“In springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring. ”
Dearest readers,
It’s been a little while since we have been on here, but we are back again this time with a few announcements. Somewhere along the way, the lilacs and azaleas began to bloom and I saw my first cluster of bumblebees puttering along the grass. Everything is in bloom and as the poet e. e. cummings once put it, “it’s spring and the goat-footed balloon man whistles far and wee.” With the arrival of the bees and warmer temperatures, we’re extraordinarily excited to announce that we are opening up our submissions for our themed, third issue!
This is Portrait/[self]-Portrait. The concepts of portrait and the self-portrait are not too terribly uncommon in the art world and are foundational to any type of art making. Indeed, the constant reevaluation of identity is essential to this process and profoundly necessary in these times. This is about creating new ways of seeing in a platform that is accessible. How do we respond to the conditions of everyday life?
What are we looking for? Send us your sketchbook and journal pages, poems that discuss your perspective and ways that your identities coalesce. Send us works that discuss moments of both comfort and discomfort. We would like to underscore especially that we are seeking works from diverse creators, as too often the canons of art and literature are centered on the work of the proverbial straight, white man. This is a rallying call or a murmuration from a small corner of the literary world: to disrupt, insert, and create a new paradigm in the history of this magazine. We are hoping to have this be our largest issue to date!
Some more updates on what we are expanding and including in this round:
- Creative non-fiction! Please check out our submissions page for more information on what we're looking for.
- For this issue, we would like you to send us a picture of yourself along with your submission.
Submissions to bombuspress@gmail.com are open until June 2nd, and as always, feel free to send us any questions you might have. We are looking forward to seeing all of your work!
Marilyn Schotland