Voices from the Sky: A Companion Podcast to Sky Island Journal

We recently published Issue 22 of Sky island Journal, and we're offering a trio of special features of brand new works from that issue! You will get a sampling of the world-class poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction included in Issue 22, and hear from a few of the writers and poets themselves! I am honored to introduce you to Jeremy Dixon, who took time to speak with me recently about his flash fiction piece, "If I'd Known You Were Coming...” Here is a brief bio: Jeremy Dixon lives near the Yorkshire coast in the United Kingdom where he works as a builder. Having always been a passionate amateur, he's now trying to take his writing more seriously, recently graduating with a B.A in English Literature and Creative Writing from The Open University. He teaches creative writing night classes and has been published in the Glittery Literary Anthology Four. Read this episode’s featured piece, “If I'd Known You Were Coming...” and all the incredible works of Issue 22 (Fall 2022) for free at skyislandjournal.com. Issue 23 goes live on Saturday, January 21st! You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

We just recently published Issue 22 of Sky island Journal, and we're offering a trio of special features of brand new works from that issue! You will get a sampling of the world-class poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction included in Issue 22, and hear from a few of the writers and poets themselves! I am honored to introduce you to Jonathan Odell, who took time to speak with me recently about his creative nonfiction piece, “Our Wondrous Monsters.” Here is a brief bio: Jonathan Odell is author of three novels. His first, The View from Delphi, (Macadam Cage 2004) deals with the struggle for equality in pre-civil rights Mississippi, his home state. In 2012, Random House published his second, The Healing, which explores the power of a story to free a people, set on a slave plantation in the Mississippi Delta. A third novel, Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League, was released by Maiden Lane Press, February 2015. His essays appear in various publications including New York Times, Commonweal, The Bitter Southerner, Minnesota Monthly, Salon, and Alternet. Odell presently lives in Minnesota with his husband. You can view more of his work at his website: http://www.jonathanodell.net Read this episode’s featured piece, “Our Wondrous Monsters,” and all the incredible works of Issue 22 (Fall 2022) for free at skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

This past Saturday we published Issue 22 of Sky island Journal, and the next three episodes are special features of brand new works from that issue! You will get a sampling of the world-class poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction included in Issue 22, and hear from a few of the writers and poets themselves! First up, I am honored to introduce you to Shannon Huffman Polson. Shannon took time to speak with me recently about her poem, “After the Bombs Fall.” Here is a brief bio: Shannon Huffman Polson writes in all genres, wrestling to find beauty in a broken world. Her poetry is published in Emerge Journal, War, Literature and the Arts, and The Wrath Bearing Tree; her essays appear in Riverteeth, The Utne Reader, Ruminate and more; her books include North of Hope: A Daughter’s Arctic Journey, and The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience, and Leadership in the Most Male Dominated Organization in the World, published by Harvard Business Review Press in September 2020, and winner of the Axiom Business Book Award in 2021 - her writings about business and leadership have been featured in Business Insider, Psychology Today, Newsweek, and Forbes Magazine, among others, . Shannon has also published a book of essays, The Way the Wild Gets Inside. She and her family currently live in France. You can view more of her work at her website: https://shannonpolson.com Read this episode’s featured piece, “After the Bombs Fall,” and all the incredible works of Issue 22 (Fall 2022) for free at skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

Enjoy part five of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Ifeoma Nnewuihe, who in our last episode introduced us to her transformative creative nonfiction piece, "To Dance," which was originally published in Issue 12 (Spring 2020) of Sky Island Journal. Ifeoma Nnewuihe is a writer and visual artist living and working in Lagos, Nigeria. Ifeoma has a Master of Arts degree in Literature from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Her works have been published in The Jellyfish Review, The Kalahari Review, Irin Journal, and Green Black Tales, amongst others. She is the winner of the April 2019 Loose Conversation "Everyone Has A Story" Literary Commission, the 2018 Paula Chinwe Okafor Prize for Creative Nonfiction, and she was longlisted for the 2018 Writivism Short Story Prize. In this episode, she recalls her love of words and storytelling, how she gets into the flow of writing, and how we can savor this experience of being alive by seeing all movement as dance. Here is the Derek Walcott poem, "Love After Love," that Ifeoma references: https://allpoetry.com/love-after-love This is the Mary Oliver poem, "I Worried," that Ifeoma mentions as well: Join us next week as we feature another one of our favorite pieces and writers from Sky Island Journal. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

