Ephemera Newsletter Iss June.3
(Creativity and Motivation Weekly)
Welcome to the Ephemera Newsletter free edition, Draugai! (Lithuanian for “friends”)
Lauren Fancher is Ephemera’s poet for our June issues! You can review her poems altogether once they publish as well as her artist statement and bio on this dedicated post on our Substack page. We thank you for checking out Lauren’s work.
And here are some reminders:
Ephemera’s Sponsored Residency: Good Contrivance Farm
We’ve teamed up with Good Contrivance Farm for a 3rd time! We’re sponsoring up to two (2) writers each for a 1-week stay and a travel stipend to the Good Contrivance Farm Residency in Maryland.
1 and up to 2 applicants will be chosen after submissions close
1-week on the farm per person (valued at ~$900)
$200 stipend
Total Value: $1100
$30 application fee (for early applicants before July 31) $40 thereafter
Invite to Submit: Extended deadline for August is July 4. Paying the reading fee will grant you 1-month paid access to Ephemera’s full letter. Learn more or:
In Brief…this week’s features:
Thoughts on Peter Gerakaris and his recent exhibition at Berkshire Botanical Gardens.
Listening to more reggae: Israel Vibration’s “We A De Rasta.”
June’s poet, Lauren Fancher third of four poems, “Sagaris.”
Our weekly lists:
3 magazines with open calls
3 awards/prizes
3 recent job listings for editors and writers.
Interesante! An essay/blog written by a design and branding professional about the homogenizing of the visual world. This one seems to be extremely apropos of writers and we highly recommend the read and hope you’ll mull over and discuss widely.
Book Recs, bonus content, and our mini-essays to start!
Last Week’s Issue.
Merci. Danke. Kiitos. 고마워 Go-ma-wo. Cảm ơn. Xiè xiè.
Ephemera
Dear Readers,
A couple weeks ago, as a part of our early summer walkabout, and after a quick stint in the ready-to-boil city where we managed a studio visit (see last week’s letter), we ambled north of New York City, following first the Bronx River then the Hutch, up past myriad nameless reservoirs and lakes where the thruway slows to a two and sometimes one-lane road with lights, past old factories and the remnants of summer landing spots for urbanites of yore—the Hudson miles to our left, northing on unfamiliar roads—past Pawling and dodging Millbrook, past the last stop on the Harlem Line where we soon crossed into upper Connecticut, the Salisbury area to satisfy an invite from an author-friend who’d let us use the cabin and acreage as a launching point up to the Berkshires. There are artists and artisans and writers and poets and other creatives interspersed in those parts, some of whom we had the fortune of knowing through our author and artist contacts, one of whom, Peter Gerakaris (see below), invited us to an art opening at the Berkshire Botanical Garden.
“…never be afraid to sketch, write, or record your ideas. Many of my creative ideas are ultimately absurd, but I listen to them and record them. I’m a prolific idea person and if only 30% of these ideas manifest as artworks I’d be pleased.”
—Peter Gerakaris, interview with Fjords Review
Some of those back-country Connecticut and Massachusetts roads are unpaved and lonely. A few doves, dusting themselves in the dirt crevices darted away too close, too slow for quick driving. Up past and through Great Barrington, which has a great little food Co-op, we made good time. Idyllic fields a flank. We hit another small town and soon were parked and liberated to walk the Gardens. We entered and steered to the right of the event space which was holding the Gerakaris exhibition. Past a man-made pond, beneath a patch of trees with ample shade, we saw one of Gerakaris’s installations, which was purchased by the Gardens and will be on permanent display. There’s a video below that depicts some of the work and installation process for that piece. We took in this mosaic (see just below) and somehow it raised our awareness of colors, shapes, and maybe even energies as we strode the loop around the gardens before entering the exhibition space. We felt out of place a bit. But struck. Pensive for our own art, the comfort of our desk with our personal bric-a-brac and notes, where we can get to our thoughts, feel like we’re contributing to art and sense-making. Sometimes being so far can be jarring.
And yet, the mosaic highlighted within us a deep love of the natural and along with that an okayness with our purpose for that day, despite missing our work—our notes that night were plush and heartfelt. Passing a glorious little pond mid-loop we felt a deep sense of appreciation for the lifeforms we spotted, some of those we heard via croak and buzz. Maybe this is the point of connecting ourselves to the natural, to gallivanting about and putting ourselves in sometimes uncomfortable spaces—with the dragonflies diving and the frog heads yipping, some of them sliding into cooler pond depths as a small protest against our approach, gentle as it was—and being able to commiserate with other life. A simple type of being. Humble. Personhood and feltness closer to that occasional deep self who emotes and is without the burden of too much…let’s say, frill. What luck to access those sentiments. Apropos, a charge: find ourselves a simple frog-space, real or imagined, for the approximation of being close to the deep and ancient and vibrational form of being. Something whispers of the truth that may manifest in our written creations.
