Ruminate Magazine

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.

Lately, when people ask us how RUMINATE is doing, or what's the latest with RUMINATE, we have been telling them, "Well, we just published an essay by Frederick Buechner!" This is usually followed by gasps or ahhs, but a few friends have asked why this news is so pertinent to RUMINATE's overall health. And just in case you are wondering the same thing, let me explain.

We are excited about this opportunity because it means that RUMINATE's credibility as a new literature and art magazine has quickly become solid enough to warrant publishing Mr. Buechner––and for us, this is a true success.  Yes, this may be a slightly abstract way of weighing success, but in an organization where spreadsheets and bank statements aren't always the best indicators, you simply have to create new categories, new definitions of triumphs. 

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! 

We have been fortunate enough to publish the work of some very amazing artists. Just check out the archives to see some examples. My personal favorite has been the work of Deanne Moulten in Issue 07: Addiction. Our printers, Darwill Press, spent hours lovingly running the color pages through the press to get them just right, and they literarally pop off the page. It is beautiful, and truly makes the issue come alive. And we love this quality about the art we get to publish. 

So artists, keep them coming! You can submit here.

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!