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Spiral Chambers Issue 03
SPIRAL CHAMBERS ONLINE
December, 1995
Issue #3
**********
*CONTENTS*
**********
Introduction ...Section 1
"State of the Nation"
by Janet Kuypers ...Section 2
"Shades of Gray"
by Liz Dubuisson ...Section 3
"The Shout from the Stars"
by John Grey ...Section 4
"A Clan All Its Own"
by Peter Scott ...Section 5
General Info about Spiral Chambers ...Section 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spiral Chambers, issue 3, volume 1. Published monthly by the Twisted Teen
Publishing Company, P.O. Box 772, Mentor, Ohio 44061. Copyright 1995 by the
Twisted Teen Publishing Company. All works herein may be reprinted. In fact,
reproduction of this electronic publication is encouraged, so long as the
works are not altered in any way, shape or form and credit is given to both
Spiral Chambers and the work's respective author. For information on
reproduction rights, submission guidelines, subscription information or for
general inquiries, write to: Spiral Chambers, P.O. Box 772, Mentor, Ohio
44061. Over the internet: Repsi SK@AOL.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**********
*Section 1*
***********************
INTRODUCTION
--------
Despite some valiant attempts, Spiral Chambers Online is still searching
for a new name. Not that I dislike "Spiral Chambers," only due to the fact
that between the editor version of this column and this E-zine resides quite
a bit of confusion. I'd like to differentiate this E-zine from the editor
edition because Spiral Chambers is a poetry column for inclusion in 'zines,
whereas this is a periodical in itself. At the same time, this E-zine has to
maintain its roots; for identification purposes, our new title needs to
include either "Spiral" or "Chamber(s)" in the title.
Were there no connection and the poems herein distributed exclusively for
Spiral Chambers Online, "CyberPoet" might be a good name. Alas, is "CyberPoet
Chambers" or "Spiral CyberPoets" still a decent name? My need for a permanent
title could be exercising its will over the subconscious, so please write me
with your opinion on this dilemma. Feel free to submit new suggestions or
simply "nay" or "yay" my current line of thinking.
Speaking of submissions, don't forget to mail us your poetry! Spiral
Chambers is read by easily over 20,000 individuals per month (most are not on
the internet, however), so why wait? Get your work seen in print across the
country and around the world! Feel free to send for our guidelines if you
haven't submitted before.
With that, I should be off. T'is the season to be jolly, so for every 20
E-mail addresses you give me of people who might be interested in Spiral
Chambers, I'll mail you a coupon for a free LP. Yes, FREE music just for
helping us make this E-zine stronger. Bouncing Souls, Youth Gone Mad, The
Reviled, Basic Skills...does it get any better?
Have a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah and a GREAT New Year!
The poetically inclined,
Peter
**********
*Section 2*
***********************
"State of the Nation"
--------
by Janet Kuypers
my phone rang earlier today
and I picked it up and said "hello"
and a man on the other end said,
Is this Janet Kuypers?
and I said, "Yes, it is, may I ask
who is calling?"
and he said, Yeah, hi, this is
George Washington, and I'm sitting here
with Jefferson and we wanted to
tell you a few things. And I said
"Why me?" And he said excuse me,
I believe I said I was the one
that wanted to do the talking.
God, that's the problem with
Americans nowadays. They're so
damn rude. And I said, "You know,
you really didn't have to use
language like that," and he said,
Oh, I'm sorry, it's just I've been
dead so long, I lose all control
of my manners. Well, anyway, we just
wanted to tell you some stuff. Now,
you know that we really didn't have
much of an idea of what we were
doing when we started up
this country here, we didn't have
much experience in creating
bodies of power, so I could understand
how our Constitution could be
misconstrued
and then he put in a dramatic pause
and said,
but when we said people had
a right to bear arms
we meant to protect themselves
from a government gone wrong
and not so you could kill
an innocent person
for twenty dollars cash
and when we said freedom of
religion we included the separation
of church and state because freedom
of religion could also mean freedom
from religion
and when we said freedom of speech
we had no idea you'd be
burning a flag
or painting pictures of Christ
doused in urine
or photographing people with
whips up their respective anatomies
but hell, I guess we've got to
grin and bear it
because if we ban that
the next thing they'll ban is books
and we can't have that
and I said, "But there are schools
that have books banned, George."