Dėkingumas!
(Gratitude)
Poetry by Lauren Fancher
Sagaris Hyphen or not, fishwife, trophy, trope: we might as well love our stout, ferocious keen edge When the mood strikes, or the moon we sail the Scythian plain composed of notions buttons and buttonhooks chopping down mending
Music: Israel Vibration
This issue is chock full of things we’ve experienced, although, the Israel Vibration concert we attended was years and years ago, closer to two decades than two years, at the now-closed, alas, B.B. King’s in NYC. Israel Vibration is one of those bands for whom streaming or even CD-playing doesn’t do them justice. Live, these musicians are not only flawless but closer to perfection, closer to the achievement of playing beyond what apex instrumentation and vocals might lead you to believe was possible. Or maybe that was when we were rather newish and quite possibly influenced by now-medicinal substances. Reggae’s not for everyone, but if there ever was a time to listen, it’s summer—a quick assessment of the genre’s origins seems to offer sufficient explanation as to why warm-warm, sometimes listless days make that connection accessible.
Born in 1950’s Kingston, Jamaica, the three founding members of Israel Vibration met in a polio rehabilitation clinic having contracted the disease during the 1950’s outbreak on the island. Cecil Spence, Albert Craig and Lascelle Bulgin credit their childhood misfortune to their adopting the Rastafarian faith as well as their reuniting in their teens to form the band, which, after several years of toiling and “paying their dues” (including stints of busking and homelessness) they managed to garner a recording contract in the late 1970s. They went on to produce many albums across nearly 40 years of recording, which brought them to the U.S. and NYC, until the death of one of the band members in 2020 and then to a second in 2022. They’re known for the roots reggae style, the use of dub and harmonies, and for eschewing the dancehall genre that took over Jamaica in the 1980s.
For many reasons we respect this band. Not the least of which is their perseverance in the face of dire circumstances—when we saw them play in the early aughts, they still made use of forearm crutches to aid in their standing (didn’t hold them back one bit). Perhaps their adversity led to their soulfulness. Their timing, flow, and skill while performing live was remarkable, a skill set we hope to develop and wish for all writers, particularly those who opt for readings and open mics, but even if we’re non-performers we can aspire to poise, harmony, and grace on the page. Maybe we can reduce this to style and voice. In a genre sometimes criticized (as are many but particularly reggae) for sounding too much alike, Israel Vibration, to our ear, stands out with a particular sound much in the way Bob Marley is recognizable, though they are not nearly as well known. Particularity of style. Differentiation of voice. These elements of writing grace combined with a commitment to craft, to the art, are the keys, we think, to building a respected practice, perhaps a readership and even some accolade.
We’re not sure what instrument produces the trippy effect that begins the song along with the drum roll. Likely, and from memory seeing them live, it is in fact a synth. The drum and synth concoction here really hits us. The intro and ostensible refrain which features that synth for whatever reason lock us into the vibe of the track. Conveyed in those moments are notions of importance, perhaps. Yes, certainly that, but also the riff and sound serve a function like a gong and chanting; religiosity or spirituality, if you prefer, is happening. The intro and refrain yields to what we might liken as the narrative portion of the track, which is vibey and chill with some reminder synth and other elements continuing on to characterize the sound. But if we could capture what’s happening in the intro…a sort of opening of the awareness to feeling and essence, maybe, and perhaps the biological mechanism that, at least momentarily, causes us to feel the divine…if we can cause the reader to feel what we hear in those moments, we’d be on to something.
Israel Vibration’s homepage.
