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IN THE FIRE

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California is burning. The world is on fire, with wars and suffering everywhere, and one wonders, has it ever been so bad, and what am I supposed to do?  What am I supposed to do is a question I ask myself daily as a concerned human being on the planet and as a poet and writer. The current status of Mother Earth and of the nation feel virtually paralyzing. We are undergoing a big fire of change. So, what to do. As an American Red Cross volunteer disaster caseworker, I am mulling the possibilities of "deploying" to L.A., even as the situation there worsens with winds picking up, more homes being decimated and more human and animal bodies being uncovered even as I type this. Trauma abounds among those who have lost loves ones and homes and among helpers too, whose empathy in the midst of this chaos can feel like a perpetual shared wound.  On top of that, some of us always feel we can never do enough.  One side of me tells myself, helping Californians in this instance will b...
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LIFTING UP THE DAY

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Since the depression about t's upcoming re-installment and 2025 in general is so thick among my friends and familiars in real time and online that even the best British Bake Off Series knife would not be able to cut through it, I've got a few literary suggestions that might help lift up the day, or at least ground it with hope and faith in our better qualities. Poetry: "The Peace of Wild Things" by Wendell Berry; "Starlings in Winter" by Mary Oliver Short story: "Love Letter" by George Saunders Memoir/essays: WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES and NAKED, both by David Sedaris I feel the journey into this year requires an extra push and this is mine. May we approach 2025 optimistically, doing the best we can in our given spheres to make life a little easier for everybody. In Tibetan Buddhism, Green Tara is the deity who removes obstacles and creates positive circumstances. Much like the Virgin Mary in Catholicism, Tara is there like a Mother for everyo...
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POSTCARD ART

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Here are a few of my artworks made into postcards. Being a poet and writer has challenged my creativity and forced me to expand as an artist. Some of my artwork has made the cover of some of my books and chapbooks. The challenges of creativity never seems to end if you are a poet and writer and must also promote and help make your books marketable and beautiful.                Postcard 1 art by Arya F. Jenkins                                                                                                           Postcard 2 art by Arya F. Jenkins                     ...
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LITERATURE AND ART AS RESISTANCE

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Here's a pic of some of my books in the order in which they were published. The image features three chapbooks, a collection of jazz-inspired stories, and a novel. The most recent is my poetry chapbook, Singing in the Dark .  I designed the cover for Silence Has A Name . And Singing in the Dark  features an image of a painting of mine.  In the upcoming era of governmental repression and suppression, in which art and literature, among other things, will be under threat, creating and sharing art and literature will feel like rebellious acts.  May writers and artists continue to write, paint and share their work as acts of resistance. Create, share and be glad. May your creativity thrive and your words be read. May truth prevail and never be silenced.                                                        ...
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POETS, WRITERS & ARTISTS INTO ASTROLOGY

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What a shock a while back coming upon The Indianapolis Review's call for poems based on the zodiac. What!? Were they serious, I wondered. I'm a poet and writer, but my interest in astrology--I've had an on and off relationship with it since my teens--has never been something I ever let into my writing.  I was definitely curious about a "serious" magazine taking a leap into this nebulous, dubious arena. So I went for it and submitted three poems that toy with the idea of astrology while paying tribute to it. Two were chosen: "Done" and "Conditions," and they are featured in the current special Issue 30 of IR.  What a creative and original task the editor set upon herself. The results are visually stunning and intellectually intriguing.  Check out Natalie Solmer's gorgeous "Zodiac Collages," for example. (A snapshot of it is below).  The issue, which features zodiacal poetry, art and interviews with the "star" poets whose ...
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SOME THOUGHTS ON AI

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I'm not sure what the longterm impact of AI in our lives will be, but as someone who dabbles in all the arts and considers herself a writer, I'm alarmed at the possibilities. For now, most notable literary publications warn those seeking to have their writing featured in their pages not to submit AI-generated work. For now the tone is offended, defensive. For now. But of course, with enough presence and repetition, even the unimaginable tends to creep into our lives. A former classmate who writes scientific articles claims AI is really helpful with first drafts. I imagine it could be. But as regards art, the role of AI is dubious at best. Personally, I'm not aware of having read any AI generated fiction, although of course it's possible, given that it's already so much a part of our lives, and has been, even before many of us realized it, I am told. A well-known poet on my Facebook page posted an AI-generated poem written in her style. The AI version was ridiculousl...
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AN EXCITING NOMINATION

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Was thrilled and honored to receive news today that my prose poem, "With Dylan in Ithaca," has been nominated by The Mackinaw for the Best of the Net Awards Anthology. That prose poem, along with four others of mine, was included in a recent issue of The Mackinaw, a journal which specializes in publishing prose poetry.  "With Dylan in Ithaca" very much relates to the characters and events of my second short story, "Soliloquy," published in Blue Songs in An Open Key , my collection of jazz-inspired short stories, which is featured in the background of the image below. The other two covers in the image are of a couple of my poetry chapbooks. Here again is the link to my prose poems in The Mackinaw, which include "With Dylan in Ithaca," the fourth on the page.   https://www.themackinaw.net/arya-f-jenkins.html I am supremely stoked by this good news about my prose poem today.                           ...
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