Acceptance: Melusine

VISIT MELUSINE


From the first poem I read at Melusine, I was stunned. My excitement still runs around in my head like a happy sage, never finding any boundaries. The poem was “Equinox” by Leah Silvieus. Honestly, it is as good as anything in the three journals I subscribe to, all of them in the category of “the best.”

“Equinox” transcendentally wows by leaping the jaded barriers that my mind has accumulated against the incursion of awe. But don’t stop reading there: a euphony of talented writers awaits in the current issue (Spring/Summer 2012). This is one of the best collections I have seen on web or paper, all the more impressive because the editor, Janelle Elyse Kihlstrom, is going at this without affiliation, no university or any other type of organized support. She recently, in fact, gave birth to a daughter, and yet continues on with this magnificent journal. It is more than reasonable to infer in her a virtuous stamina and driving passion, fine allies of her uncanny perspicacity.

The variety, skill, and depth of the voices in Melusine validate its radiant goal. The full title is: Melusine, or Woman in the 21st Century. From the description:

An online journal of literature and art by women (but not only women) about women (and just about everything else.)

It is a bold endeavor, perhaps, to be so sweeping; and yet there is no hubris here, but rather a vibrant, eclectic drive to celebrate, lament or explore aspects of the human condition. The eternal debate over the meaning of “woman" is fruitfully bolstered by Melusine. It is an unbowed, sensitive, and cadenza-rich venue, and in proportion to its success in these senses it also offers philosophical insights, disarmingly nuanced in the incessant literary excellence.

As someone with a PhD in philosophy, I can state with authority that reality is very much a creature of narratives and metaphors, of irreducible lyrics and dithyrambs. Go to Melusine to find these. It is a very rare place.

Owl

PS: The poem accepted, “The House,” concerns abuse and “gaslighting,” a frequent theme of mine.