Writers Submit: 3 Magazines
The established journal is seeking work in all genres for their next print edition. The magazine has published some of the most well-known writers of our time early in their careers, and continues to focus on well-crafted work. DEADLINE SEPT 7
The online magazine which features prose & poetry, particularly poetry with “a strong musical element—a definite rhythm and accompanying melody.” They’re a new magazine that publishes some very solid work. DEADLINE ROLLING
The longstanding fiction magazine from the U.K. is reading short stories, flash, and micro-fiction for their online component. The magazine has published some of the best and brightest, new and established fiction writers. DEADLINE ROLLING
Weekly Artist: Peter Gerakaris
Peter Gerakaris is a mixed media and multi-talented artist; a painter and sculptor and installationist who cleverly uses traditional techniques as well as the newfound. Born in New Hampshire to artist parents, Gerakaris received an MFA from Hunter College and for a long time made Red Hook his home and studio base before recently settling in upper Connecticut. His work has been collected by institutional collectors including the NYC Department of Education, National Museum of Wildlife Art (Jackson, WY), Capital One, Citibank, and the Berkshire Botanical Garden. His work has been exhibited internationally and he’s earned interesting public commissions from hotels and stores to schools and gardens. Having covered his work before, particularly his commission at the Surrey Hotel on the upper east side of NYC (here), we know Gerakaris to be erudite and personable with an active and impressive mind for connections, particularly as it pertains to seeing beauty in disparate elements and applying those bits in an amalgam through his art.
When we arrived at the exhibition at the Botanical Garden, a tour of the work was just underway with Gerakaris leading an impressive troupe of viewers around the very cool gallery space comprised of three well-kept, distinct rooms. Two rooms were apportioned with handsome wood paneling and open ceilings. The first two rooms contained work from Gerakaris’ Icon Series, Byzantine styled work created with traditional methods but not traditional subjects—these pieces, leafed with gold and colored brightly, featured animals with the signature Byzantine halo and other symbolic flourishes. These were pieces that converge nature and culture to create a new conversation. A type of exquisite borrowing of concept with the infusion of meaning garnered by a unique eye (Gerakaris scuba dives, skis, travels widely in the country and abroad, composes and records jazz, gardens and probably does a dozen other impressive things). The largest room, an angle of which we present below, consisted of more fusion work, let’s say, but of a different style and composition. In these, terrestrial and aquatic flora intermix with topographic elements and the occasional hidden animal being. The two Oculus pieces, large window-like ovals which were artfully hung from an installed rafter to create more wall space and partition the room such that Gerakaris’s origami sculptures could fill a small separate space behind them, were flanked by square windows of a similar sort and style.
“I’m deeply humbled by the natural world. For me personally, walking in the forest is my own version of going to a cathedral. I experience a sense of wonder that makes me realize there is some power out there far greater and transcendent than us mere mortals. For me painting is a matter of evoking that feeling.”
―Peter Gerakaris, from The Lakeville Journal
After the event, Gerakaris sent us a video of one of his pieces in situ at the Berkshire Botanical Garden as well as a behind the scenes look at some of the processes involved in its creation and placement, plus some bonus content from the exhibition opening which we attended. Check out the video below, which features the piece we alluded to in the intro essay—two mosaic owls. There were many takeaways from the evening, but one important one was how well versed in his own craft Gerakaris is. If you can, find some time to read or listen to an interview. One of the characteristics of great artists we love is their ability to discuss their work in fluid and insightful ways. This skill can be inborn, however, the best of these folks—and Gerakaris is one of the best at discussing influences, sources, and technique—certainly practice and prepare. There’s got to be something in that preparation that reinforces the work, a sort of amplification effect. We wonder if writers can put this effect to use with their work. As readers are aware, we often advocate for building out our self-awareness and ability to recite who we are and how we arrived at our work including a discussion of personal aesthetics and influences.
If you do visit Gerakaris’s website or watch his creation videos, you’ll notice meticulous care for detail in application but also in preparation of paints and glaze and gold leaf and glue. This is akin to our details and craft, the bones of our writing. And with Gerakaris, that effort pays off in all of his work, though, maybe because of our gambol around the grounds, we felt the influence of the Icons most. The expression of the animals—owls, octopods, falcons, and bees—and the embellishment of their halos beset by real and painstakingly applied gold leaf struck us. He managed to capture a simple and divine-like innocence that reached past the work to our bodies to engage us in a transference of position: we were the being in the work and they were us and by the by we were caused to perceive a type of here and there, self and other, self through the other. Such is the mystery of the combination of great art in interesting locations well curated and affected arbitrarily and unrepeatably by the before, by the milieu, by any number of frog hops and myriad yawps of your antecedent scrapes with nature and self, pond or garden or copse.
We hope you’ll look carefully and peruse this masterful artist in the now. We believe he’ll become quite well known in the next decade or two. It’s nice to see someone in their pre-fame phase, when it’s easy to grasp how and why they work as they do. The experience of being in and around the work, in and around a focused congregation, up close, close enough to perceive the texture and elements, all of it confirms what we keep reminding you and ourselves: get out into the world and come back with fresh experience, having felt and emoted and lived, and then transfer it all to the page with as much skill and care for the minutia as you can, always aiming at the big beautiful results. If you can, if you’re near enough by, we can’t recommend enough visiting this exhibition and containing gardens. However, even nearby where you reside, Gerakaris reminds us to actively bridge the space between culture and nature, our self and our being. There’s plenty of inspiration, artistic and divine, if you let yourself access and be accessed. Emote. Listen. Take lessons from nature and weave them into your work.
