Genre: Literary

By M. Thandabantu Iverson. here’s a word of thanks
lettin’ you know I heard
testifyin’ that I ain’t scared no longer
to say out loud that listenin’ at the table and hearin’ all those prayers
mixed in with all the truthtellin’ makes sense to me now… Read More

By Margo Hammond. In 2012, after reading Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent, Barbara Rhode was inspired to launch a unique program of healing at the Pinellas County Jail for women prisoners. The Red Tent Women’s Initiative, a program that combines group therapy with classes on arts and crafts, has helped over 1,000 incarcerated women work through the trauma that landed them behind bars in the first place… Read More

By Bernice Willis. Let’s talk, not text, your voice is what I want to hear
It closes in the distance, as if you-are-near.
Call Me
Your voice is pleasing, gives me the same joy as to when
I heard it the first time. A text can’t recapture that moment, now or then…. Read More

By Troy Legette. Proud of you; Yes! Proud of you; I am
For you come from a culture so rich
Proud of you; Yes! Proud of you; I am
For your powers are phenomenal
Every poem that I write has a purpose. I think my very first poem evolved after reading a newspaper while enduring tough times and came across a poetry contest. I entered it…. Read More

By Bob Devin Jones. I heard it, the chat that is life. I felt the sound come back to me, very slow and faint at first, then distinct, not really urgent – just rather incessant and oh so necessary…… Read More

By Gary L. Lemons. As we continue this month’s focus on Arts and Healing, our guest editor Gary Lemons shares two poems he wrote, and several visual artworks. “Hopefully they will provide a clear context for the thematic connection for all our stories of art as a critical source for healing in this time of trauma, especially related to mass shootings in the US.”
… Read More

By Carlene Cobb. Everybody has a story to tell and perhaps a memoir to write. To help authors better understand how to write, publish, and market their memoirs with greater confidence and success, Kerry Kriseman, St. Petersburg author of Accidental First Lady: on the Front Lines (and Behind the Scenes) of Local Politics approached Maureen McDole, poet and Keep St. Pete Lit founder and executive director to discuss a memoir writing, publishing and marketing workshop…. Read More

By Scott Neumeister. Being a lifelong resident of Hillsborough and Pasco counties, most of my trips to Pinellas have been made possible by bridges. My favorite, aesthetically, is the Courtney Campbell Causeway, but the Gandy and Howard Frankland also hold visual appeal. Yet even beyond their appearance and function, the depth and meaning of what bridges do — empowering connection between two separated things — speaks directly to a way to approach a piece of art… Read More

By Gary L. Lemons. Thematically, the stories in the Arts Coast magazine in June 2022 will center on bringing artists together across differences of creative expression to demonstrate the life-saving power of what I have conceptualized as “community healing through artistic transformation — CHAT.” Considering this focus, the artists’ works included illustrate ways creative practices can act to promote human healing and well-being in mind, body and soul…. Read More