Lois Greene Stone, writer and poet, has been syndicated worldwide. Poetry and personal essays have been included in hard & softcover book anthologies.  Collections of her personal items/ photos/ memorabilia are in major museums including twelve different divisions of The Smithsonian.

Dear Diary,
   I don’t understand death or why daddy doesn’t come home anymore.  I expect daddy to come in the door, or walk in the yard with his funny plaid hat and enjoy the square of grass and flowers.  Today I saw a man who also had one shoulder a bit droopy; he was walking and I was sure it was daddy and ran up to him.  I only thought daddy walked and looked that way from the back.
   Everyone came over bringing food and things.  Mom wanted someone in her bed last night but I just couldn’t stand the sound of her breathing and she snored sometimes from the medicine the doctor gave her to help her sleep.  I opened and closed daddy’s dresser drawer to smell the smell it has.  Everyone tells me I have to cry.  I can’t.  He can’t be dead or rotting in the ground or crumbling like I imagined Washington to be doing at Mr. Vernon when we went on a trip.  My daddy is not going to rot or anything: if I don’t cry, he’ll come back ‘cause it won’t be true.
   I had to sit in a limousine all the way to Long Island and then lift a shovel, fill it with dirt, throw the dirt on top of the wooden box that I’m supposed to believe my father’s in. I was carrying out an assignment.  He wasn’t in there.  I was acting, like in the movies or the theatre.  He’ll be home and talk to me, won’t he?  He’ll be home soon so I can thank him for the yellow Crane stationery that came in today’s mail.  Won’t I hear his voice, watch him turn into a grey old man, listen to the boring stories about his childhood? Sure.  He’ll be home.  When?
   If daddy is dead, then I hate what I’ve learned about in Sunday School because a Supreme Being doesn’t do these things like war and death and everything.  No one wants to hear these things and wouldn’t answer me when I demanded to know how the Lord can allow this?
   Men standing under umbrellas outside are selling hot dogs.  And some kids from school will be rowing in Central Park this afternoon.  I’d like Italian ices right now ‘cause my throat is dry.  Daddy taught me how to push the ices up the cup and squish the bottom.  No one dies on a pretty spring day!
   I can’t stand all the people around.  They’re all alive and go home with others alive.  Dead.  Dead. Dead.  NO!  Why didn’t the grave digging men even look over?  How could they not care at all and that be their job?  Inside the hole, the dirt look reddish.  Why?  Will daddy turn into red dirt?  Is he afraid?  Is it dark in the ground in a closed box?
   Diary. Got to close now.  The ink is running on this page.  No.  I don’t want to cry.  He’ll be gone with salty eye stuff.  Daddy.  I miss you.
 

Carol Smallwood’s books include Divining the Prime Meridian (WordTech Communications, 2015); Women, Work, and the Web (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015); Writing After Retirement (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014). Women on Poetry: Writing, Revising, Publishing and Teaching is on Poets & Writers Magazine list of Best Books for Writers. Ms. Smallwood, a multiple Pushcart nominee, has three poetry collections and one chapbook of formal and free verse.
 

​May 27, 2017 Ragazine
http://ragazine.cc/2017/05/jordan-blumeditor-interview/
 
Jordan Blum holds an MFA in fiction, teaches at several universities, and is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Bookends Review, an independent creative arts journal. He’s also Associate Editor at Popmatters and a music and/or literature critic for The Big Takeover, Rebel Noise, Rock Society, The Lit Pub, and AXS.

 
Smallwood: You are the founder and editor-in-chief of The Bookends Review, an independent creative arts journal founded in 2012.  What are your duties?

Blum: I handle almost everything related to the journal, thebookendsreview.com, both on the surface and behind the scenes. Promotions, social media presence, sales, publishing, submission decisions, etc. Well, the other editors handle some of that, but I’m usually the one who’s most forceful and consistent about it, which isn’t a knock against them! It’s just a part of my role, right? For example, our genre editors seek out new submissions however they can, as well as cast the initial votes for their subjects. If they like a piece, either my co-founder and managing editor, Spencer Hayes, or I will give a second and final vote; if not, I automatically decline it, which is never easy.

