SPIRAL CHAMBERS ONLINE December, 1995 Issue #3 ********** *CONTENTS* ********** Introduction ...Section 1 "State of the Nation" by Janet Kuypers ...Section 2 "Shades of Gray" by Liz Dubuisson ...Section 3 "The Shout from the Stars" by John Grey ...Section 4 "A Clan All Its Own" by Peter Scott ...Section 5 General Info about Spiral Chambers ...Section 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spiral Chambers, issue 3, volume 1. Published monthly by the Twisted Teen Publishing Company, P.O. Box 772, Mentor, Ohio 44061. Copyright 1995 by the Twisted Teen Publishing Company. All works herein may be reprinted. In fact, reproduction of this electronic publication is encouraged, so long as the works are not altered in any way, shape or form and credit is given to both Spiral Chambers and the work's respective author. For information on reproduction rights, submission guidelines, subscription information or for general inquiries, write to: Spiral Chambers, P.O. Box 772, Mentor, Ohio 44061. Over the internet: Repsi SK@AOL.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********** *Section 1* *********************** INTRODUCTION -------- Despite some valiant attempts, Spiral Chambers Online is still searching for a new name. Not that I dislike "Spiral Chambers," only due to the fact that between the editor version of this column and this E-zine resides quite a bit of confusion. I'd like to differentiate this E-zine from the editor edition because Spiral Chambers is a poetry column for inclusion in 'zines, whereas this is a periodical in itself. At the same time, this E-zine has to maintain its roots; for identification purposes, our new title needs to include either "Spiral" or "Chamber(s)" in the title. Were there no connection and the poems herein distributed exclusively for Spiral Chambers Online, "CyberPoet" might be a good name. Alas, is "CyberPoet Chambers" or "Spiral CyberPoets" still a decent name? My need for a permanent title could be exercising its will over the subconscious, so please write me with your opinion on this dilemma. Feel free to submit new suggestions or simply "nay" or "yay" my current line of thinking. Speaking of submissions, don't forget to mail us your poetry! Spiral Chambers is read by easily over 20,000 individuals per month (most are not on the internet, however), so why wait? Get your work seen in print across the country and around the world! Feel free to send for our guidelines if you haven't submitted before. With that, I should be off. T'is the season to be jolly, so for every 20 E-mail addresses you give me of people who might be interested in Spiral Chambers, I'll mail you a coupon for a free LP. Yes, FREE music just for helping us make this E-zine stronger. Bouncing Souls, Youth Gone Mad, The Reviled, Basic Skills...does it get any better? Have a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah and a GREAT New Year! The poetically inclined, Peter ********** *Section 2* *********************** "State of the Nation" -------- by Janet Kuypers my phone rang earlier today and I picked it up and said "hello" and a man on the other end said, Is this Janet Kuypers? and I said, "Yes, it is, may I ask who is calling?" and he said, Yeah, hi, this is George Washington, and I'm sitting here with Jefferson and we wanted to tell you a few things. And I said "Why me?" And he said excuse me, I believe I said I was the one that wanted to do the talking. God, that's the problem with Americans nowadays. They're so damn rude. And I said, "You know, you really didn't have to use language like that," and he said, Oh, I'm sorry, it's just I've been dead so long, I lose all control of my manners. Well, anyway, we just wanted to tell you some stuff. Now, you know that we really didn't have much of an idea of what we were doing when we started up this country here, we didn't have much experience in creating bodies of power, so I could understand how our Constitution could be misconstrued and then he put in a dramatic pause and said, but when we said people had a right to bear arms we meant to protect themselves from a government gone wrong and not so you could kill an innocent person for twenty dollars cash and when we said freedom of religion we included the separation of church and state because freedom of religion could also mean freedom from religion and when we said freedom of speech we had no idea you'd be burning a flag or painting pictures of Christ doused in urine or photographing people with whips up their respective anatomies but hell, I guess we've got to grin and bear it because if we ban that