Please share your thoughts about the future of literature.
Literature, as a human expression, is in constant evolution. As we move toward a digital and globalized future, literature continues to expand its boundaries, adopting new formats like ebooks, interactive narratives, and virtual platforms. However, I believe its essence remains intact: to tell stories, express emotions, and share human experiences.
I think the future of literature will also be shaped by cultural diversity, the inclusion of previously marginalized voices, and accessible knowledge. While some fear that new technologies may overshadow the depth and rigor of traditional literature, I believe these tools can be used to bring literary works to a broader audience.
As both a poet and a translator, I feel that translation has a great impact on cultural exchange, and poetry around the world somehow preserves beauty and humanity in this chaotic and fast-paced world.
When did you start writing?
I started writing poetry at the age of 15. I would jot down random images, describing what I saw and how I felt about it. At the time, these were merely disconnected images, but later, I began to give them more coherence. That was my process of creative discovery.
The Good and the Bad. Who is winning nowadays?
Good and evil are complex and relative concepts that have coexisted since the beginning of humanity. The perception of who is winning depends on how and from where one observes. While acts of evil or injustice tend to be noticeable and visible, there are also countless acts of kindness, solidarity, and resilience that often go unnoticed.
Nowadays, we face global challenges such as wars, conflicts, and social inequalities, which might seem to give evil an upper hand. However, we are also witnessing inspiring movements that promote high values. I believe that instead of asking who is winning, it’s better to focus our energy on choosing to be agents of change within our own spheres of influence, no matter how small they might appear.
How many books have you written, and where can we find your books?
So far, I have written and published three poetry books:
El cuerpo de la duda (Editorial Publicarte, Caracas, Venezuela, 2013)
Transfigurar es un país que amas (Editorial Dos Islas, Miami, United States, 2020)
La larga noche de las jaurías (Editorial Nautilus, Spain, 2023)
I am currently working on a new book. Some of my books are available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Transfigurar-pa%C3%ADs-que-amas-Editorial/dp/B08L8ZHHYH
The book. E-book or Hardcover book. What will be the future?
I believe the future of books should not be seen as a competition between electronic and hardcover formats; I think both can coexist. E-books offer advantageous accessibility, while hardcover books provide a tactile and emotional experience that many readers (myself included) deeply appreciate. In my particular case, I value hardcover books immensely. They occupy a special place in my home and in my life; I treasure them as art objects, as part of a great historical and cultural heritage, and, of course, for the unique sensory experience they provide.
A wish for 2025.
My wish for 2025 is for humanity to move toward a more just, equitable, and peaceful future. I hope we find more reasons to unite than to divide and that every person has the opportunity to achieve their dreams in peace and harmony. On a personal level, I also hope for a year of growth, creativity, and gratitude.
A phrase from your book:
“The hand in the shadow possesses almost everything,
but it will always thirst
for what it cannot take from you.
Your resistance, your love,
your unique fire,
unextinguishable.”
Mariela Cordero. Valencia, Venezuela. She is a lawyer, poet, writer, and translator, and has received several literary distinctions. She has published the poetry collections: El cuerpo de la duda (Editorial Publicarte, Caracas, Venezuela, 2013), Transfigurar es un país que amas (Editorial Dos Islas, Miami, United States, 2020), and La larga noche de las jaurías (Editorial Nautilus, Spain, 2023).
Our civilized in wild tongue lick the vegetables; blood the pepper,
Giant enough to sting scorpion’s up our Stone’s
Yes Snippers wounds
BUT of the war of gods whom are strange and we slice our hands to lick,
Chanting crocodiles into our regions.
