Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of Paint It Black Review of The i Tetralogy Poetry Zoology By Patricia Murphy Framed Gift By Sheila McLaughlin Sikorski Friends 'n' 'at or Ode to Pittsburghatory By Betta Risa In My Father's Shoes By Richard Fein Freedom By Skip Shea Fiction Quitting Time By Barbara Archer Tumbleweed By Thom Brennan Maternal Instincts By Diane Kimbrell You Should Write People Dead By T. M. Warfield Spring Fling By Patricia Murphy About the Contributors © 2007, 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 Copyeditor - Kathy Skaggs 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. |
State of the Union It’s been a long, strange ride since 2004, and before now the plans and inner-workings of River Walk Journal, Inc. have been largely hidden from the public. First, I would like to thank our current staff for being patient with me over the past couple years. Joe (Editor-In-Chief/Vice Chairman), thank you for keeping me from the abyss more times than I care to admit, and keeping the lights on even when I was trying to blow up the circuit breakers. Patti (Senior Editor/Editorial Director), the fact that you are still with us is a testament to your loyalty and patience – what comes around goes around, and I’m working on repaying your kindnesses! Maggie (Contributing Editor – Blog), we do notice all that you do, and are appreciative beyond words – we may not say much to you, but that’s just proof that the squeaky wheel gets the grease (thanks for not making us run out of that grease!). Neel (Senior Editor), as always, you are family – thanks for all you have done, and remember we’ll stand by you when you decide to make the leap to the US. Brenda (Senior Editor), thank you for helping out when we’ve needed it most. Bob (Contributing Editor – Reviewer), thank you for helping to take inches off my review slush pile and for editing my work. The face of our site and our publication has been changing rapidly, and with 2007, we will be introducing new additions. In the coming weeks, the blog will have a new section titled “Classroom” with subsections for educators and parents. We will be offering suggestions for use of texts in the classroom, and practical advice for parents on encouraging good reading habits, test prep, and many other subjects. We will be formalizing the Collegiate Edition with an online classroom setting for participating groups. The journal will have a new addition to the Views and Mechanics section – we will be accepting academic works on literature and education, with the hope of encouraging increased research in education. Finally, we will have a call for authors in Western Pennsylvania so we can create a database of information on individuals who are willing to conduct in-school programs on literature and writing. All of these changes are part of our organization’s shift from being just an online literary journal to an education and literacy advocacy corporation. Although I would like to claim that this is a purely altruistic move on our part that just isn’t true. Competition is getting steep for the written word – iPod, X-Box, Wii, PS2 and 3, cable TV, etc. Today’s youths need to understand the importance of the written word, and the need to be beyond functionally literate to make it in the information age. If these lessons are not learned, jobs will continue to migrate beyond US shores, our ranking in worldwide education will drop, and the need for the publishing industry in general will disappear. Why print anything anywhere if no one is going to read it? With the changes and additions to our organization’s activities, our staff needs are changing as well. We are actively searching for educators who are willing to write for the Classroom portions of our blog, editors to help us handle our ever-increasing submissions, and assistants to help us keep up with correspondence with authors and publishers. Please check our profile on VolunteerMatch (http://www.volunteermatch.org/results/org_detail.jsp?orgid=58479) to see if there is a position you would like to fill, and thank you for making River Walk Journal part of your reading life. Elizabeth Ross Disclaimer Note: The views and comments conveyed in this article are exclusively those of the writer and in no way reflect, in whole or in part, the official or unofficial views, attitudes, or beliefs of River Walk Journal, Inc. Correction/Addition for Nov/Dec 2006 Issue: Missing Bio: Michelle McMahon - Michelle McMahon is a writer of short stories, experimental fiction, and poems. She completed her BA in creative writing at Pepperdine University and is working on her MFA in fiction at Antioch University Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Expressionists, SHAMPOO, Hot Whiskey Magazine #2, the anthology The Year of the Blue Jay, and on the experimental fiction website Cut ‘n’ Mix. She grew up in three countries, four states, and eight cities and now lives in Santa Monica, California, with seven dogs, two pigs, a chicken, and her husband (all of them imaginary, except the husband). |