The First Publication Gathering

We, The Forwardian Arts Society, gathered together with several artists, writers, and other interested parties at The Starbucks in Stroudsburg, PA on Saturday December 12th to begin the envisioning process as we embark upon a wonderful adventure leading to the creation of a New Literary and Art Magazine. The Forward Papers will present enriching literature consisting of poetry, essays, short stories, and other forms touching a variety of genres and subject matter, enticing art work which will include stand along pieces along with illustrations of the literary material we’ll present, and articles exploring the many aspects of the arts both seen and unseen to the Pocono (Monroe County, PA) Area and beyond. Those who joined us at this initial exploratory gathering included musician, writer, and poet Holly Avilla of the band Blue Planet/Planeta Azul, writer and poet Alexandra Carpenter, writer Hiroko Sciaretta, poet Ray Burke, and musician, poet, writer, and editor of The Forward Papers Debbie Burke of Pocono Jazz and Poetry.

Many topics relating to the publication of The Forward Papers were explored as our envisioning began to take the shape of a manifested reality. The gathering was conversational as some tasks to move the magazine forward began to develop. Some of these ideas included setting a deadline of February 15th for material to be submitted to the magazine for consideration of inclusion and for revenue from the magazine’s investors such as advertisers, sponsors, patrons, and financial contributors. There was an excited discussion on holding events filled with music, poetry, and art to help raise additional funds to assure the publication of our premier issue and beyond. We hope to explore this possibility further in the very near future and encourage more people to participate in the planning of this endeavor.

The next Publication Gathering will take place soon after the Holidays. Topics will include reports on the progress we’ve made on the tasks discovered to be done at our first gathering along with further explorations into what The Forward Papers can be for those who seek it out. In the meantime, we’ll be meeting with those who could not attend our initial meeting due to scheduling conflicts in individual get together to partake of their insights. We’ll also be putting the call out for an event to help raise funds for the magazine and those reading this may well expect an email or message to that effect in the very near future. So, keep an eye out for it.

To learn more about The Forward Papers, please feel free to contact me, Paul Adam Smeltz, through The Forwardian Arts Society Website or our editor Debbie Burke through The Pocono Jazz and Poetry Website. We’ll be happy to share any thoughts with you as we go forward together. You find more photographs in The Forward papers Gallery at www.myspace.com/forwardian_dude.

The websites of those mentioned in this article are The Forwardian Arts Society at www.theforwardianartssociety.com, Debbie Burke of Pocono Jazz and Poetry at www.poconojazzandpoetry.com, and Holly Avila of Blue Planet/Planeta Azul at www.myspace.com/blueplanetplanetaazul.