the next thing they'll ban is books and we can't have that and I said, "But there are schools that have books banned, George." And he said Oh. ********** *Section 3* *********************** "Shades of Gray" -------- by Liz Dubuisson Shades of gray and tones of black, Assault my weary eyes. And just when I can stand no more, The darkness comes to rise. O windswept traveler state your name and tell your haggard tale. For when the sun will rise again You'll see it ends in hell. O kindly preacher tell us more we wish a path to choose. Yet whether we go left or right we always seem to lose. O sweet maiden fare thee well! I hope your voyage free. For if the harm should come your way I fear you'll soon join me. O wretched fate, O devil cruel, O deadly force of night! My strength may ebb, My mind may dim, But I still must search for light. _____________________ (Advertisement) ETERNAL JAM The Ultimate Monthly Music Newsletter Each month we feature local & major band interviews, fact or rumors, reviews, classified ads, poems such as Spiral Chambers, anti-censorship, questionnaires, pictures & much, much more. We keep you up-to-date on all your favorite bands and feature rock, metal and alternative music. We are always in search of new writers & contributors. We have received rave reviews from rockers, management companies and many others. Your first issue is free, so why not check it out? All you have to do is send your name and address to: Eternal Jam c/o Lori Powers 419 Arlington Drive Romeoville, IL 60441 USA or over the internet, at: Powers1@AOL.com _____________________ ********** *Section 4* *********************** "The Shout from the Stars" -------- by John Grey I'm standing outside the bookstore cafe, a winter too warm for its own winds, my head already drained of the poetry reading by a typical woman's collective, each work fattening on their need to collect together as women, as if they make better walls than feelings. Early on, I was listening for your voice in there, a perky firefly in a dull night of words, the taste of caramel drowning their dull confection. But it was all desert wit and academic fog, and I wanted poems that dance out of lips slicker than a kiss, that hi-jack the air I breathe, that shout from the stars. ********** *Section 5* *********************** "A Clan All Its Own" -------- by Peter Scott In the echoing solitude Shifting silence Leads to a sustained realization Of direction Spanning the width of understanding And the depth of experience Homeland has been spotted afar Deeper to the heart Thereby natural Without regrets for A transmission of paradigms Living unique Heralds diversity's recognition At the price of understanding Novelty never attempted to express Rejected by confusion It assumed the game was long- Ad infinitum Increasing the chances Of injurious duty Until one day a success Novelty comprehended Rituals and duty Love was starved to a hunger And so it wept For days Taking consolation in individuality Basking in self pity Whilst affronting sorrow with its own hand Bleeding quicker Never time to heal Until it died Then Novelty- Or the guise no longer here Walked the world of empty streets Barren towns Colored in black and white And gray Red nor pink near the eye to see Lounged in pensive anticipation for The event A great meeting of souls Devoid of all preference For Novelty- Or the guise noticed no longer Thought there were none When in fact The gray land was its home The former guise- Known as Novelty Uniqueness and Individuality Sacrificed its whole But now found itself A part of the whole. ********** *Section 6* *********************** SPIRAL CHAMBERS -------- Spiral Chambers is a syndicated poetry column that is distributed without charge to magazines of various degrees in size and content. Conceived in July of 1994, Spiral Chambers endeavors to unite the publisher with the artist, forming an interdependent bond where both profit from the other's success. Published monthly, Spiral Chambers offers small-press publications free poetry without having to search and advertise for poets, weed through mountains of marginal submissions or even create the page layout. The poet, on the other hand, gets an instant world-wide audience, has their work broadcast to diverse cultural circles and bypasses the hassle of finding and sending their work to hundreds of publications. All parties profit and grow simultaneously from Spiral Chambers. This E-zine is offered as an electronic venue for the column. Help us grow: Tell your friends about Spiral Chambers! For complete guidelines, write to: RepsiSK@AOL.com