by: Aaron Jackson

The creation of a literary journal is like the building of a house. You pour the foundation, and call it your masthead. You complete the walls, and eventually fill your house with the things that make you happiest. Ink and Ashes is like a new house set on a wide foundation, still testing its weight. The walls are high and pristine, the rooms waiting to be filled.

Inkandashes.com is a brand new literary journal courtesy of its two founding editors, Francesco Levato and Lauren R. Mathews. Still in its infancy, the quarterly journal has thus far put out a single issue, but they are currently reading for their summer edition due in July. Advertised as a “Journal of the senses,” the editors of Ink and Ashes have set a grand task for themselves. They seek to publish art, in its literary and visual forms, that, “details, records, questions, explains, and otherwise beautifully documents and explores the human experience.” In other words, beautifully rendered art that evokes an emotional response from its readers. But as any writer, reviewer, or editor will tell you, the cost of such a lofty goal lies in the publication’s content.

The publication itself is neatly arranged, laid out in an attractive design. The background, comprised of soft colors, draws the reader into a state of relaxation. The magazine’s format is user friendly. A navigation window docked on the left side of the screen provides easy access to all of the site’s features. Readers also have the option of scrolling down through the current issue section located in the pages main frame. The current issue gives an overview of the issue’s content, as well as a brief excerpt from each poem, story, or essay, and a link to the full piece. One area in which the publication truly shines is in the visual department. From an attractive front page, to the quality photography inside, Ink and Ashes celebrates the visual arts. The first issues contains somewhere in the neighborhood of ten images, all vibrant full-color photography with an emphasis on texture, lighting, and color. The images are artfully erotic at times, texturally distant at others, but always appealing to the eye.

As far as literary content is concerned, Ink and Ashes poetry is a collection of disparate emotional impressions. The inner world of thought and emotion are juxtaposed against the wide openness of the natural world. Take Kristy Bowen’s poem, “A Cure for Ordinary Fevers,” for example. “Begin with pumice, forsythia, the roots of bulbs unsuspected till spring…Add: 1 cassia bloom, a girl unfortunate in her dress….mix well. First, we must relearn snow, dream of a box with the cosmos inside.” Here Bowen takes a world of personal feeling and augments it with the concrete imagery of nature. The end result is a metaphorical mixture whose various interpretations resonate in the mind of the reader. Her poem has its own internal movement, oscillating between solid and lucid. Nature, for her, draws out her inner thoughts. Contrast this against Jada Ach’s poem, “The Eater of Grass.” Very similar in tone and concept, the two poems have an opposite lyrical movement. “I know the essence of soil: how it waxes the gums and caulks between the teeth…and I marveled at how the layers, rich hues of brown antiquity, could erode and dissolve inside of me.” I her poem she subverts the emotions, burying them deep inside using the metaphorical language of nature.

Rounding out the publication is a creative non-fiction section, and a review/ interview section. Overall, the journal presents a fairly standard brand of post modern poetry, but I found the creative non-fiction section to go against the grain of this otherwise conventional offering. Most literary journals prefer and encourage fiction submissions, but as of yet Ink and Ashes does not accept fiction. This is a pleasant, and quirky surprise stuck in the middle of the journal, especially given the high caliber of its content, three stories by Kat Duff, Peggy Duffy, and Jackson Lassiter.

Submission guidelines are fairly conventional, with a few specifics that should be mentioned. The editors ask that you submit 3-5 poems, or no more than six pages of poetry per reading period. The journal, as it now stands, is a quarterly publication, currently reading for the summer issue, which should come out in July. The editors will be accepting submissions through the month of May, until June first. Submissions must be attached to your email in MS word format. Ink and ashes gladly accepts simultaneous submissions, as long as the author notifies them immediately if the poem is accepted elsewhere. Previously published pieces are discouraged unless the author absolutely feels it necessary to send it to the editors. The publication asks standard first north American serial rights for published work.

Given time, I believe that Ink and Ashes will flourish. If there is one criticism that I have, it would be that I’d like to see more diversity in the type of poetry selected. Still testing its fledgling wings, the magazine needs to take a few chances in the future. I would love to see experimental and humorous poetry alongside their already wonderful content. At this point, the editors need to keep soliciting the good quality work contained in this first issue, while growing and expanding in the scope and range of its work. If you would like to help contribute to a promising literary journal, visit Inkandashes.com.