A dual celebration of both a directed vision and that evasive next step of getting published — FunKtional Adix, a poet from Tuscon, Ariz. performed Saturday evening at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.
The performance was in support of a grand unveiling of a new magazine designed to help artists break into the publishing market. Appropriately enough, the magazine is named UnPublished.
The night began at 6 p.m. with a video collage of different poets' work and moved to a video poem of a work by e.e. cummings, with images by George Aguilar. FunKtional Adix recited a poem that could have been a rock song or a hip-hop verse, had he not prefaced the poem by saying that it was neither of these things. Afterwards, he bestowed his gratitude on Valerie Houston and Anne Hays, the creative minds behind the UnPublished magazine.
Throughout the night there were several poets who presented their works, including a rousing rendition of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" by Mitch Rayes and a set of Spanish poems that brought even those who only spoke English to their feet, by Maria Rodriguez Pope. Teresa Gallion read some of her brilliant works, including "The Maple Leaf" and "Two Little Girls."
The inaugural edition of the magazine was available at the event, even though national publication will not begin until March. A first glance through the pages shows a lot of promise and submissions are welcome.
Much of the magazine is devoted to advice that is normally hard to come by, straight-shooting about what to do in order to maximize your chances of getting published in a variety of sources. One of the greatest articles, "Catch 22," expounds on the seeming oxymoron of publishing.
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"In order to be formally published you need to have an agent, and to get an agent you need to have been published." The article goes on to list ways to break this mold, to get out of the cycle, and to tear down the walls separating you from the publishing business once and for all.
Of course, it wouldn't be a literary magazine without some poetry, short stories and art. There's plenty of that, too. One of the most moving short stories, entitled "Human Contact," describes what sort of things the mind can trick the body into when it has been too long since a person has established contact.
The black and white photos are omnipresent in the magazine, all masterfully developed, and gracefully placed on the pages. The final poem, mixed with a photograph, is beautiful.
Of course, the whole point of the magazine is the unpublished business and conquering that obstacle to get to the next path. So, towards the back of the magazine, there is a section devoted to information about submitting material.
UnPublished seems like a great place to begin the journey of publication and the fact that it's a local venture only makes it that much more important to support. Additional information can also be found at www.unpublishedmag.com.
Send submissions to:
UnPublished
Attn: Submissions
PO Box 10
Corrales, NM 87048
Email the editor at: submissions@unpublishedmag.com. Contact at this address may also provide a copy of this first issue, which sells for $2.
