(Excerpt from Issue No. 8’s Director’s Cut)
Even for an optimist—and to run a literary non-profit while also writing poetry one has to be an optimist—it’s difficult to deny that all is far from well within the world of publishing. To be certain, most industries (particularly ones driven and defined by creative expression) are forever in some state of flux, but trends and evolving tastes aside, from a purely pragmatic context, there are headwinds impossible to ignore.
During the last month alone, a handful of reputable literary magazines have suspended operations. The creative arts, which receive nominal support in the best of times, have fewer advocates. In a book industry facing ceaseless consolidation, the fortunate few are doing better than ever, while the vast majority scramble for relative crumbs. Seeing well-regarded presses and universities imitating the most repulsive aspects of a late-stage capitalist business model is cause for despair, if not disgust.
The primary impetus driving 1455 is a refusal to accept this untenable status quo. Our mission is simple as it is transparent: we seek out storytellers and showcase their work, by any means possible. We offer a viable alternative to the often elitist and anti-independent system that rewards the few at the expense of thousands of honest, important voices. If these writers, one by one, succeed, 1455 succeeds and vice versa; we offer support and resources with no expectation of ROI—aside from the genuine pleasure of helping necessary writing find advocates. This issue of Movable Type features original poetry (and one piece of flash fiction), and it’s our pleasure to provide a forum for worthwhile work. It’s our promise to continue doing so, and we hope to publish as many meaningful voices as possible.
We acknowledge both the necessity and urgency of these voices. The challenges our publishing, creative, and academic arenas currently face exist in a sociopolitical climate that relishes nothing more than acquiescence. There are powerful (and well-funded) forces investing in stifling discourse and discouraging the open and honest exchange of dialogue. Movable Type will champion diverse perspectives, which counteract apathy and inspire connection and community. 1455 can’t solve inequities and inefficiencies decades in the making, but we will make a tangible difference, one writer and reader at a time.
For this issue, we’ve changed the format of Movable Type. We want to take advantage of every technical opportunity to make our contributors’ work more accessible, shareable, and discoverable. In addition, we will host a reading to coincide with each subsequent issue. Hear contributors from Issue No. 8 reading their poetry & flash! Video (and bios of each reader) below!
Leah Kogen-Elimeliah is a poet, essayist, short story and nonfiction writer from Moscow, currently living in New York City. She is an MFA candidate at City College of New York, Founder and Director of the WordShedNYC Reading Series and an Editorial Associate for Fiction literary magazine. Leah has collaborated on various poetry/visual art projects with choreographers, dancers, musicians as well as videographers experimenting with multimedia and poetry. She’s read her work on The Red Stage organized by Creative Time, The NYC Poetry Festival, The Higher Ground Arts Festival, and has been selected as a Public Humanities/Arts Graduate Fellow for the Zip Code Memory Project supported by Columbia, CCNY, NYU, Yale and the Social Science & Humanities Research Council. She is also a mentor with Girls Write Now, a nationally award winning leader in arts education writing and mentoring organization. Her writing focuses on identity, language, immigration, intergenerational trauma sexuality and culture. Leah lives in Manhattan with her husband and their children.
Vicki Whicker’s writing credits include Entropy Magazine, Pigeon Review, The Nonconformist, La Presa, 12 Los Angeles Poets, Big City Mantra, and Literary Mama. Her poetry and photography appear in the poetry anthology Seeing Things (Woodland Arts Editions, 2020). Her poetry collection, Caught Before Flight (Woodland Arts Editions) published in 2020. Bucolia, her most recent solo photography show, debuted at The Word and Image Gallery, Bright Hill Press, 2020. She’s in the upcoming group show, Once Upon A Time, presented by Griffin Museum of Photography, November 2021. Originally from Los Angeles, she lives in the Cooperstown area, upstate NY.
Zia Wesley (Hosford) is the best-selling author of nine books on natural health and beauty, two historical novels, and one memoir (of her uncensored year in Italy). She lives in Napa County and recently completed writing Michael Butler’s autobiography with him. She suspects that her latest incarnation as a wine ambassador for the exclusive Boisset Collection of fine wines will inspire more poetry. Please follow Zia on twitter @ziawesley3
Hannah Grieco is a writer, editor, teacher, and advocate in the Washington, DC area. She writes essays and reported articles, as well as fiction, creative nonfiction, interviews, book reviews, food pieces, and humor. Her fiction has been awarded a spot on the Wigleaf Top 50, and her writing has been nominated for Best American Essays, The Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, and Best Microfiction. Her work can be found in The Washington Post, The Week, Al Jazeera, Parents Magazine, Huffington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Rumpus, Today’s Parent, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Washington City Paper, She Knows, and many more newspapers, magazines, and literary journals. Follow her on Twitter @writesloud!
Jason Reuven Kropsky published the monograph “Between Politics and Morality: Hans Kelsen’s Contributions to the Changing Notion of International Criminal Responsibility” in 2019. His recent lecture series, “The Death of Socrates and the Birth of Political Philosophy,” created for the rural communities of southwest Oregon, interrogated the law’s limits and the possibility of civil disobedience in an America fractured. His essays and poetry have been published The Daring, and he remains a frequent contributor to WordShedNYC. Kropsky lives in Seattle, Washington.
Turner Roth is a poet and essayist. He received an MA in Philosophy from Université Paris 8 and Kingston University, London. He lives and works in New York City on issues relating to housing and homelessness and as a political organizer with the Communist Party USA
Jonathan Memmert is a poet, writer, and reader who doesn’t think life makes a lot of sense at times and is continually fascinated by how many twists and turns we encounter daily. He lives in Manhattan and is an MFA candidate at The City College of New York in Harlem. His poetry has been published in 433, Global City Review, and Promethean.
Laura Salvatore is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at The City College of New York. She studied Art History and English at Southern Connecticut State University. Laura currently works at Sotheby’s Institute of Art as part of the Global Online division. Her poetry has been published in Pith journal, Angel City Review, and Apricity Magazine, amongst others.
