Ruminate Magazine

For those of you who haven't heard, Rock and Sling, a journal that shares a very similar mission to RUMINATE, has had to cease publication because of a shortage of funds. Here at RUMINATE, this was very sad news and hit close to home. (Yes, there is many a day when our entirely volunteer staff isn't sure if we can keep going, or if the printing bills can be paid).

Rock and Sling is trying to raise the funds to begin publishing in the near future, and we seriously hope this will happen and that our readers might consider helping. It has been our honor to publish poetry from Rock and Sling editor Laurie Klein in our first issue, and over the past two years we have been encouraged and lifted up by the folks at R&S as well as moved and inspired by the quality publication they produce. For those of you who have been R&S readers, or even for those of you who haven't yet read the journal, check out their website to read a letter from the editor and consider making a donation or ordering the CD of the Rock and Sling collection. Every little bit will help, and you won't be disappointed with their publication. 

And I must add that with over 600+ literary magazines being currently published today, it blows my mind that only four Christian literary magazines currently "exist"... and have a tenuous existence at that. It is our hope that publications like RUMINATE and Rock and Sling, Image and Relief can continue to provide a much needed outlet for artists and readers to engage the arts and their faith, but I am reminded of just how much we depend upon the help of our supporters. If you are a subscriber or a donor to any of these fine publications--thank you! This is quite a humble business and I am never beyond shouting for joy every time we get a new subscription order or that $20 donation. And I am sure the folks at Rock and Sling feel the same way.

We are getting really excited about the annual Ad Lib Retreat that is coming up in a few weeks at the beautiful Fransiscan Retreat Center in Colorado Springs. Ad Lib is a ministry that is close to our hearts as our staff members have benefited the past two years from attending their retreats and from the support of the Ad Lib staff. So it is an honor that Ad Lib has asked us to present a discussion on literature, faith, and getting published. And even more than that honor, we are just thrilled to be able to have a weekend to rest and be surrounded by other like-minded souls. I can't wait.

If you want to know more about the Ad Lib ministry, visit their site. And if you live in the Colorado Springs area and don't have plans for the last weekend of September, consider joining us. I think there are still a few open spots!

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.  

We have great news: Bret Lott is judging our upcoming Short Story Prize.  This is such an honor and privilege for us.  And to tell you the truth, when I got the okay from Mr. Lott, I quickly started jumping around the office, pumping my arms up and down and yelling "woo hoo!"  Yes, it is that exciting.   So, you all better enter your stories!

For those of you who don't Mr. Lott or his work, he is the author of twelve book, and his most recent novel, Ancient Highway, was published by Random House in July, 2008. He received his MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1984, studying under Jay Neugeboren and James Baldwin. From 1986 to 2004 he was writer-in-residence and professor of English at The College of Charleston, leaving to take the position of editor and director of the journal The Southern Review at Louisiana State University. Three years later, he has returned to the job he most loves: teaching. 

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 are only 3 months away from the deadline for our 2009 Short Story Prize, so you fiction writers need to start entering your work! We are really excited to see the turnout for this prize and hope it can equal the success and caliber of our recent poetry prize. (Results will be posted soon!) To enter the short story prize, submit here.

And if you have a short story that you would like to submit for our upcoming "Reverie" or "Passages" issues, check out our submission guidelines. And for samplings of past fiction published in RUMINATE, visit our archive pages. A favorite short story of mine is "The Grace I Know" by Tony Woodlief, from Issue 04. I highly recommend ordering this issue just to read Tony's story--it is hauntingly beautiful. In fact, this story is so good that is seriously makes me question whether the short story really needs saving, but I guess the point isn't that short stories aren't being written but that publishers aren't publishing them (not profitable enough, etc.). 

But we are. You writers and readers keep on saving what deserves to be saved, and so will we.