The Poets Voice: August 2014 by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist My husband and I just returned from a visit to West Texas. I am grateful for Mary Oliver’s ‘wild and precious’ world. Yes, it exists in Texas. Our days were wind-dizzy; road side cactus prevalent. FlatContinue Reading

Straddling Various Worlds by Greg Vineyard Many forms of entertainment require a suspension of disbelief. Sitcoms and rom-coms, for example, often expect one to believe that anyone can have a fabulous New York flat, that all couches face the viewer, and that no mere set of wacky circumstances can hinderContinue Reading

by Bill Walz “One way to evaluate our practice is to see whether life is more and more OK with us… More and more we know that whatever happens, however much we hate it, however much we have to struggle with it – in some way, it’s OK… We growContinue Reading

Welcome to the first installment of The Business of Art, written by visual arts consultant Wendy H. Outland. Contact her at imwhoknowsart@gmail.com. Once an emerging artist has developed a body of work, they realize it’s time to get it into the marketplace. Most want someone else to do the sellingContinue Reading

Curmudgeon walked into the General Store and said to nobody in particular, “It’s started again.” by Peter Loewer “What?” asked Storekeep, Mrs. Storekeep, and brother of Cityfella. “That ubiquitous fog, you know the all-consuming early-morning mist that ruins golf shots and shopping, especially up here on our mountain top.” TheContinue Reading

by Max Hammonds, MD Cancer is one of the scariest words in the dictionary. No one wants to hear that word – ever, whether referring to themselves or a family member. Yet how do we avoid such an encounter? The rates of cancer occurrence (except for colo-rectal cancer) have continuedContinue Reading

by James Cassara An amazing month of music, highlighted by the welcome return of an underappreciated pop mastermind, a bevy of discs plumbing the catacombs of a band whose work set a blueprint for independents, and other assorted fun stuff. Sit back and enjoy! REM Complete Rarities, Warner Bros. 1988-2011Continue Reading

Craft Heaven by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist The cusp: a potter at her wheel, wood turner at his bench, weaver and loom, blacksmith and forge, fiddler and fiddle, glass-maker and fire, writer and page. As I prepare to teach Crafting Words at the J. C. CampbellContinue Reading

All Moments Great & Small by Greg Vineyard Bibliophiles will recognize that sub-head as a nod to British veterinarian turned author, James Herriot. I grew up reading books I could not have predicted would stay in my thoughts throughout the years, yet they appear now and then like slow bubblesContinue Reading