Call for Submissions|

Title: Iconoclasts and Visionaries, a Levantine anthology
Editors: Jordan Elgrably (fiction/nonfiction), Sholeh Wolpé (poetry, art)
Deadline: June 30, 20067
Publication: Winter 2008

In the U.S. media, the cultures of the Middle East are invariably presented through a lens of conflict. War and terrorism are in the daily headlines and blanket the news. The language of the “clash of civilizations” and Orientalism creates a pervasive sense of “us and them”—quite as if people from North Africa/West Asia are not like us Americans. Iconoclasts and Visionaries will turn these skewed notions upside down, and offer the reader a counterweight to “the news.”

The editors believe that world peace in general and the Middle East in particular is well-served by independent artists and writers, who are by their very nature pan-cultural, and who rarely allow either politics or religion to stop them from crossing literal or figurative borders.

This anthology will provide the English-language reader with a wide range of voices representing cultures from North Africa to Afghanistan. Through the creative force of its contributors, Iconoclasts and Visionaries intends to:

1) challenge myths and misperceptions about Arab/Muslim cultures created or perpetuated by the mainstream media
2) include majority and minority cultures so that the real diversity and richness of the geopolitical Middle East is fully represented
3) provide the reader with some of the finest poetry, short stories, and creative nonfiction available from over two dozen established and emerging authors.
The anthology will include paintings and photographs from artists living in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.

Submission Guidelines:

• Your writing must fit the intention of the anthology as described above. We are looking for contributions that focus on personal experience rather than academic arguments or journalism. Culture and identity will be emphasized over politics and religion. The intent of the anthology is to create a rich reading and visual experience that ultimately defies the myths and stereotypes perpetuated in the media and by public officials.

• You may submit in English, Persian, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, or French.
• With your submission you must include your bio and contact information.
n You may submit via mail or email.

Mail:
Iconoclasts and Visionaries
c/o Levantine Cultural Center
1012 S. Robertson Blvd., Suite C
Los Angeles CA 90035-1537

Email:
Poetry, paintings and photographs: Contact@sholeh.info
Fiction, creative nonfiction, satire, cartoons: jordane@levantinecenter.org

Important: In the subject line write: Iconoclasts and visionaries submission
You may paste your submission in the body of the email or attach it as a single Word document.

EDITORS' CREDENTIALS

Jordan Elgrably (fiction/creative nonfiction editor) has worked as a journalist, reviewer, interviewer and editor since 1980, contributing to dozens of newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and Europe. His literary contributions have appeared in The Paris Review, Salmagundi and several anthologies published by Brandeis, Knopf, Northwest Publishing and others. Currently he is editing a volume of his literary interviews with international authors, including Nadine Gordimer, Milan Kundera, Richard Ford, James Baldwin, Gilbert Sorrentino, Amy Tan, Edmund White, Martha Gellhorn, Nicholson Baker and others, which will appear in January ’08. As an arts presenter, Jordan Elgrably has organized dozens of literary programs of an international nature, for Levantine Cultural Center and other institutions. Visit www.jordanelgrably.com/.

Sholeh Wolpé (poetry, art editor) is the author of Sin—Selected Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad, Iran’s Rebel Poet (University of Arkansas Press, Oct. 2007), The Scar Saloon (Red Hen Press), Rooftops of Tehran (Red Hen Press, Jan. 2008) and a Poetry CD (Refuge Studios). Her poems, translations, essays and reviews have appeared in scores of literary journals, periodicals and anthologies worldwide, and have been translated into several languages. Sholeh was born in Iran but spent most of her teen years in the Caribbean and Europe, ending up in the U.S. where she pursued Masters degrees in Radio-TV-Film (Northwestern University) and Public Health (Johns Hopkins University). She is the recipient of several awards for her poetry and lives in Los Angeles. For more information please visit www.sholehwolpe.com.

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