we see a new person and remember them years later, even if no words are spoken. Joy Harold Helsing brings us “On Sleepless Nights”. Her piece reflects upon the warp and weft of relationships; how they are threaded together, and the confusion that is left when they unravel. For Fiction we have close to a “bushel basket” of offerings, in keeping with the fall harvest. Pete Laffin’s story “Baseball Games and One-Eared Cats” is short and to the point, but no less worth the read. Mr. Laffin’s piece is a gentle salute to departed family that makes them come alive for the reader in more ways than one. Dawn Merrow shares her story “Beige” with us. In it, we have a drawn out, odd love story that takes turns the protagonist doesn’t expect. Our urbane, grad student Don Juan finds himself on the other side of curiously turned tables by the end of this tale. Scott W. Allen “Geezer Cage” might be a bit disturbing to our readers. The story treats on the logical consequences of abuse, and the bitter harvest that can be reaped in a culture saturated with images that glorify instant gratification and violence. J. Conrad Guest’s “Sandlot” is about a simpler game than the one in “Geezer Cage”, baseball. The story is a clear-eyed look at the good and bad that comes with a career in the Major Leagues by the time a player hits his 40’s. Michelle McMahon offers us “Dinosaurs and Barbie Dolls”. This tale is a tender look at the way children develop friendships. Our two young protagonists do nothing except be children, and end up colliding head-on with the more complex world of adults. Do our boy and girl survive? Read and see. Stanley P. Anderson’s “Burlesque Show” is story where youth meets adulthood, but this one is lighter. At the risk of sounding a bit too facetious, this one reads like an O. Henry story crossed with perhaps “A Christmas Story” gone wrong. Just how wrong depends on what you think of it. Joseph Koch |