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From the Editor’s Desk
Summer, 2012
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon forty-three years ago they could not have envisioned a world where they could press a couple of keys and read all about their exploits on a “website” called “wikipedia.” It was a mechanical world on the verge of transforming into an electronic one, when our journeys would rarely require us to leave our comfy couches or to put our sugar donuts aside. Unfortunately, such a world does not come with a simple navigation system. That’s where Ducts comes in, acting as your mission control. We scour the web for you, finding the best personal stories, poetry, art and more so you can sit back, like Neil and Buzz on the pinhead of a rocket, and enjoy the ride. Journey this issue to an essay about catchers and family, a short story about grandmas and art, an art gallery presentation of unique paintings of nature, and much, much more. And please feel free to plant your flag and leave us a comment: our writers love to receive your feedback.
As many of you know, Ducts.org is part of an umbrella organization called New York Writers Resources, dedicated to helping writers everywhere. Also under that umbrella are our two sister organizations. Greenpoint Press has continued the tradition of publishing extraordinary books that are too often over-looked by mainstream publishers. Call of the Lark, by Maura Mulligan, and Fierce Joy, by Ellen Schecter, are memoirs that illustrate the triumph of the human spirit, and we are proud to have them on our bookshelf, along with other non-fiction books like We’re Not Leaving, the story of 9/11 First Responders, as told by Dr. Benjamin Luft, and gOld, interviews with men and women over the age of 70, as collected by Harry Getzov. With our next book, Starfish, by Patty Dann (a sequel to her critically acclaimed novel, Mermaids), we turn our eye back to fiction. http://greenpointpress.org/
And once again, this spring the New York Writers Workshop held sold out fiction and non-fiction pitch conferences. Writers from all over the country travel to New York to pitch their novels or book ideas to editors in person. And at least one person sold a book as a result of our Young Adult/Children’s Book section, to a major publishing house. Our next conferences are in the fall, October and November. THE NYWW also held a series of free classes at various New York City Public Libraries, and free classes at the Kittay House, a part of the Jewish Home for the Elderly, in the Bronx, as well as holding classes based at the Manhattan JCC. http://newyorkwritersworkshop.com/
We continue to raise money as part of our effort to bring you the best personal stories on the web. If you enjoy the thought-provoking essays and memoirs, if you are captivated by our fiction, poetry and art, I urge you to donate whatever amount you can. Every little bit helps!
As always, you’ll find great essays, fiction, memoirs, poetry, and art within these pages. And as I smash this bottle of champagne against the hull of our steady ship, I would like to thank you for your support over the years. Please return again and again!
-Jonathan Kravetz, Editor-in-Chief
This issue of Ducts is made possible with a regrant from the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, supported by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.