Welcome to (Re)!
I am very excited to present a “journal of ideas” that is a meeting place of visual art, prose, science, and more.
The idea for this endeavor came about from my love of vintage clothing and found objects and the way in which one ‘re’cycles these objects, et al. to make them their own. This concept then grew from that which we acquire in this vein, to that which we create through our various art forms (and yes, science and math are considered here, to be ‘the application of creative skill and imagination,’ as art is formally defined). All of the material presented incorporates a re-root word, such as relive, reinvent, reuse… into its framework in whatever way the artist chooses. And so, (Re) is a product of this expanded idea.
The journal, available quarterly online, features the work of artists/creators/thinkers in various categories and I am honored to present their work within this forum.
Thank you so much for taking the time to explore this new and evolving (re)source.
I hope you enjoy the ride!
— Felice Neals
Writer, reader, photographer, dance devotee, film citizen, language-a-phile…
TEXT
We are very excited to present the following Flash Creative Nonfiction essays chosen from our first (Re) CNF open call. Our Winter Issue theme: Food/Breaking bread aka the act of (re)plenishment and culinary (re)flection.
Thank you to all who submitted! We are honored that you chose to share your work with us.
And a special THANK YOU to our final reader – author, storyteller and educator, Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons. We appreciate your time and careful consideration of the great work that we received from a pool of wonderful writers near and far.
See Kelly Jean’s bio on the OTHER STUFF Page.
Manna
Nancy Huggett
Recipe for Grief
Nadine Nakagawa
Gifted
Jeanine Pfeiffer
Culinary Coercion
Lou Storey
Ovaltine
Julia Bruce
Morning Dough
Edvige Giunta
WELCOME TO THE MULTI-GENRE SCIENCE CORNER
“Science is the poetry of reality.” — Carl Sagan
As a HUGE – make that huge squared – fan of math, I am always on the lookout for math news from all corners of the globe.
It was a thrill to discover the groundbreaking work of Nigerian math whiz, Ufot Ekong, whose problem solving skills has led to well-earned accolades the world over.
To find out more, please read on…
Bravo Ufot!
ART
(Re)splendent*
Artist: Shantanu
*Extraordinarily or transcendentally impressive;
An exaltation or elevation beyond human comprehension
Mountain air has an ethereal feel about it. There’s something magical, something very mystical, something innately surreal about the mountains.
The first time I picked up a camera was on one such mountain trip many years back. An epiphany perhaps at the paths that lay ahead. This was the film roll era which allowed for 36 exposures to every roll. Every shot would be a calculated, measured effort and we wouldn’t even be able to see the results of our shot till much later, only when back in the cities and with access to film processing labs. A far cry from today’s click-at-will digital outputs.
But technologies evolve, and so do we, and our choices. Today, I shoot travel films in the high Himalayas twice a year, in digital formats using digital cameras and equipment. Memory cards have replaced those film rolls. Softwares have replaced those film processing labs. Every shot can be reviewed right after clicking.
The mountains though, remain. Their sight only gets more jaw-dropping every time. To really begin to describe the joy and elation one feels in the high mountains is an exercise in itself.
These images are from August 2021, when on a shoot across Kashmir, Ladakh and Spiti Valleys in the upper reaches of the great Himalayas.
Kasmir
Ladakh
Spiti
Shantanu is an independent documentary filmmaker, writer, trainer and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Expert, with over a decade of experience across the Radio, TV, Telecom, Sports, Social Media and Film Production domains. During film school in New York, he assisted multiple Emmy Award winner, Rafael Parra. Also under his supervision, he produced and directed a historical documentary on the Maha Kumbha festival in India. The film was screened in 15 festivals worldwide and he’s presently writing its sequel, set in Varanasi. Also in post, are three documentary short-films, slated for completion this winter.
He has been flying UAVs for nearly 5 years across documentaries and music videos, earning him a Filmfare Shorts nomination for ‘Bin Bulaye’ in 2019.
In 2010, he founded Studio Cucumber, a media production venture with a focus on documentaries and music videos. Presently, he is revamping the setup which is slated to return later in the year.
He is based out of sunny Goa, India.
Instagram @shootwithshan
Music Stuff
Music n Vittles
When I tried to think of music that somehow related to our theme of food/breaking bread and only ‘Food Glorious Food’ from the film musical, Oliver, based on the Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist, came to mind, it was time to leave it to the experts.