Welcome back to part five of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Ifeoma Nnewuihe who will introduce us to her inspiring creative nonfiction piece, "To Dance," which was originally published in Issue 12 (Spring 2020) of Sky Island Journal. Ifeoma Nnewuihe is a writer and visual artist living and working in Lagos, Nigeria. Ifeoma has a Master of Arts degree in Literature from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Her works have been published in The Jellyfish Review, The Kalahari Review, Irin Journal, and Green Black Tales, amongst others. She is the winner of the April 2019 Loose Conversation "Everyone Has A Story" Literary Commission, the 2018 Paula Chinwe Okafor Prize for Creative Nonfiction, and she was longlisted for the 2018 Writivism Short Story Prize. In this episode, Jessica delivers a reading of her creative nonfiction narrative, "To Dance," and will be back in the next episode to take us inside her head and heart as we explore the piece more deeply. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

Enjoy part four of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Jessica (J.L.) Shively, who in our last episode introduced us to her tremendous flash fiction piece, "Bicycle," which was originally published in Issue 18 (Fall 2021) of Sky Island Journal. J. L. Shively lives on a sparsely populated peninsula on the coast of Maine where she is continuing her search for old cemeteries and abandoned places while completing her collection of short horror stories. She has a Master of Letters from Drew University where she studied creative writing and the psychological fascination of modern ruin. You can follow her @entertheruin. She recently worked as a "Horror Writing Consultant" on a short film, Galaxsea: A Voyage into the Bioluminescent Night. In her writing, Shively focuses on character-driven fiction and adventure stories that are thrilling or even speculative in nature. She leverages the strength of a story’s capacity to showcase the humanity of horror and the power of terrific narrative. Shively is currently pursuing publication for her adult, climate fiction novel and although she has left the Cape behind, she continues to write of its beauty and its ghosts. She can be contacted via email at JLShively.author@gmail.com In this episode, she recalls her initial passion for storytelling, how place inspires her writing, and how "Bicycle" fits into a larger collection of fiction about New Jersey's Cape. She also discusses her photography project, Enter the Ruin, and provides promos for her completed novel manuscripts, for which she is seeking representation for publication. Join us next week as we feature another one of our favorite pieces and writers from Sky Island Journal. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

Welcome back to part four of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Jessica (J.L.) Shively, who will introduce us to her tremendous flash fiction piece, "Bicycle," which was originally published in Issue 18 (Fall 2021) of Sky Island Journal. J. L. Shively lives on a sparsely populated peninsula on the coast of Maine where she is continuing her search for old cemeteries and abandoned places while completing her collection of short horror stories. She has a Master of Letters from Drew University where she studied creative writing and the psychological fascination of modern ruin. You can follow her @entertheruin. She recently worked as a "Horror Writing Consultant" on a short film, Galaxsea: A Voyage into the Bioluminescent Night. In her writing, Shively focuses on character-driven fiction and adventure stories that are thrilling or even speculative in nature. She leverages the strength of a story’s capacity to showcase the humanity of horror and the power of terrific narrative. Shively is currently pursuing publication for her adult, climate fiction novel and although she has left the Cape behind, she continues to write of its beauty and its ghosts. She can be contacted via email at JLShively.author@gmail.com In this episode, Jessica delivers a reading of her flash fiction story, "Bicycle" and will be back in the next episode to take us inside her head and heart as we explore the narrative more deeply. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

We're back for part three of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Vivian Tran, who in our last episode introduced us to her poem "Ash," which was originally published in Issue 9 (Summer 2019) of Sky Island Journal. Vivian Tran is a former nuclear physicist with undergraduate degrees from MIT. She currently writes for engineers and lives in the Bay Area. She is an aspiring poet, and Sky Island Journal is the first literary journal her poetry has appeared in. In this episode, she takes recounts her early years of writing and journaling, her memories with family and her education at MIT, and how it all shaped the published writer she has become. We also go into the origins and multi-faceted message of the featured poem, "Ash." Here is the link to a poem we discuss in addition to "Ash." This additional poem, "Here We Are," is one that Vivian collaborated on with her writing instructor from MIT, Erica Funkhouser, which was written as a memorial to Officer Sean Collier following the tragedy of the 2013 Boston Marathon: https://cmsw.mit.edu/here-we-are-poem-mit-memorial-sean-collier/ Join us next week as we feature another one of our favorite pieces and writers from Sky Island Journal. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

Welcome back to part three of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Vivian Tran, who will introduce us to her poem "Ash," which was originally published in Issue 9 (Summer 2019) of Sky Island Journal. Vivian Tran is a former nuclear physicist with undergraduate degrees from MIT. She currently writes for engineers and lives in the Bay Area. She is an aspiring poet, and Sky Island Journal is the first literary journal her poetry has appeared in. In this episode, Vivian delivers a reading of her poem, "Ash" and will be back in the next episode to take us inside her head and heart as we explore the poem more deeply. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

