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MÖBIUS, The Poetry Magazine

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief 2008
Juanita Torrence-Thompson   Juanita Torrence Thompson
So much has happened since my 2007 MÖBIUS letter. First, MÖBIUS, The Poetry Magazine 2007, our 25th Anniversary silver edition, was selected by Small Magazine Review as a favorite magazine of 2007. The reviews, including from Western Writers Center in Ireland, said in part, “Calling Mobius a poetry magazine is like calling Eric Clapton a guitar player. It’s a lavishly-produced, silver-covered…exhibition-space for all sorts of poetry, published with a stanza-staggering professional allure that should scare off small magazines everywhere.” —Thank you everyone who sent congratulations. We focused on quality, but were also happy for diversity of voices from around the world. In 2008 submissions soared to 900, including poets from U.S. states and countries who had not sent to us before. We had poets from 8 foreign countries in 2006, 14 in 2007 & 24 in 2008, including Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Spain, China, Kosovo, Austria, New Zealand, Lebanon, Turkey and Trinidad W.I. I’m ecstatic that we still publish Pulitzer-prize and other award-winning poets beside gifted emerging poets.

MÖBIUS, The Poetry Magazine is pleased to introduce Assistant Editor, Dr. Jim Flanagan and Shareefah Mapp, Administrative Assistant/Production Assistant, who both helped in 2007 too.

The media has been kind, publishing articles in Newsday, Queens Courier, Point of View, Culvert Chronicles, New York Times, Chicago Tribune.com, Baltimore Sun, etc. MÖBIUS 2007 is in The Gordon Parks Center for Culture & Diversity at Ft. Scott Community College in Ft. Scott, Kansas. MÖBIUS is also in major bookstores and independents and available from us. We’re also in U.S. schools, colleges and in libraries here and abroad. MÖBIUS is excerpted online at: www.mobiuspoetry.com.

Our 25th Anniversary gala, October 2007, sponsored by Xerox Corporation with additional funding by King Yum Chinese Polynesian Restaurant and Hugh W. Thompson, was a success. We nearly had a full house at The Baha’i Center, New York City. The exciting program featured poets Roxanne Hoffman, Colette Inez, Samuel Menashe, Daniel Thomas Moran, Hal Sirowitz, and yours truly host & reader. Toni Parks flew in from England to read her father, Gordon Parks’ poetry. Heun Choi (cellist) played Bach. View video excerpts of this on: www.youtube.com/poetrytown. On March 19, 2008, we had Mobius 25th Anniversary, Part 2 at Borders Books, NYC. It was standing room only despite the rain. I was host/reader again introducing poets Daniela Gioseffi, Colette Inez, Samuel Menashe and Dr. Stephen Stepanchev. Photos of both and reviews are online at my website: www.poetrytown.com.

It gives me pleasure to announce the 2007 winners of the prestigious Petra Kenney Poetry Competition held in England: General Category: 1st prize: Caroline Gill; 2nd Mario Petrucci; 3rd: Daphne Schiller; Highly Commended: Pat Borthwick (all from England); Pam Galloway & Micheline Maylor (both Canadian). Young Poets: 1st prize: Josh Evans, 2nd Kelsey Harbord (both Canadian). Comic: Doreen Hinchliffe (English). Congratulations!

I was invited to participate in an educational forum in China (2007 invited to Egypt for same), attend the Petra Kenney Awards in London, England. Alas, I had to pass. I recently sandwiched in several readings including at my church, at a favorite high school and Poets Corner in New Rochelle, NY with Thaddeus Rutkowski and Dominick Arbolay. I read from my new book, New York and African Tapestries which was a Small Press Review favorite book of 2007. My poem, “Talking With Stanley Kunitz,” won 5th prize in the national Writers Digest Poetry Award out of 4,000 poems entered. That is the title of my 7th book which seeks a publisher.

Speaking of books, my family and I were so impressed with Al Gore’s book, An Inconvenient Truth, and film about global warming that I am devoting half of MÖBIUS’ “Science and Nature” category to global warming. My family and I have been environmentalists since the first Earth Day. Enjoy our GREEN environmental cover. Pray for world peace.

Poetry is the Music of the Soul.

— Juanita Torrence-Thompson,
Editor-in-Chief/Publisher


MÖBIUS Editor’s Tribute to Rochelle Ratner

When I wrote my tribute to my friend GORDON PARKS in MÖBIUS 2007, I never dreamed I would be writing one to my friend ROCHELLE RATNER this year. I had a professional relationship with Rochelle, escalating from having attended one of her workshops where I gleaned a great deal. Rochelle was very generous with her knowledge of poetry, prose and the publishing world. She was instrumental in several things in my career. It was not unusual for me to pick up the phone & call her occasionally in NYC or her home upstate. However, she was a prolific writing dynamo, so I switched to emails so as not to disturb her muse. I could never repay Rochelle for her many kindnesses, nor did she expect it, but I was happy to return favors when I was in a position to.

It was a pleasure devouring Rochelle’s books, which I often did in one sitting. However, she gave me her book, Balancing Acts, with a note, “You’ll remember a few of these poems, such as “Dancing With School Crossing Guards” (inspired by a line in your poem, and written in class) … But…you”ll remember a few years ago you were attempting to define the prose poem. In my search for better ways to explain it, I was drawn close to the whole prose poem process once again, and this book is the first fruit. For that, and more, I thank you. Best, Rochelle.” Coincidentally, Balancing Acts received the “Favorite New Title for National Poetry Month” honor announced on the day she passed. I like to think that Rochelle knows this and knows how much her students appreciate that she cared and gave of herself to them and that her friends feel richer that she touched their lives. I know I do. I was amazed and moved by her bravery when she said she wrote on her laptop during her medical treatments. It seems strange not to pick up the phone and call Rochelle or read her emails, but her work and her magnificent spirit will live on.

— Juanita Torrence-Thompson,
Editor-in-Chief/Publisher