Strangers peep into the ocean bid of bowls as vegetable visit the bar on their tongue,
The motherboard gathers us in a destination where gorilla of new society are stock in the belly of females keep debating for whom birth it out
When the boy to seep from the cup of lit thick and the moon of ceaseless flowing river
Rushes down to the toe of an elephant,
Maybe our nightmares will drives us Long to where I birth out new baby
That will wipe away our scars in tears
And cleanse the raw looking of Old dining ( poverty)
I am devolution and revolution,
If am in the stage of first, I flash my network to sands of years back
How our images are reap God
and the thinking that laid in our neutral network now
Are deads then, if am the couplets
I envision tomorrow folding thousand days together
And I junction to a flower environment where I lick binta sugar
And it voice to me of
” Introduce your ash to him”
Clinging her hands to a light
And i hug her words as I pour out our challenges to. Yes he paved anew
Idris Sheikh Musa (Newborn Poet) is a prominent Nigerian writer from the heart of Minna. A member of Hill Top Creative Art Foundation (HCAF) national headquarters along David Mark Road, Minna, Niger state. He has some of his works published in magazines such as Legend International, Synchronized Chaos, Ikeke Art, and the Kalahari Review.
In March we will have a presence at the Association of Writing Programs conference in L.A. which will include an offsite reading at Chevalier’s Books on Saturday, March 29th at 6 pm. All are welcome to attend!
So far the lineup for our reading includes Asha Dore, Douglas Cole, Scott Ferry, Linda Michel-Cassidy, Aimee Suzara, Reverie Fey, Ava Homa, Michelle Gonzalez, Terry Tierney, Anisa Rahim, Katrina Byrd, and Cindy Rinne.
Author Justin Hamm is hosting a FREE online literary event the weekend of AWP, known as StayWP. This will include author talks, informative panels, book launches and networking!
Poet and essayist Abigail George, whom we’ve published many times, shares the fundraiser her book’s press has created for her. She’s seeking contributions for office supplies and resources to be able to serve as a speaker and advocate for others who have experienced trauma or deal with mental health issues.
Also, the Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem, a store that has the mission of peaceful dialogue and education, invites readers to donate new or gently used books (all genres) that have been meaningful to them, with a note enclosed for future readers about why the books were meaningful. (The books don’t have to be about peace or social justice or the Mideast, although they can be). Please send books here. US-based Interlink Publishing has also started a GoFundMe for the store.
Eva Petropoulou Lianou shares the Dylan Thomas poetry contest and her own poetry launched off to the Moon on the Artemis mission as part of a collection.
A new book, Poetry Mexico, China, Greece, a collection from contributors Jeannette Tiburcio Vasquez, Yongbo Ma, and Eva Petropoulou Lianou, has just been released.
Our April 1st issue will be crafted by co-editor Kahlil Crawford. He’s a poet, musician, and essayist who has put together previous issues on Latin Culture and Electronic Music.
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This issue’s contributors seek balance and mental health by journeying into their pasts, the world’s pasts, into nature, into community, heritage, romantic, and family love. Others find Sanity Breaks in the subconscious, poetry, and art of various kinds.
Anna Keiko’s paintings bring a bit of off-kilter color and joy to nature and childhood. Kylian Cubilla Gomez’s photography presents joyful, colorful images of childhood play.
Brian Barbeito conveys the comfort and nostalgia of a small town that seems forgotten by time. Nilufar Anvarova remembers a joyful morning listening to roosters and smelling basil in a country village. Sayani Mukherjee also finds joy in moss, trees, and thatched roof cottages in her piece “Earth’s Song.” In another piece, Brian Barbeito shares intuitions and reflections from a day of walking his dogs in the snow.
Shukurillayeva Lazzatoy translates a poem from Alexander Faynberg about always searching for a distant shore, as well as another Faynberg work about finding hope and strength to continue a long journey.
Stephen Jarrell Williams speaks to the shared journey of finding meaning throughout one’s life. Grant Guy contributes musings on relationships and the passage of time as Daniel DeLucie reflects on how time marches relentlessly for us all.
Azamat Abdulatipov highlights how Uzbekistan pays national attention to youth issues through their student development programs. Gulnozaxon Xusanova reminds us to celebrate youthful achievements.
David Sapp draws upon classical art and music to trace a man’s journey towards maturity. Alan Catlin views art and landscapes through the eyes of a variety of well-known international artists. Norman J. Olson seeks out art old and new in London and Italy.
Joshua Martin evokes the subconscious behind-the-scenes consideration of thoughts and sensations in text that reads more like code than writing. Vernon Frazer clangs words together into a street corner symphony. Mark Young’s “geographies” intertwine color, shape, line, and form in unexpected ways. Peer Smits creates abstract images where thick lines and stamps color white canvases, and where posters blur and dance into rippled reflections.
Mark Murphy illuminates the power of art and imagination to inspire people to claim agency in a world where much seems historically inevitable. Jasmina Makhmasalayeva urges people to form their own self-concepts apart from societal pressure.
Jacques Fleury posits a “resume” for a Black street thug in a way that troubles and questions stereotypes. Isaac Aju presents a tale of a brave student who stands up to institutional disrespect.
Taylor Dibbert highlights the need to write creatively for joy, not for money. Ivan Pozzoni’s work speaks to the struggles of the creative artist in a society dampening creative urges and to romantic love between people not afraid to live fully embodied and present.
Alaina Hammond’s play dramatizes the struggle of a young woman choosing between a steady and comfortable family life and the promise of passionate love. Natalie Bisso’s poem illustrates a tender and intense romantic attraction. Yusufjonova O’gilkhan’s tender short story explores the love between a brother and sister.
Duane Vorhees takes a lexical flight of fancy through nature and romantic attraction. Isabel Gomez de Diego’s photos weave together nature, romantic and family love, and religious devotion. Eva Petropoulou Lianou honors mothers through a poem translated to Arabic by Egyptian poet Ahmed Farooq Baidoon. Musurmunova Gulshoda honors parents, friendship, country and heritage, and teachers. Eva Lianou Petropoulou celebrates friendship and mutual respect among women.
Poet Joseph C. Ogbonna references the love, comfort and solace he finds through his faith. French poet Timothee Bordenave speaks to his love for the faith-infused atmosphere of Paris.
Mesfakus Salahin speaks to a tender and poetic love, and also describes the joy of authentic love that does not match poetic expectations. Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa also addresses true love as opposed to exploitation and how reaching maturity will help people figure out the difference, along with the need for universal compassion and empathy.
Kathleen Hellen highlights the fragility and tenuousness of the bonds that connect us. Bill Tope’s short story speculates on the many might-have-beens of a life cut tragically too short.
Mykyta Ryzhykh highlights the devastation of losing years of life to war and grief, blind but able to sense a tree losing leaves and a world that “still remembers the shape of our bodies.” Z.I. Mahmud analyzes the anti-war sentiment of Bertolt Brecht’s play Mother Courage and Her Children by showing how hardship and violence can change or flatten a person’s character and feelings. Umid Najjari’s poetry addresses war, love, loss, and grief.
Eva Petropoulou Lianou raises awareness of how domestic violence can start with control and possessiveness before physical assault. Mahbub Alam writes of his concern for his homeland of Bangladesh where women and girls face rape and assault. Linda S. Gunther’s short story deals with a woman recovering from and reclaiming her self-esteem after a breakup with a powerful man.
Orinbayeva Dildara reflects on how love has inspired her poetry, but not brought her happiness. Murodillayeva Mohinur expresses the rage and pain caused by betrayal. J.J. Campbell’s work captures ennui and frustration within lonely suburbs.
Poet Pat Doyne speaks to history’s cycles repeating in the modern world and how easy it is to lose hard-won liberties. Daniel De Culla lampoons and apes Donald Trump in a satirical romp.
Sharipov Dilshod Bakhshullayevich outlines how to maintain one’s sanity and civility in a world that can test your patience. Maja Milojkovic relates how she’s mindfully and carefully maintaining her wisdom and kindness and how she urges the world to do the same, as Mirta Liliana Ramirez shares how she’s choosing the most uplifting and thoughtful memories from all of her past to help her move forward to the future.
We hope that Synchronized Chaos, while challenging your mind and heart and broadening your horizons, also serves as a kind of sanity break.