Here is a compilation brought to you by Spinditty:
https://spinditty.com/playlists/100-Best-Songs-about-Food
And for my fellow Oliver fans, I bring you Food Glorious Food:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEQDllvuy1I
Enjoy!
OTHER STUFF
Here is where I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the (Re) contributors, the friends and family who support this adventure with their encouragement and guidance, Lori and Jim, the web consultants who continue to hold my hand as I build this site with no previous experience in the web tech arena, and the wonderful readers, who I hope will continue to follow our monthly content. Thank you! Merci! Gracias! Shukriya! Grazie! Obrigado! Xiexie! Amsegenallo! Asante! Shukraan!
COVER photograph by Felice Neals: The woods near Peekskill, NY.
ART photographs by Shantanu.
TEXT photographs by Felice Neals: “Cutlery.” 2022.
SCIENCE SECTION photo: HypeStation Nigeria Facebook
THANK YOU, as always, to our Editor H.E. Fisher for her sharp eye and invaluable contribution. I could not have gotten this project up and running without her support and editorial expertise.
And a special THANK YOU to creative wonder, Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons, our final reader for our flash essay open call, whose work on and off of the page never ceases to inspire.
More on Kelly Jean:
Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons is a writer, educator, and storyteller who lives in Astoria, Queens. Her nonfiction work has appeared in (Re) An Ideas Journal, Human Parts, Marie Claire, and Hippocampus Magazine, among others. Her most recent play, a superhero comedy, All I Want Is One More Meanwhile… made its Midwest premiere at Otherworld Theatre in Chicago. After a decade of supporting AP teachers and coordinators behind the scenes with the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board, she stepped back into the classroom. Now she designs and teaches writing workshops for students of all ages. Her specialty is helping high school students craft meaningful college application essays that highlight their unique character for admissions officers. Kelly Jean earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Combining her love for narrative nonfiction and theater, she created No, YOU Tell It! a storytelling series dedicated to performing true-life tales with a twist. Learn more and listen to the podcast at noyoutellit.com.
In keeping with our theme of food/breaking bread, we close this issue with a poem by renowned novelist, essayist and poet, Honoree Fanonne Jeffers:
The Gospel of Barbecue
for Alvester James
necessary, Uncle
Vess ate the leavings
off the hog, doused
them with vinegar sauce.
He ate chewy abominations.
Then came high pressure.
Then came the little pills.
Then came the doctor
who stole Vess’s second
sight, the predication
of pig’s blood every
fourth Sunday.
Then came the stillness
of barn earth, no more
trembling at his step.
Then came the end
of the rib, but before
his eyes clouded,
Uncle Vess wrote
down the gospel
of barbecue.
Chapter one:
Somebody got to die
with something at some
time or another.
Chapter two:
Don’t ever trust
white folk to cook
your meat until
it’s done to the bone.
Chapter three:
December is the best
time for hog killing.
The meat won’t
spoil as quick.
Screams and blood
freeze over before
they hit the air.
Chapter four, Verse one:
Great Grandma Mandy
used to say food
you was whipped
for tasted the best.
Chapter four, Verse two:
Old Master knew to lock
the ham bacon chops
away quick or the slaves
would rob him blind.
He knew a padlock
to the smokehouse
was best to prevent
stealing, but even the
sorriest of slaves would
risk a beating for a full
belly. So Christmas time
he give his nasty
leftovers to the well
behaved. The head ears
snout tail fatback
chitlins feet ribs balls.
He thought gratitude
made a good seasoning.
Chapter five:
Unclean means dirty
means filthy means
underwear worn too
long in summertime heat.
Perfectly good food
can’t be no sin.
Maybe the little
bit of meat on ribs
makes for lean eating.
Maybe the pink flesh
is tasteless until you add
onions garlic black
pepper tomatoes
soured apple cider
but survival ain’t never been
no crime against nature
or Maker. See, stay alive
in the meantime, laugh
a little harder. Go on
and gnaw that bone clean.
***
Feel free to contact us and please join our mailing list by using the form below! You can also follow us on Instagram: @reideasjournal and Twitter: #reideasjournal
Email: info@reideasjournal.com
SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES