For the past three months, as part of my New Year’s goals, I have been reading self-help books on raising boys and on sibling rivalry, hoping to gain something helpful to improve how I’m raising my four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter and to decrease the amount of screaming-hitting-fighting-squabbling-yelling for mom. The books have been interesting and helpful (my kids are definitely more peaceful, and I understand my son’s impressive energy much better), but as I closed the third book in a self selected series last night, I had a wonderful and huge craving for delicious writing, for the kind of prose that satisfies a deep craving for beauty and for inspiration.  It was not unlike the craving I get for a well-crafted meal with close friends.

I have a running list of things I look forward to discovering in heaven. Besides the profound, existential questions, these include things like answers to all the questions about dinosaurs and having all the time in the world to either read all the books in the world or to just know them, as if I’ll have a huge computer catalogue in my head. Also on this list is hearing or reading the most perfectly composed prose, a series of words that makes my heart sing and my knees weak and brings tears to my eyes. Words that I will want to sit with for eternity, to hear, peruse and ruminate on forever because of their immense beauty. Perhaps this is a desire for what was in the beginning. I feel this now like an exciting energy running up and down my arms.

Until then, I look forward to finding a book or RUMINATE piece that will satisfy my ongoing hunger for the eidos of prose as I return to my good friends for a well-crafted meal in the world of fiction.

 
To good reads!

Alexa Van Dalsem
Guest Reader

I look forward to the second Tuesday of each month, as it brings the meetings of the Poetry Bookclub I run at the Boulder Book Store.  We've chosen to read living poets only, as there is a great wealth of them and they tend to be excluded in bookclubs and classes (which generally focus on the classic poets).  We read a wide range of authors with a variety of styles, and have had excellent conversations about them.  As a poetry reader for Ruminate, I find these meetings endlessly helpful in learning what to look for in a poem (pacing, imagery, tone), and how to articulate it in the phone meetings we have with the other poetry readers. 

This month, the bookclub read Book of My Nights, by Li-Young Lee.  The most interesting part of the discussion, for me, was about Lee's articulate and enlightening interviews regarding craft.  His most stunning metaphor was comparing poetry to architecture.  Just like in architecture, he said, poetry is not so much about the materials you use (bricks/mortar, or language), but about space.  You can use the same physical materials to create a number of different structures, but it's the use of space and silence that make the creations unique.  In many ways, space and silence are what distinguish poetry from prose.  It was a great meeting, a wonderful poet, and a wellspring of things to consider as I approach the next batch of Ruminate poems.

Happy reading/writing!

Stephanie

Associate Editor

We are excited to announce that ByFaith Magazine has published an interview on Ruminate's humble beginnings and our powerful vision for "breaking the stereotypes" and "challenging the expectations" of Christian art and literature. Read the article here.

"I have often longed for a publication that allowed for the art and literature of confessing Christians but didn't require them to check the complexities and ambiguities of life at the door. Thank you for what you do."

"I have been deeply touched by the work I have read in your magazine. Every time I pick it up, I find myself stopping, pushing aside thoughts about school, getting a new job, what movie I should go see with my friends. It makes me pause and consider more deeply who I really am as a person in the Lord, made in His image.”

• We need contest sponsorship to maintain our annual poetry and short story contests. These prizes award a talented poet and fiction writer with well-deserving and seldom seen prize money and accolades.
• The costs of printing have increased, and we need help maintaining our standard of high quality printing and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC-Certified) paper.
• Our staff needs to raise support for part-time salaries in 2009. 

All of this is very exciting. Over the past two years, the success of Ruminate has been possible through the hardworking hours of our staff and through funds from our own pocket and our friends and family, but this is no longer feasible. Our goal for 2009 is to raise $55,000, and we need to raise $30,000 of that by March. Right now, our projected subscriptions only cover $8,000 of that goal.

We need your financial support and prayers to continue Ruminate. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter or giving a one-time donation. We are relying on the response we receive from this support letter to help continue the work we've started. If just 300 people who read this blog entry decided to give $15 a month or gave a one-time donation of $120, we could meet our goal for 2009!

Deciding to give a gift—whatever the amount—will make it possible for us to continue engaging faith in literature and art and ministering to the art community. We hope you will join us. And thank you, as always, for believing in Ruminate. If you would like more information about Ruminate and its ministry, please don't hesitate to contact us!

With much gratitude,

Check out this rave review of Ruminate's Issue 09 (scroll to the bottom of the page) from NewPages, one of the top literary magazine databases in the country.  The review begins by saying, "Ruminate's layout is beautiful." Not a bad comment to start things off, and something we happen to proudly agree with. And it keeps getting better from there, discussing the great work from our contributors and "pieces which demonstrate faith inside literature as well as faith in literature, a faith that literature can explain and inspire." We think NewPages reviewer Rachel King hit the nail on the head.  

Oh, and if you missed out on Issue 09, you can order a copy here!

We are getting ready for our second annual RUMINATE Benefit: "Shop for Christmas: Support the Arts," which will be held on December 10th from 7-10 p.m. at Grace Church Presbyterian in Fort Collins, CO.

Last year's benefit had a great turn out and featured amazing work from over 10 local artists (which ranged from pottery and jewelry to photography and paintings)! We had yummy food, great beer and wine, and live music. We also raised money for RUMINATE and brought more awareness to the Fort Collins community about our mission and our heart for the art community. 

We are hoping to make this year even better and already have some great artists lined up, including our featured artist from Issue 09, Evan Mann, and local jewelry artist, Nicole Roloff, as well as some great work for the silent auction that has been donated from past RUMINATE art contributors Steven D. Johnson (Issue 08), Josh Schicker (Issue 05), and Katie Jenkins (Issue 03). We really want to thank these artists for their support of RUMINATE!

If you are in the area, please come join us for a great evening. 

And if you aren't in the area but still want to shop for Christmas and support the arts, please consider giving a RUMINATE gift subscription to some of the folks on your list!