Landwash: Expressions of culture/s in flux

Vol. 1 Issue 2
Spring 2014

Editor
Hans Rollmann
Assistant Editor
Justin Brake
Graphic Designer
Graham Kennedy
Web Designer
Kieran Hanley
Cover Art
Kira Sheppard

Coming to stay (poem)
Melanie Oates

A Piece of Sky (art)
Bridget Canning

Undercurrents (fiction)
Keith Collier

She’s gone West Indie (fiction)
Bryan Manning

Stepfather (poem)
Mona’a Malik

A Paragon of inception (article)
Justin Brake

Three Wishes (poem)
Mona’a Malik

Me Newfie ID (fiction)
Ted Bonnah

After the Orchestra (poem)
Dan Rubin

Atmospheres (art)
Kira Sheppard

Long may ya big jib draw, Lawnya Vawnya (article)
Justin Brake

The perils and aspirations of institutionalized art (essay)
Adam Riggio

Driving to Stephenville (poem)
Bridget Canning

Buttercups (fiction)
H

If all goes well, it will get tangly (article)
Justin Brake

Sisters (art)
Amanda Hennessey

#findLoretta (poem)
Erin Aylward

Colour-correcting injustice in The Big Land (article)
Justin Brake

The Axe Man Cometh (poem)
Anthony Elson

The Guns of Labrador (poem)
Hans Rollmann

Taking it to the street (photo essay)
Brian Carey

Rock, paper… (fiction)
Dave Roe

Cinema Politica St. John’s turns one (article)
Justin Brake

Inside…

Welcome, dear reader, to Landwash: Issue 2. It’s been an exciting journey. Thank you for all your praise, critique, commentary, and engagement with Issue 1. This is the art and writing of today’s Newfoundland and Labrador, and something for all of us to share, discuss and be proud of. And for those of you who braved the ‘Submissions’ section (it didn’t seem nearly so daunting when we wrote it!), we salute you, and welcome some of you to our pages. So what lies ahead in Issue 2?

Mel Oates, one of our resident writers and an up-and-coming superstar (we’re not ashamed of our writers’ success) provides a visceral poetic offering to start this issue off in hard-hitting style. Keith Collier shares a poignant piece of short fiction about the power of water in our society; then Bryan Manning takes us to out on the water as well with an equally poignant piece on loss and change. Literary doyen, Paragon editor and writer extraordinaire Mona’a Malik makes an appearance with the first of two pieces of poetry she features in this issue. Then Ted Bonnah follows up with a provocative soliloquy from a Newfoundlander who’s traveled the world and found himself having to come to terms with the reactions – both love and hate – that our identity invokes; after which Dan Rubin elevates the soul with some delightfully musical poetry. That brings us to our feature artist for this issue: Kira Sheppard. An accomplished artist and musician, one of her beautiful and ethereal paintings adorns the cover of this issue; we also provide a spread of three more of her works from the series ‘Atmospheres’ for your viewing pleasure. And then, some intelligent and thought-provoking prose: Adam Riggio offers a literary essay exploring the origins of creative writing programs in the US, their relationship to the Cold War and the CIA, and what this means for the veneration of ‘Canadiana’. Is there still a place for ambitious writing in this day and age? We may be beautiful, but we’re also a thinking journal, so put your thought-caps on and enjoy the ride.

Onward and upward! – to Stephenville, specifically, with Bridget Canning’s evocative poetry (she also contributed some lovely photography for this issue). Then, a local author writing under the pen-name ‘H’ provides a poignant and challenging prose contribution about change and loss in Newfoundland, from the point of view of a St. John’s-based dominatrix.

The next four pages comprise a memorial tribute to Loretta Saunders, whose name and memory ought never to be forgotten: a beautiful painting by Amanda Hennessey is followed with a moving poem by Erin Aylward.

A Labrador theme emerges in the pages that follow, as Hans Rollmann and Anthony Elson offer unashamedly political poetical contributions. The Labrador flag turned 40 years old this month, and Justin Brake has more on that story (along with instructions for making one of your own!).

This issue’s photo-essay comes courtesy of the inimitable and talented Brian Carey, after which we have a final and moving prose offering from Dave Roe. This issue also features five (count ‘em!) insightful and informative journalistic pieces by Justin Brake: in addition to the Labrador flag story he presents pieces on the Lawnya Vawnya music festival, on the literary journal Paragon; on Cinema Politica; and on The Tangle. Intrigued? Read on!

And of course, no issue would be complete without additional stunning photography throughout provided by our graphic designer of towering talent: Graham Kennedy.

Enjoy! And above all – share and discuss! And, if you feel moved by what you see and read, we encourage you to submit your own material for consideration for future issues. That’s what we’re here for: to inspire, to open conversations, and to build movements…