Q) Tell us about your career.

A) I’ll try to be as concise as possible. I earned my MFA in fiction at Rosemont College in 2011 and immediately started looking for — and landing — some adjunct teaching jobs (most of which I still do). At the same time, I was branching out as a music and literature critic. I grew up with progressive rock and metal, so it’s always been a dream of mine to cover those genres professionally (although I also focus on other styles). Fortunately, I was able to really start doing that around this time. A year later, Spencer and I decided to start The Bookends Review because we’d spent so much time as writers who’d been submitting a lot and receiving acceptances and rejections. We thought, Hey, why can’t we be on the other side of that and give people a place to share their work? As for the name, I’m a huge fan of Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends album, and it just seemed fitting to add “Review” at the end. Since then, I’ve just been trying to grow as much as possible in all three areas (teacher/music and lit critic/creative arts journal editor). Admittedly, I haven’t published creatively in a while—I spend so much time grading and editing and writing other things that I rarely find the time and motivation. I know, I know, that’s a horrible excuse—but I’m very proud of what I’ve done in those areas so far.

Q) What recognitions/achievements have encouraged you the most?

A) Well, in terms of The Bookends Review, the handful of interviews I’ve done about it, as well as the mentions we’ve gotten in a few ‘Best of’ lists. I’d estimate that we’ve published 300+ artists so far — mostly writers, but a few musicians and visual artists — and it’s always very rewarding to see how enthusiastic people are about us. Frankly, I’m still surprised whenever someone has heard about us, but that’s because I tend to downplay my accomplishments (no matter how pretentious this interview probably makes me sound ha-ha). As for the other things, I tend to get a lot of positive feedback from colleagues and students, and I’ve befriended a lot of my musical heroes and truly established myself within the field. For instance, I’ve been quoted in press releases and I have a strong relationship with a lot of labels. Publicists in the field tend to think of me for coverage, which is extremely gratifying and humbling.

Q) What writers have influenced you the most?

A) I discovered Stephen King, Bret Easton Ellis, and Chuck Palahniuk around the same time (2004 – 2005, when I was a senior in high school), so those two for sure. In fact, I still teach Fight Club every semester (it’s about a lot more than just guys punching each other). Of course, The Catcher in the Rye was a big deal then, too. Over the years, I’ve read and reviewed so many books that I’ve lost track, which is to say that a lot of authors have inspired me through individual works because they’ve challenged what I thought fiction and poetry had to be. Cumulatively, they’ve shown me that there’s an audience for anything I can come up with.

Q) What goals would you like to reach within the next 3 years?

A) Above all else, make The Bookends Review as popular and respected as possible. I’m always looking to branch out what we offer. We started as strictly fiction and poetry, but I’m really trying to get more essays, photography, digital art, music, and every other form of creativity. Also, I want to have contests and maybe even publish specialized anthologies. We do a yearly ‘Best of’ print anthology, but maybe also do theme anthologies. Outside of that, I really want to publish my first novel or collection — and I think I will fairly soon — as well as continue to grow as a teacher and music writer. I love writing for all of the places I do, but there could always be more, right? I’ve often thought about trying to make a living as a music critic and scale back the teaching. We’ll see!

Q) What classes have helped you the most?

A) I think my entire experience at Rosemont was beneficial. There’s always that debate regarding the value of an MFA (there are great writers without degrees and terrible writers with degrees), so I wouldn’t say that it was completely necessary for where I am today, but it certainly helped in a few ways. Specifically, I took a course on rhetoric and teaching with the former head of the program, Randall Brown, that was very useful. At the same time, I’ve always questioned the “rules” of writing. A teacher or “expert” might say, “Good poetry must ____ and not contain ____,” for instance, or “Every story must _____.” To me, it’s good if I like it. I learned a lot about structure and conventions, but I also refute them for the most part. A poem doesn’t have to do this or that; if it’s meaningful, it works. That’s a big part of my outlook with the journal, and it’s a major reason why I don’t go to a lot of workshops or even share my writing with others. I’m not at all dismissing them — I love talking about writing — but I’ve always felt that most of it is so subjective that it’s really hard to take anything as gospel. I’ve had people read my stuff and respond with “Well, if I wrote this, I would ___ or ____,” to which I’ve said, “Well, you didn’t write it; I did, and I like ___ and ____, so I’m keeping it.”