And he said Oh.
**********
*Section 3*
***********************
"Shades of Gray"
--------
by Liz Dubuisson
Shades of gray and tones of black,
Assault my weary eyes.
And just when I can stand no more,
The darkness comes to rise.
O windswept traveler
state your name
and tell your haggard tale.
For when the sun will rise again
You'll see it ends in hell.
O kindly preacher
tell us more
we wish a path to choose.
Yet whether we go left or right
we always seem to lose.
O sweet maiden
fare thee well!
I hope your voyage free.
For if the harm should come your way
I fear you'll soon join me.
O wretched fate,
O devil cruel,
O deadly force of night!
My strength may ebb,
My mind may dim,
But I still must search for light.
_____________________
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_____________________
**********
*Section 4*
***********************
"The Shout from the Stars"
--------
by John Grey
I'm standing outside the bookstore cafe,
a winter too warm for its own winds,
my head already drained
of the poetry reading by a typical
woman's collective, each work fattening
on their need to collect together as women,
as if they make better walls than feelings.
Early on, I was listening for your voice in there,
a perky firefly in a dull night of words,
the taste of caramel
drowning their dull confection.
But it was all desert wit
and academic fog,
and I wanted poems
that dance out of lips
slicker than a kiss,
that hi-jack the air I breathe,
that shout from the stars.
**********
*Section 5*
***********************
"A Clan All Its Own"
--------
by Peter Scott
In the echoing solitude
Shifting silence
Leads to a sustained realization
Of direction
Spanning the width of understanding
And the depth of experience
Homeland has been spotted afar
Deeper to the heart
Thereby natural
Without regrets for
A transmission of paradigms
Living unique
Heralds diversity's recognition
At the price of understanding
Novelty never attempted to express
Rejected by confusion
It assumed the game was long-
Ad infinitum
Increasing the chances
Of injurious duty
Until one day a success
Novelty comprehended
Rituals and duty
Love was starved to a hunger
And so it wept
For days
Taking consolation in individuality
Basking in self pity
Whilst affronting sorrow with its own hand
Bleeding quicker
Never time to heal
Until it died
Then Novelty-
Or the guise no longer here
Walked the world of empty streets
Barren towns
Colored in black and white
And gray
Red nor pink near the eye to see
Lounged in pensive anticipation for
The event
A great meeting of souls
Devoid of all preference
For Novelty-
Or the guise noticed no longer
Thought there were none
When in fact
The gray land was its home
The former guise-
Known as Novelty
Uniqueness and Individuality
Sacrificed its whole
But now found itself
A part of the whole.
**********
*Section 6*
***********************
SPIRAL CHAMBERS
--------
Spiral Chambers is a syndicated poetry column that is distributed without
charge to magazines of various degrees in size and content. Conceived in July
of 1994, Spiral Chambers endeavors to unite the publisher with the artist,
forming an interdependent bond where both profit from the other's success.
Published monthly, Spiral Chambers offers small-press publications free
poetry without having to search and advertise for poets, weed through
mountains of marginal submissions or even create the page layout. The poet,
on the other hand, gets an instant world-wide audience, has their work
broadcast to diverse cultural circles and bypasses the hassle of finding and
sending their work to hundreds of publications. All parties profit and grow
simultaneously from Spiral Chambers. This E-zine is offered as an electronic
venue for the column. Help us grow: Tell your friends about Spiral Chambers!
For complete guidelines, write to: RepsiSK@AOL.com
