ISSN: 2581-7094
Teesta Review: a
Journal of Poetry
Call for
submission Volume 2 Number 2
Call for
Submissions for November 2019 Issue
Theme:
Destiny
Deadline
for submission: 30 September 2019
Call
for submissions
“I think the future is going to become
increasingly mechanized, computerized... I don’t think there’s any turning
back. I just think it’s about finding a way to survive... to thrive in that
society.”
- Jim Morrison
I guess it was my destiny to live so
long
-
June Jordan
Death
chase me down
death’s
way
uproot
a breast
infest
the lymph nodes
crack
a femur
rip
morale
to
shreds
Death
chase me down
death’s
way
tilt
me off-kilter
crutch
me slow
nobody
show me
how
you
make a cup of coffee
with
no hands
Death
chase me down
death’s
way
awkward
in sunlight
single
in a double bed at night
and
hurtling out of mind
and
out of sight
Don’t
chase me down
down
down
death
chasing me
death’s
way
And
I’m not done
I’m
not about to blues my dues or beg
I
am about to teach myself
to
fly slip slide flip run
fast
as I need to
on
one leg
The question of whether we, as sentient
beings, have an actual hand in our roles on earth or not, has long been the
subject of examination for poets. The words by Morrison and Jordan quoted above
interrogate the idea of destiny, and pave the way for further poetic
reflections on this enigmatic topic.
Destiny can be seen as a fixed (for some
people “divine”) plan, which will be attained no matter how much humans strive
against it. According to this vision, human actions make little or no
difference, because destiny ensures that the future will unfold in a certain,
predetermined way, despite our efforts to modify it. But destiny can also be
seen as the spectrum of possibilities ahead of us: possibilities that are
continually influenced by our decisions, as well as by external circumstances;
possibilities that are created at the level of body, mind, and spirit, with
linkages to external or historic influences already ingrained into our human
fabric (memory, dreams, language, etc.).
The
central questions contributors are invited to engage with are:
Is destiny a fixed external force, an
attitude of resignation in the face of some future events, which are perceived
as inevitable? Can destiny be transformed by our decisions and actions? Can
poetry - with its prophetic character - influence our individual and collective
destiny? Do we, as individuals (and poets) have the power to positively impact
our surroundings? What is the destiny of humans in an increasingly digitalised
world, where Artificial Intelligence seems most likely to be taking over? And
the destiny of books and poetry in the digital world? What is the destiny of
our societes and political institutions in a world that is becoming multipolar?
And the destiny of humanity, challenged by wars, widespread poverty and
inequality, biblical migrations, climate changes, etc.?
The concept of destiny, and its “twin
concepts” fate and free will, are complex, multilayered, and thought-provoking,
especially when pictured through the eagle-eyed perspective of poetry. In the
light of this, Teesta Review is inviting contributors to creatively imagine new ways
of shaping our past(s), present(s) and future(s), and solicits submissions of
poems, articles, essays, interviews, reviews of poetry books and photographs.
Theme: Destiny
Subthemes
include (but are not limited to):
·
Fate/free will
·
Futurism /Afrofuturism
·
Posthumanism
·
Poetry in the digital world
·
Artificial Intelligence
·
Multipolarism
·
Social and environmental consciousness
and justice
How to Submit?
Kindly follow our Guidelines for Submission and send
your contribution through: raphaelbko@gmail.com
with cc to teestajournal@gmail.com
Teesta Review Volume 2 No 2 will be edited by Dr Raphael d’Abdon.
Please check our
Guidelines for Submission.
We’re excited to see what you have for us.
Let us flow like the river -
-Team, TEESTA REVIEW
A Journal of Poetry (Online)