Peter Gerakaris Artist Page
Gerakaris’s Insta
Interview w/ one of our editors from several years back.
Interesante: The Age of Average
From: alexmurrell.co.uk
— (8 min read/20 min study)
“We have been traveling to different countries, engaging in dull negotiations with representatives of polling companies, raising money for further polls, receiving more or less the same results, and painting more or less the same blue landscapes. Looking for freedom, we found slavery.”
This is an interesting blog article about the regression to the mean in the art and design world, such that all the things we see, including cars, interior design, magazine covers, paintings, and more, possibly including writing and literature. It’s really interesting and makes a good case for the central argument from a long time marketing and branding industry professional. This is a bit of a wake up call for writers. While there’s industry pressure to conform to a particular aesthetic in order to be published, what does that do to the art, and are consumers really driving this trend in the writing world? —Read the Article.
Prizes/Awards/Stipends Winter ‘24
The Publishing Lab Prize advances $10,000 & publishes a novel or short story collection at U. New Orleans Press. There are no restrictions on subject or focus, or previous publication. $10k advance + Pub. $28 fee. DEADLINE AUGUST 31
Gemini Magazine Flash Fiction Contest pays $1,000 and publication for one very short work (1000 word limit) and also delivers runners up prizes. The magazine has published work since 2009 and has a large archive. $1k + Pub + other prizes. $8 fee. DEADLINE AUGUST 31
Ephemera Presents: Good Contrivance Residency 3.0
1-Week residency at the Good Contrivance Farm Hen House and $200 travel stipend. Stay at the lovely farm where they host other writing workshops and classes. Choose a week that works best for you. 6 days at Good Contrivance Farm + travel stipend of $200. Value $1100. $30 fee Early-Bird Pricing Deadline is July 31. (Yearly subscribers will be emailed a discounted link).
Bookstore: Guides, Gifts & Classics
Please consider supporting our letter and literature by buying books. It helps us and others! Bookstore via Bookshop.
Writers and their retreats:
Last Week’s Rec — Maya Angelou:
»»»Remember last week’s letter has urgent deadlines!«««
Thank you for subscribing to Ephemera. We appreciate your support very much! It means a lot to have you as a reader and paid subscriber. We look forward to growing the letter and bringing you new content and conversation along side our staples. At present, we’re considering creating a book volume containing a large part of our content, including artwork and essays. We’re also considering other projects, such as a monthly podcast, mini-videos, and a Q&A with our editors. Let us know if you have any ideas on how we can improve.
~~~Viso gero~~
(Goodbye)
*
*
*
**Select Job Postings**
JMT: Technical Wr. FT. BA. 2+ Yrs. + Samples. ~$80k. Remote/hybrid.
Nice Media: Story Teller. BA 5+ Yrs exp. ~$70k. Remote/DC.
Oxford American: Digital Ed. FT. BA+ 3 yrs. $58k. Houston/Arkansas.
Ephemera Programs
Poetry at Ephemera:
Testimony from our previous Residency Selectee:
“From the moment I arrived at Good Contrivance Farm for my writing retreat, I was captivated by its tranquil beauty and knew I was at the right place at the right time. The farm is tucked away in a quiet picturesque rural area, north of Baltimore, and has serene orchards, majestic trees, and lovely Victorian farm buildings. I often found myself walking around the farm in quiet contemplation taking in the beautiful landscape. During these walks, friendly dogs and a gentle cat became my ‘writing companions.’ Exploring nearby nature preserves and local shops further enriched my experience. As you can imagine, these combined experiences made it easy to write and write I most certainly did. In fact, it was one of the most productive writing weeks I've had in quite some time as I was able to shut off the usual perfectionist voice in my mind and just let the words flow. Part of this was because of the living quarters. The cozy Hen House Cottage itself was a haven, boasting a diverse library, bluetooth sound system, inspirational notes from former visiting artists, and most importantly, a comfy bed—each detail contributed to a memorable stay and reminded me that simple pleasures often yield the greatest joy and creativity. Overall, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to grow and create in a place so steeped in history and natural splendor. Good Contrivance Farm truly lives up to its name and is quite a special place for artists. I plan on returning and spreading the word. I hope that all artists have a chance to create in such an inclusive, safe, and charming space.”
—Monique Harris