Q) What advice would you give others?

A) As clichéd as it is, believe in your work and keep at it. Never be afraid that what you’re creating is too extreme or bizarre or just inaccessible. Someone will like it, and there really aren’t any boundaries for artistic expression. Also, don’t be afraid to sell yourself (as hard as it is sometimes, trust me). Be proud of what you’ve done and find people who might like it, too. Lastly, don’t feel bad about taking time for yourself or to do other things. We need variety in life, so while forcing yourself to write for six hours a day, every day, until that damn book is done might sound good, if it doesn’t work for you, that’s also fine.

Q) What’s your favorite quotation?

A) “I laughed until I stopped” – Monty Python.
“What you don’t understand, you can make mean anything” – Chuck Palahniuk (Diary).
“If you should ever leave me / Though life would still go on, believe me / The world could show nothing to me / So what good would livin’ do me?” – Brian Wilson (“God Only Knows”).

​Clemencio Montecillo Bascar was a former Professor and Vice President for Corporate Affairs of the Western Mindanao State University. He is a recepient of various local, regional, and national awards in songwriting, playwriting, poetry, and public service. Several of his poems had been published in international literary magazines and journals such as, Foliate Oak , BRICKrhetoric, About Place, Torrid Literature, Mused-theBellaOnline Lietrary Review, and The Voices Project. He had written and published by the Western Mindanao State University two books of poetry, namely; "Fragments of the Eucharist" and "Riots of Convictions." In the Philippines, some of his poems appeared in the such magazines as Women's, MOD, and Chick.  
At present, he writes a column in the Zamboanga Today daily newspaper and resides at 659 Gemini Street, Tumaga, Zamboanga City, Philippines. He is married to the former Miss Melinda Climaco dela Cruz and blest with three children, Jane, Lynnette, and Timothy James.   

"Class legislation refers to legislation that applies to certain persons or class of persons, either natural or artificial, or to a certain districts of territory or state." Defintion by USLEGAL.COM.
 
