"Leaving" is a melancholy examination by Blasted Tree poet Ivan Fischer of how we honor those who have left us behind. Should we do things the way they would have? What remains besides the impression of their habits? Maybe we can be haunted by their lingering advice: always prepare for company.
Featured Author - Olivia Alexander
Olivia Alexander is interested in the art of storytelling, and has been for a long time. For the author of newly minted SOCIAL HONESTY, fiction is about both escaping and exorcising the demons of our reality. In her youth, Olivia studied theatre and vocal music, feeding her passion for storytelling on the works of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Joss Whedon, and Frank O’Hara, whose conversational walk-and-talk descriptions redefined her notion of poetry. She moved to Montreal in 2011 to study Creative Writing at Concordia University, hoping to pursue a career in the relatively new storytelling medium of video games. Olivia particularly enjoys writing multiple-choice conversations, allowing the reader to navigate and change the story with their various choices, and she feels video games can offer an excellent fusion between good dialogue and a compelling, ever-changing narrative. So far, Olivia has published two short stories on The Blasted Tree: SOCIAL HONESTY, part of our Short(er) Fiction series, and TO THE SPOT, soon be available for purchase in physical format from The Blasted Tree Store.
VIEW OLIVIA'S PROFILE
Featured Poetry - Far Too Close by Jesse Anger
Rarely is poetry successful in its aim to reinvent the past, to take the familiar and present it in a new and exciting light. And yet, this is exactly what Jesse Anger accomplishes as he expertly exhumes the bones of tradition, articulating them to his own syncopated rhythms and unflinching vision. Alternately haunting and beautiful, Far Too Close collects some previously published work alongside several never-before-seen poems.
READ FAR TOO CLOSE
Featured Story - Two Fifteen by Lambert Muir
Two Fifteen is comedic microfiction which begs the question: "How do we judge the truth?" In Lambert Muir's debut on The Blasted Tree, we meet an inquisitive narrator with an untrustworthy memory. His tale of a tainted burger and a dimensional rift may or may not be cause for alarm, but is this memory what it seems? Perhaps it was only a hallucination. By the end, Two Fifteen will have you wondering if you can believe any story, even the one told by your own senses.
READ TWO FIFTEEN
Featured Poem - Designer Drugs by Kyle Flemmer
"Designer Drugs" invites you to re-imagine your relationship to media, marketing, and the entertainment industry. Written for and performed at Calgary's Ink Spot Collective Poetry Slam, May 26, 2014.
These days, it’s hard to keep it up.
Calvin Klein runs fingers up my spine from a superhighway billboard sign,
Whispering in my ear:
READ DESIGNER DRUGS
Featured Gallery - Marmulade Photography
Marmulade Photography, the visual brainchild of Kingston, ON native Foster Marshall-Medeiros, explores terrains of urban decay, nature, and nostalgia. Foster's vintage aesthetic and keen eye for balance and contrast produce striking images in a variety of styles. This gallery, featured proudly by The Blasted Tree, is both an invocation to times long past and a tribute to the shortcomings of the "modern" world. By combining nostalgic sensibilities with environments of neglect, Foster creates an air of semi-cynical yet honest evaluation, allowing the viewer to trespass into forgotten vales and cityscapes.
VIEW MARMULADE PHOTOGRAPHY
Featured Story - Mud by Bea Keeler
To kick off The Blasted Tree's online program, we are featuring Bea Keeler's hilarious and haunting short story "Mud," which documents the final day in the life of the repulsive yet engrossing Ian, a somewhat valued employee of Teleprompt Plus and an all-around scumbag. Keeler's dark and raunchy humor will have you laughing in spite of yourself, and her earnest treatment of an unlikable misanthrope may even get you on Ian's side. Sharp, punchy, and more than a little sinister, "Mud" is the perfect way to kick off your work-week. Happy Monday!
READ MUD
Online Launch of The Blasted Tree
Welcome to The Blasted Tree Art Collective and Publishing Co. Today is the official launch of our online journal and the beginning of a campaign to take the Canadian literary scene by storm. You can expect regularly featured stories, poems, essays, and reviews by talented young authors, as well as a direct line to the bleeding edge of artistic expression, from music to photography and beyond. Follow and share us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new and exciting Blasted Tree content.
The Blasted Tree Store will be opening Fall 2014. Stay tuned for the chance to own your favorite Blasted Tree material in hard copy!
You can now submit your original works to theblastedtree@gmail.com. We are looking for interesting, unique, and socially-challenging material, both written and otherwise. If you are thinking of becoming a member of our growing collective, do not hesitate to submit your work.
We thank you in advance for your support and are very excited to bring you the best in emerging Canadian art. With your help, The Blasted Tree can make change in our increasing complicated social landscape.