Editor Speak
October 2022
‘The hills are alive with the sound of music’, sang Julie Andrews in the hugely popular classic ‘The Sound of Music.’ The Wise Owl Team visited a tiny township nestled in the hills to hear this music and were enchanted by the post-monsoon verdant green of the hillside, where the pine trees rustled and danced to the sound of the soft breeze, even as they flaunted their bright, shiny pine needles. So, here we are, dressing up our October edition in a pine theme.
Our Interview and Tête-à-tête segments have special guests. We have an award-winning Yorkshire poet and writer, Amanda Huggins, a Canadian artist, Harley Brown, who excels in pastels of native Americans in traditional finery. We also have Janet Kirchheimer, a poet, writer and filmmaker whose focus on holocaust writings and poetry deserves a salute and Taban Peter Pal, a 17-year-old young artist from Sudan, whose gorgeous portraits in charcoal will take your breath away.
The poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and review segments are teeming with life. I will not play spoiler and let out the list of poets and writers. I will instead, welcome our readers to read their work and savour their creativity. The same is true for our Visual Arts segment and Montage feature. A big thanks to our contributors who have enthusiastically contributed their professional renditions for our podcast segment.
I must share an extract from a lovely letter I received yesterday. It said simply ‘The Wise Owl has become a place where creative minds gather under one roof.’ Cheers to that thought!!
Happy Reading to All!
~Rachna Singh
Interview:
Amanda Huggins
Poet & Writer
The Wise Owl talks to Amanda Huggins, an award-winning poet and writer from Yorkshire. Amanda Huggins is the author of the novellas 'Crossing the Lines' and 'All Our Squandered Beauty', winners of the Saboteur Award for Best Novella, in 2021 and 2022. She has also published a poetry collection, 'The Collective Nouns for Birds', which won the 2020 Saboteur Award for Best Poetry Pamphlet. Her new short story collection, 'An Unfamiliar Landscape', will hit the bookstores this month.
Interview:
Harley Brown
Canadian Artist who excels in portraits of Native Americans in traditional dress
The Wise Owl talks to Harley Brown, a Canadian artist best known for his realistic and beautiful depictions of Native Americans in traditional dress. Harley Brown has been a member of the National Academy of Western Art since 1977 and has received many accolades and awards in a number of national art events. He has authored three books which have become bestsellers, namely ‘Confessions of a Starving Artist’, ‘Harley Brown’s Eternal Truth for Every Artist’ and ‘Harley Brown’s Inspiration for Every Artist.’
Poetry
Eloquent Emotions
Tree Query
A poetic paean to a tree that survives the vagaries of nature, offers shade to a weary traveller and sanctuary to birds and animals.
~David Chappell
Rush Hour
The poet is troubled by thoughts that grumble and shout, suffocating sanity. Thoughts of freedom retrieve him from the claustrophobic chasm.
~Aldas
An Anxious Song
Anxiety creates a black cavernous hole that seems to be devouring the poet, but her creative persona pulls her out of the chasm intact.
~Sonia Chauhan
The Last Sunrise of my Life
A sunrise heralds the arrival of a new day with fresh possibilities and promises. The poet ponders how she would spend the last sunrise of her life.
~Mihika Jindal Gaharwar
Non-Fiction
Travelogues Musings Essays
Vignette
A Date with a Kashmiri Shawl Seller
A beautiful vignette of a Kashmiri shawl seller that brings to mind Rabindranath Tagore’s touching story, ‘Kabuliwala.’
~Swaraj Raj
Musings
Musings on Creative Angst
The Muse is a whimsical creature, making the poet and writer dance to its tune. Amita Paul wonders if creative angst is essential to creativity.
~Amita Paul
Memoir
The Beautiful Indian
Dussehra is celebrated with much fanfare in India. Chitra Singh ushers the readers to a tiny hamlet in Doon Valley, to take part in the celebrations.
~Chitra Singh
Fiction
Stories of Fantasy Romance History
Stormy
This is the story of Sunny, Stormy and Rainbow, three young girls with grit and courage to survive the demons of the world.
~Roberta Kay
The Witch's Secret
A Wicked Witch dons her finery and special ‘lunar’ dancing shoes to attend the party in town. No one but the witch knows the secret of these shoes.
~Debby Cedars
Wet Cement
What happens when the protagonist finds himself trapped in an elevator with a Buddhist monk. Will he achieve enlightenment?
~Pete Prokesch
Amnesia
A touching story of the trauma of a woman who loses her husband and is forced to send her only child abroad to keep him safe from harm.
~Ranjit Powar
Reviews
Movies Books OTT Releases
Film Review
Gargi
A hard-hitting film that plays hide-and-seek with our mind and all of its many judgments and preconceptions.
~Dr Ramandeep Mahal
Book Review
Fireflies in the Rubble
‘Fireflies in the Rubble’ is a collection of deeply melancholic haiku verse that articulates the poet’s sense of grief, loss and loneliness.
~Dr Pravat Kumar Padhy
Tête-à-Tête
Janet Kirchheimer
Poet, Writer & Filmmaker
The Wise Owl has a friendly chat with Janet R Kirchheimer who wears many hats. A prize-winning poet and author of the poetry collections ‘How to Spot One of Us’ (2007) and ‘Seduction: Out of Eden’ (2022), she is also the recipient of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education Arts Fellowship and is a nominee for a Pushcart Prize. Janet is also a filmmaker and is the producer of ‘AFTER: Bringing the Dead Back to Life’, a performance documentary about poetry and the Holocaust.
Visual Arts
Treat for the soul
Tête-à-Tête:
Taban Peter Pal
Young Artist
The Wise Owl has an interesting chat with Taban Peter Pal, a passionate, self-taught 17-year-old freelance artist from South Sudan, who excels in realistic portraits. He describes his work as ‘Hyper realistic pencil drawings that portray emotion and information that people can relate with.’ You can enjoy his work on Instagram: @tabanpeterpal, Facebook: @Taban Peter Pal and Twitter: @Tabanpeterpal
Visual Arts: Painting & Photography
Painting: Stunning Artwork in Charcoal
Taban Peter Pal works magic with charcoal and graphite, creating portraits that emanate with emotion-grief, anguish, anger, frustration, carefree enjoyment, happiness of childhood.
~Taban Peter Pal
Photography: Oldest & Tallest
The Muir Woods National Monument is a coastal redwood forest located on Mount Tamalpais near the Pacific Coast in Marin County, California. The Wise Owl Team visits Muir Woods.
~The Wise Owl Team
Podcasts
Podcast of Top Articles, Features, Poems and Stories
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Montage
The Possibilities of Priya
The Montage section showcases 'Possibilities of Priya', a short film written, produced & directed by Saurabh Yadav. Life is full of all kinds of possibilities. So is the film.