 No matter how vigorous and passsionate proponents push for the approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) as a sub-political entity,  it does not change the Malay definition of the word  "bangsa" as a "state"or "nation". For as long as the title of this draft bill is retained, only those who do not know the generally accepted  definition of this Malay word in English will be convinced that the "Bangsamoro" is not a state, but just a local government unit under the Republic of the Philippines.
"Bangsamoro", which is a recently-coined  term by all indications, has not yet been clearly defined and understood by the general public, is like the word "autonomy" which  I assumed, had been mistaken to mean by previous Congresses as equivalent to the concept of delegation of political authority and decentralization of function down to local government units such as  province,  city, and municipality. As commonly defined by all major dictionaries the term autonomy is  "self-rule, independence, and self-government." Congress created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which is not really autonomous, self-governing, or independent but just a sub-political entity or a local government unit under the general control and supervision by the central government although given broader authority devolution and functional decentralization.  I could be wrong, but in my layman's point of view, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is patently a class legislation for it was created exclusively for a group of inhabitants professing the Islam faith to the exclusion of other religious denominations and Lumads or indigenous inhabitants of Mindanao and Sulu. To my mind, it   is even violative of the doctrine of the separtation of church and state "which is the philosopic concept for defining the political distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state."
No matter how convincingly eloquent and aspirationally instense will be the defense of the proponents for  this proposed  law, it will not be able to completely eliminate the huge public suspicion that because almost all the peace documents (FAB, CAB and all their annexes ) were  drafted, revised, finalized in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, these  agreements are heavily if not entirely influenced by the cultural climate and political ideology of Malaysia. The BBL ,  is conclusively to a large measure, a product of Malaysia's diplomatic facilitation and intervention. In the name of fairness and proper gesture of giving due credit to whom it is due, Malaysia incontestably more than deserves such accolade.
While we respect fully the belief or assertion that the title is not as important as  its content or substance, in this particular case, it is central, imperative, and essential  not only because the general population of the Philippines and even in the areas proposed to be under this Bangsamoro  Juridical Entity (BJE) obviosly do not possess operational and comprehensive understanding and familarity of the term, but also because it requires  consistency, adherence, compliance, and conformity  to the constitutional prohibition of establishing a separate political entity within the national integrity of this Republic.  So whether Congress agrees with my opinion or not, the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL),  by its very title already contravenes the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Rightfully and logically, the first official action of Congress on  this proposed legislation should have been to change its title so as not to  violate or contradict the Basic Law of the our  land and will not be construed as another class legislation coming within the following legal defintions.
"Class legislation refers to legislation that applies to certain persons, either natural or artificial, or to certain districts of territory or state."- Source: US Legal Definition (US Legal.Com)."
"Class legislation "is a term applied to statutory enactments which divide the people or subjects of legislation into classes, with reference either to the grant of privileges or imposition of burdens upon an arbitrary, unjust or invidious principle of division, or which through the principle of division maybe sound and justifiable, make arbitrary discriminations between these persons or things coming within the same class."- Source: Black's Law Dictionary Free Online Legal Dictionary, 2nd Edition.
It should be made fully understood by all members of Congress that Bangsamoro is just a proposed national identity of the new political entity envisioned to replace the  existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and not one of the officially listed authentic native ethno-linguistic or indigenous tribes in Mindanao and Sulu or anywhere else in the Philippine archipelago.  It was initially used as the  first word of the name of a revolutionary organization  called Bangsa Moro Liberation Organization (BMLO) whose  organization is credited to then  Congressman  Rashid Lucman in 1970. It is therefore, inaccurate or incorrect to say that the Bangsamoro is one among the native or indigenous peoples in Mindanao and Sulu. This fact is confirmed  on pages 151 to 152 of the book entitled, "Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny"  by Salah Jubair a highly respected Muslim author:
"In 1970,  Cong. Rashid Lucman organized the Bangsa Moro Liberation Front  (BMLO). It was designed to function as an umbrella organization under and from  which all other liberation  forces must radiate.
In 1984, it was renamed Bangsa Muslimin Islamic Liberation Organization (BMLO). It frowned upon the use of the term Moro , which was given by the enemies of Islam, and  in its stead Muslimin was chosen."
Jubair also stated in his book I cited above, that before the coming of the Spaniards there was no Moro nation to speak of at that time because the word Moro was just a monicker used by the Conquistadores to refer to all the natives including those who already embraced the Islam faith. In this connection, may I quote his exact words on page 13 of the same reference:
"All monickers assigned to the natives, Indio, Moro, and Filipino were given by the Spaniards. History should credit them for giving us all these names, either out of hatred, or by reasons of similarities, or by force of circumstances, or by all of the above."
Originally, Bangsa was separately written from Moro leading us to assume or postulate that the fusion of the two words  Bangsa and Moro  to form Bangsamoro, (please correct me if I am wrong) must have been also the brainchild of a neologist or protologist which was eventually adopted by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as the name of the  new political entity now known as the Bangsamoro  Juridical Entity  (BJE) to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for being  declared "a failed experiment and unacceptable" by  both the MILF and GPH Peace Panels responsible for the drafting of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and all their annexes, and the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which were mostly crafted in one foreign venue, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
If we apply the Bangsamoro  idea to all those who will opt  by self-ascription or ascription  to be under this proposed  national identity as stipulated in the draft BBL, it is very much similar to the  Bangsa Malaysia policy introduced by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia in 1964. It was primarily aimed at creating an inclusive national identity for all inhabitants of Malaysia which means "being able to identify themselves with the country, speak Bahasa, (Malayan language) and accept the Constitution." It was also intended to replace the  "national culture policy that asserted a Malay ethnic identity." In effect, if the BBL will be finally enacted into law, Congress will not only create a state by name but also another national identity. By then, there will be two nationalities or citizenships in the Philippines; the Filipinos and the Bangsamoro.
The BBL from its title, to its national identity, to its form of government, and to the name of  its highest  official, Prime Minister, are all associated with the Malaysian Federal System of Government. Is the BBL another potential class legislation?