Something New

Issue 7 of Eleven Eleven contains fiction, poetry, plays, images of art--some in color--as well as a brief interview with one artist.  There is a commitment to the international writing community too; 6 of the 73 featured contributors were translations.

Largely, the fiction editors of Eleven Eleven prefer unconventional narratives, in the vein of Calvino or Kafka, gravitating toward abstraction. In "Individually Wrapped Cheese Slices" by Leena Kroh, private citizen Hakan believes a squirrel, dead on the side of the road, has a soul that continues to live on in The Internet. In "Plumbing" by Peter Grandbois, a college literature professor is plagued by lice and tics, the largest of which grows under his skull the size of a hamster.  The fiction that cannot be called abstract is genre. "Snow Angels" by Jotham Burrello is a hard-boiled detective story with a twisted plot and a shoot-‘em-up finale. In the action packed "Ruby's Repairs" by Darlin' Neal--perhaps the most tender in the bunch--a drunk ex-con attempts to save his wife, a heroine addict, and his infant son. 

The plays are largely "realistic", contributing voices to humanity's larger questions.  Sandra Seaton's "Do You Like Philip Roth?" explores the racial tensions of 1965, just after the Civil Rights movement when African Americans are being integrated into mainstream society. Claire Ortalda's "The Murder of Mother Mike" considers contemporary social norms. She writes, "How are you today?"  "If you accompany "fine" with a smile... life proceeds onward like a happy brook...it is much easier to smile, even if you don't feel like it."'

The poetry editors favor free verse, though range widely in topic, from animal rights to hookers, immigration to insomnia, fantasy to philosophy.  The most dazzling poem of all, the last, "De Obligationibus de Triduum" by Vanessa Place, is a dense, funny, philosophical piece in rhyme. It comes across smart and unrelenting, juxtaposing contemporary pop-culture with spirituality. "Sheba: I am queen.  Queens are by right.  Rights are right.  I am right...You can add a hot apple pie or a side of French Fries...Faith is pure function."

Finally, the journal's art editor, Maria Ortiz offers a touching interview with Emily Huffman, the artist of "Lung Trees." This was a piece originally made with birch plywood, paint, graphite, organic materials, pencils and clay.  The tree images double as lung images and were inspired by a man in the artist's gallery community who died from lung cancer.  She considered, in thinking of trees and lungs "about living and dying, about breath."  Further, she made her work interactive, so the community could directly modify the work.  One woman wrote the names of her loved ones in the flowers she drew, and an oncology nurse wrote the names of her patients in traced leaves.

"Lung Trees" seems to be art at its best, transcending beyond the individual artist in effort educate, to interact, to inspire.