It is with unmitigated pleasure that I introduce Melic in Heat, our premillennial encouragement to increased procreation by the elite, whom we define as those who read poetry not their own. This does not include Hallmark, rap lyrics or most performance poetry.
In his novel Vietnam, Norman Mailer posits that sex is not as exciting when the possibility of procreation is removed. I suppose this explains why people like to gamble with real money, not matchsticks. If any are offended by the material in this issue I recommend a loss of virginity and a humor transfusion.
Erotic literature, judging from spam mail alone, is likely the most clichéd genre of all. I trust our featured poet, Teresa White, has transcended that limitation here.
I would like to thank Denver Perkins, who signed on as fiction editor for
this issue, and Shann Palmer, who screened poetry submissions until hired
away, for their contributions to Melic VII. It is also my sad duty to
report that Blake Kritzberg, who redesigned Melic and produced the last four
issues, has tendered her resignation as webmistress. She has, however,
promised to hang around long enough to break in her replacement, for which
applications are now open.
I cannot adequately thank Blake for her contributions to Melic; suffice it
to say that she helped transform our little enterprise from a fledgling
e-zine into a cyberliterary journal worthy of the name.
I am happy to report that the first Melic Basic Poetry Course was a rousing
success, and the next offering will be in January. Kudos to Sharon Kourous
for her able assistance in teaching it. Also, Melic and
Zeugma (online poetry workshop) are tentatively planning a joint Literary Net Conference
for August of 2000 in Colorado, so mark your calendars for the extended
weekend of the 18th through the 20th. We hope to feature some
big names to make it worth your while.
As a proper foundation for the new millennium, the next three issues of
Melic will examine "Faith," "Hope," and "Love" in order. Kathleen Carbone,
co-founder of Zeugma and proofreader extraordinaire, has already consented
to edit the "Faith" issue.
(Applications for guest editor are always open.)
A note to contributors: Melic submissions open on the 15th of the month in which the quarterly appears and close on the 15th of the month preceding the next issue. Thus, submissions for Melic VIII ("Faith") will open December 15th and close February 15th. Any submissions falling outside these dates will be returned unread. In addition, Melic in Heat is the last issue of Melic in which we intend to pay contributors. For more details on submissions, the Basic Poetry Course, the Literary Net Conference and other offerings, please subscribe through our home page.
Thine in Truth and Art,
C.E. Chaffin for Melic