We're back for part two of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Ateeb Gul, who in our last episode, introduced us to his poem "Portable Cactus," which was originally published in Issue 5 (Summer 2018) of Sky Island Journal. In this episode, he takes us all the way back to his childhood in Pakistan to deliver his journey to becoming a published poet, translator, and academic writer. He also offers advice to fellow writers, talks a little literary theory with Jeff, and enriches our experience with this tremendous poem. Ateeb Gul is a Ph.D. candidate in the Islamic Studies specialization. His areas of research are Islam in South Asia, sirah literature (biographies of Prophet Muhammad), gender in Islamic thought, religion and literature, the history of science and philosophy in the Islamic world, and Islam and New Atheism. He studied for a B.Sc. (honours) in Social Sciences at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (L.U.M.S.) and for an M.A. in Editorial Studies at Boston University. He is also a professional editor, author, poet, and translator. His literary work has featured in Literary Imagination, Ink in Thirds, and Sky Island Journal. As promised, here is the link to Helen Sword's book, Stylish Academic Writing, from Harvard University Press (2012). Join us next week as we feature another one of our favorite pieces and writers from Sky Island Journal. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

Welcome back to part two of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Ateeb Gul, who will introduce us to his poem "Portable Cactus," which was originally published in Issue 5 (Summer 2018) of Sky Island Journal. Ateeb Gul is a Ph.D. candidate in the Islamic Studies specialization. His areas of research are Islam in South Asia, sirah literature (biographies of Prophet Muhammad), gender in Islamic thought, religion and literature, the history of science and philosophy in the Islamic world, and Islam and New Atheism. He studied for a B.Sc. (honours) in Social Sciences at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (L.U.M.S.) and for an M.A. in Editorial Studies at Boston University. He is also a professional editor, author, poet, and translator. His literary work has featured in Literary Imagination, Ink in Thirds, and Sky Island Journal. In this episode, Ateeb delivers a reading of his poem, "Portable Cactus," and will be back in the next episode to take us inside his head and heart as we explore the piece more deeply. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

Welcome to Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! In our last episode we briefly introduced you to Linda Hegland and her creative nonfiction piece, "Dark," which was originally published in Issue 11 (Winter 2020) of Sky Island Journal. She discusses her journey to becoming a published writer, offers advice for aspiring writers, and shares unique insights into this outstanding narrative that reminds us to fully experience our senses, be present, and recognize that darkness does not need to be scary. Linda H.Y. Hegland is an award-winning poet, lyric essayist and creative non-fiction writer and a writer of the occasional short story. Her work had been published widely in numerous literary journals in Canada, the US, and England. She is the recipient of a third prize in the Cecilia Lamont Literary Prize, the awards of Distinguished Writer, Gold Prize Winner, and an Honorable Mention in various ArtAscent international competitions. She has also had her work nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is the author of a poetry collection Bird Slips/Moon Glows (2019), a book of lyrics essays Place of the Heart - Life on Fat Hummingbird Farm (2020) and most recently another collection of poetry White Horses (2021) - all with Cyberwit Publishers. Her writing most often reflects the influence of place and sense of place and one’s relationship with it. Linda lives with her husband, a dog, a cat and two chickens on a small farm at the foot of a mountain in Nova Scotia, Canada. She has also created two Youtube videos of two of her poems "Prairie Prayer: a Paean to Place" and "The Sea for the First Time." You can view more of her writing at Linda's website: https://www.intothewildwriting.com Stayed tuned for future episodes of Voices from the Sky as we work to develop Season 2, with expanded content and more frequent episode availability! You can also enjoy more great works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from Sky Island Journal at https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

We are so pleased to launch Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Linda Hegland to kick-off this six-part series as she pulls us into the literary world of her creative nonfiction piece, "Dark," which was originally published in Issue 11 (Winter 2020) of Sky Island Journal. Linda H.Y. Hegland is an award-winning poet, lyric essayist and creative non-fiction writer and a writer of the occasional short story. Her work had been published widely in numerous literary journals in Canada, the US, and England. She is the recipient of a third prize in the Cecilia Lamont Literary Prize, the awards of Distinguished Writer, Gold Prize Winner, and an Honorable Mention in various ArtAscent international competitions. She has also had her work nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is the author of a poetry collection Bird Slips/Moon Glows (2019), a book of lyrics essays Place of the Heart - Life on Fat Hummingbird Farm (2020) and most recently another collection of poetry White Horses (2021) - all with Cyberwit Publishers. Her writing most often reflects the influence of place and sense of place and one’s relationship with it. Linda lives with her husband, a dog, a cat and two chickens on a small farm at the foot of a mountain in Nova Scotia, Canada. She has also created two Youtube videos of two of her poems "Prairie Prayer: a Paean to Place" and "The Sea for the First Time." You can view more of her writing at Linda's website: https://www.intothewildwriting.com Stayed tuned for future episodes of Voices from the Sky as we work to develop Season 2, with expanded content and more frequent episode availability! You can also enjoy more great works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from Sky Island Journal at https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

