Ruminate Magazine: Faith in Literature and Art

We don't publish reviews in the magazine, but when writer D.S. Martin contacted us with his review of Mary Oliver's recent book of poems, Red Bird, we couldn't pass the chance to share it with you all. Which is why we are publishing it here, on our website. Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mary Oliver is one of our great heroes here at RUMINATE, and we are excited to be able to offer a glimpse of her new work with you all. If you aren't familiar with her poetry, it is definitely worth checking out. And thank you Mr. Martin for providing this thoughtful review.  Read on and enjoy!

One of our poetry contributors from issue #02, Joy Saywer, who has since become a friend and fan of RUMINATE sent me an email today sharing a link to an essay published in The Other Journal, which is a publication of the Mars Hill Graduate School. 

The essay, entitled A Peculiar Education: Homelessness, Poetry, and the Imagination is by Andrew Krinks and Lindsey Krinks, and as Joy said, "it's truly one of the most theologically relevant pieces I've seen in a long, long time, and articulates so beautifully why engaging with poetry is so culturally important." So thank you Joy for sharing, and I hope you all find the time to read and be encouraged by this essay.  

There has been quite a bit of talk about the lack of support for short stories in the current publishing world (see the "Save the Short Story" coalition), so we are really proud to be able to do our part--publishing new fiction in every issue, and through our annual short story prize, bringing attention and awarding prizes to talented and deserving fiction writers. We hope you will join us by continuing to read great short fiction, submitting your fiction to our upcoming issues, or entering our short story contest. 

We have already received quite a few comments from you all, most of whom, after picking up Issue 08, were in awe to see Pulitzer Prize finalist Frederick Buechner in the table of contents.  And we feel the same way. It was a delight and an honor to publish "Our Last Drive Together," an essay in which Buechner reflects with wit and tenderness on the act of bringing his mother home. You can read an excerpt of the essay, and for the full experience, get issue 08. And if by some anomaly, you don't know Mr. Beuchner or his work, just check out his biographical note at the end of his essay. Also, if you enjoy the essay, make sure to check out the collection it will appear in this summer, Yellow Leaves: A Miscellany.

Although we get hundreds of poetry, fiction and nonfiction submissions every issue, we have a much harder time getting visual art submissions.  I am not sure why, but I wonder if artists just don't typically think of literary magazines as a venue for their work. But RUMINATE, isn't just about words. We are interested in engaging "faith in literature and art." That said, if you are an artist, please submit; if you know an artist, tell them to submit! 

For those of you who frequent this site, you may have noticed back in April that it unexpectedly crashed and we lost all of our web content. It was a disaster, and yes, I was curled up on the floor in the fetal position. But thanks to the extremely generous and talented work of Scott Ackerman (Usable Web Solutions), we have a new and very slick site.

Most importantly, the new site makes it even easier for you--our readers, writers, and friends--to utilize RUMINATE on the web. Subscribing, submitting your work, reading excerpts from back issues, and ruminating on the intersection between art and faith has never been easier. So cheers to unexpected blessings--for they seem to be the substance of RUMINATE's existence. And thank you Scott!