Lit-Mag #37

“Myself & Others”


Myself and others, photo by Gillean Dodge

The theme of this issue, Myself and Others, is as topical now as it was at the beginning of humankind, and we think it is worth taking a closer look at contemporary feelings and ideas on the subject. Readers can meet many selves – and even more others – in the fifteen contributions we have selected out of a veritable flood of submissions. We have no illusions that the collection is representative in a scholarly sense, yet we believe that the self-concepts and relations expressed in this international medley are highly stimulating and provide inspiring samples of possible as well as impossible dialogues with the world. Enjoy!Gabriele Pötscher and Walter Hölbling, Graz


Mirko S. Božic was born on June 6, 1982 in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has been writing since 1992. In 2000, his poem „Ovcara“ was awarded the A.B. Šimic prize for best student poem, and in 2005, his short story „Joe & Marilyn“ was selected for the best short story by the magazine „Opomena“. His poem „Krš“ (Karst) was included in the poetic anthology „Herzegovina“, where he’s the youngest contributor, with the oldest one dating back to the 17th century: Poems in Translation.

Jennifer Compton lives in Wingello on the Southern Highlands of NSW in Australia. In 2006 she spent six months at the Whiting Library in Rome. While she was there she was a guest at the Sarajevo Poetry Festival. PressPress is about to bring out her chapbook called Roma: Dreaming, Against the Pebble, The Twig

My name is Zdravka Evtimova, I was born in Bulgaria, but now I live and work in Brussels, Belgium as a literary translator. Three short story collections of mine have been published in Bulgaria. My short story collction Bitter Sky was published in 2003 in UK by Skrev Press. This short story collection was reprinted by Route Press, UK in April 2005. My short story collection Somebody Else was published by MAG Press, USA, in 2004. This piece is called: The Man with the Two Violins.“

Charles Frederickson is a Swedish-American-Thai progressive visionary, feisty dybbuk and passionate do-gooder who has wandered intrepidly through 206 countries, an original sketch and poem for each presented on www.imagesof.8k.com. This sui generis e-gadfly is a member of World Poets Society, based in Greece, with 200+ poetry publication credits on 5 continents: Illusions Work Better Than Truth.

Michaela A. Gabriel lives in Vienna, Austria, where she helps adults acquire computer and English skills, and gets together with the muse as often as possible. She has been published in English, German, Italian, and Polish, both online and in print. Her first chapbook, „apples for adam“, was published by FootHills Publishing in January 2005, and she has another chapbook, „the secret meanings of greek letters“ forthcoming from dancing girl press in October 2007. When she is not writing, she is reading, listening to music, watching movies, blogging, communicating with friends, playing tennis or travelling – usually several of these at the same time: Five Pieces.

Simon M. Jonas: Born in 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria. University degree in English and American Studies and in Political Science. Writer and Translator. Co-worker at a bookstore. Member of the Austrian writers union. Publication of numerous poems and short-stories in literary magazines and anthologies. Scientific publications. Currently, corrections of a first novel’s manuscript as well as working on a PhD study in American Cultural Studies: Three Poems.

Jonas Knutsson is a filmmaker, journalist and translator. He is currently working on a non-fiction book, Satan’s Mercies – The History of American Film. This story talks of „Days of Awe„.

Christopher Mulrooney (1956 – 2015) has written poems and translations in Poetry Salzburg Review, Spring, The Hollins Critic and Upstairs at Duroc, criticism in Parameter, Elimae and The Film Journal, and a volume of poetry called notebook and sheaves. This poem is entitled „from top to bottom“.

Peter Murphy writes poetry, short stories, plays and take photographs. His books include Glass Doors and Lies (poetry) and Black Light and The Moving Shadow Problem (stories). His most recent book of poetry is Snapshots, published by Collective Effort Press. Here is a short story he calls: Personal Space.

Tanja Murray: „I describe myself as ‘someone who used to be a lot of things; these days, I just am.’ I am 44 years old, living in Brighton, UK. Writing is where my heart lies; to pay the bills, I am employed as a Detective Sergeant by London’s Metropolitan Police. Both (pieces) are true accounts of recent incidents in my life, and the life of my ex-partner of 24 years, who left me immediately I announced my intention to change my sex. I tell everyone these days that changing my sex was easy; losing David was hard: „The End Of Love. I don’t need a friend in Australia.

Melissa Petrakis writes poetry, plays, short stories, academic reviews, and clinical mental health research. She has 3 published poetry collections: The Naked Muse (2001), Attic Dweller (2002) and The Earth of Us (2005). Her biggest project now is the birth of her first child at the end of March 2007: Two Poems.

Horst Lothar Renner, geb. 1936 in Wien. Lebt und arbeitet in Wien. Veröffentlichungen von Lyrik und Prosa. Aufführungen von Theaterstücken und Hörspielen. Teilnahme an Ausstellungen „Visuelle Poesie“ im In- und Ausland. Auszeichnungen: Preise für Prosa, Hörspiel und Lyrik. Seinen Text nennt er: „werkstückwerk“.

Ian C. Smith is an Australian writer whose work has appeared in Best Australian Poetry, Magma, The Malahat Review, Descant, &, Westerly. His latest book is Memory Like Hunger, Ginninderra Press, Canberra. He is married with four young sons. His poem is entitled: „Failure“.

Reinhold F. Stumpf, geb. 28.09.1970 in Oberwart (Südburgenland). Nach der Handelsakademie Berufstätigkeit in Wien. Nebenberufliches Studium der Soziologie, Psychologie und Politikwissenschaft. Derzeit Dissertation über Narrative Sozialisation. Lebt als IT-Berater und freier Autor in Wien. Publikationen (Prosa und Lyrik) in Anthologien und Zeitschriften (u.a. Lit-Mag #17 und #19), Kindertheaterstück (UA 2004), mehrere verfilmte TV-Drehbücher (Doku-Soaps): „Lies, oder stirb!“.

Lawrence Upton; born 1949, based S E England and Cornwall. Poet, audio and graphic artist. Co-directs Writers Forum. Co-editor: Word Score Utterance Choreography in verbal and visual poetry, 1998. Poetry includes Wire Sculptures (Reality Street, 2003). Close to the literal, co-made with composer John Levack Drever, premiered at e-poetry 2005. An insect on a leaf at Artists Review Series 2006. Scat songs and Pictures, cartoon strips forthcoming in USA. Here are Five Pictures.


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