In our third episode of Voices from the Sky, we welcome Steve Lambert to close Season 1 as he discusses his poem "Stuck in Traffic on I-95 Southbound," which was originally published in Issue 2 (Fall 2017) of Sky Island Journal. He talks about the variety of ways that creativity has been at the core of his being since childhood, offers advice for aspiring writers, and shares unique insights into this outstanding poem that serves as a reminder that all of us are a work in progress, striving to find our way in this world. Steve Lambert’s writing has been published widely in the United States and beyond. He is the recipient of four Pushcart Prize nominations and was a Rash Award in Fiction finalist. He is the author of the poetry collection Heat Seekers (2017), the chapbook In Eynsham (2020) and the fiction collection The Patron Saint of Birds (2020). His novel, Philisteens, became available in May of 2021 and his next poetry collection, The Shamble, will be out in October, both with Close to The Bone Publishing. He lives in Northeast Florida, with his wife and daughter, where he teaches part-time at the University of North Florida. Stayed tuned for future episodes of Voices from the Sky as we work to develop Season 2, with expanded content and more frequent episode availability! You can also enjoy more great works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from Sky Island Journal, including Issue 18 (Fall 2021), on Saturday, October 16, 2021 at https://www.skyislandjournal.com You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

In our second episode of Voices from the Sky, we welcome Chad Broughman to talk about his fantastic story, "From Under a Porch," which was originally published in Issue 7 (Spring 2019) of Sky Island Journal. He takes us inside the distinct moment when he decided to become a writer of fiction, opens doors to peer into his writing process, and offers unique insights into this flash fiction story about mercy, patience, and much more. Chad V. Broughman was the recipient of the Rusty Scythe Prize Book award in 2016 and in 2017 was awarded the Adobe Cottage Writers Retreat honor in New Mexico. As well, Chad was awarded a chapbook contract for his collection of short stories, “the forsaken,” which was published by Etchings Press. His fiction can be found in journals nationwide––such as Carrier Pigeon, East Coast Literary Review, River Poets Journal, Burningword, Pulp Fiction, and From Whispers to Roars––and he is currently anthologized in the Write Michigan Short Story Anthology and On Loss, an anthology. He is a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee, holds an MFA from Spalding University and served as co-editor for the poetry/fiction blog, Café Aphra, based out of the United Kingdom. Chad teaches English and Creative Writing at the secondary and post-secondary levels but, most importantly, is a husband and the proud father of two feisty young sons. You can read more of Chad's work here: http://www.chadvbroughman.com Tune in for future episodes of Voices from the Sky this season! You can also enjoy more great works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction, including Chad Broughman's most recent flash fiction offering, "Teeth," in Issue 14 (Fall 2020), on Saturday, October 17, at Sky Island Journal. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

In our first episode of Voices from the Sky, we explore Sandy Coomer's outstanding poem, "How to Spell America," which was originally published in Issue 4 (Spring 2018) of Sky Island Journal. She takes us inside her journey as a writer, her writing process, and offers unique insights into this poem about the following topics: immigration, language, communication, and seeing beyond. Sandy Coomer is a poet, artist, Ironman athlete, and social entrepreneur from Nashville, Tennessee. Her poetry has been published in numerous journals. She is the author of three poetry chapbooks and a full-length collection, titled Available Light (from Iris Press). Sandy is a poetry mentor in the AWP Writer to Writer Mentorship Program and the founding editor of the online poetry journal, Rockvale Review. She also is the founder and director of Rockvale Writers’ Colony in College Grove, Tennessee, a not-for-profit organization that exists to support, promote, and educate writers of all genres and backgrounds. Sandy’s favorite word is “believe.” Readers can find more of Sandy Coomer's great work here: http://www.sandycoomer.com. Tune in for future episodes this season, and enjoy more great works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction at Sky Island Journal. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

VOICES FROM THE SKY is a companion podcast to Sky Island Journal, an independent international literary journal where we discover and publish the finest poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from around the world. Always free to access, we publish accomplished authors—side by side—with emerging voices for over 70,000 of readers in 145 countries. In this program, we delve deep into some of our favorite pieces since our journal’s inception in 2017 and we go inside the heads and hearts...