Issue #3: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

 
  • There’s No Place Like Here

    “You people with hearts,” he said, “have something to guide you, and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful. When Oz gives me a heart, of course I needn’t mind so much.”

    —L. Frank Baum

    One thing I have been constantly bowled over by during my time at NonBinary Review is one of the main themes that weaves it way throughout the entirety of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: the way that writers with brains, hearts and courage are often painfully unaware of the treasures that they’ve always held inside themselves. All too often, the submissions process runs parallel to Dorothy’s trip down the Yellow Brick Road. Writers seek out Great and Powerful Editor, who, like Oz, at the end of the day, is just a (wo)man behind the curtain—Pay us no attention! Focus on the magic of each issue! Every writer is on a quest to arrive at the Emerald City of publication. We each at times, wonder what would happen if we only had a brain, a heart, or courage—seemingly oblivious to the fact that in order to take even the first step, we must have all three.

    Each writer encounters Witch Editors on their journey. Some of whom we would dearly love to drop a house on. Others offer us a pair of silver shoes, which reveal the strength we’ve always carried inside our writing. But what I have seen most of all, throughout each of NonBinary Review’s three issues, is how every story, poem, and piece of art that resonates with our editors and readers, is at its core, a search for the home that we’ve lost. How we lost that sense of place and home varies from storyteller to storyteller.

    When L. Frank Baum began writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, he drew upon the influence of both the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is truly an “American fairy tale,” but like any good American, Baum put his own unique spin on the concept. For The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Baum deliberately deviated from the classic fairy tale trope. This departure delivers to readers a story that encompasses the wonder and magic of fairytales, but omits the violence and horror of the classic model. Essentially, Oz is an attempt to capture that magic that we all associate with “home”—the place where ideally, we all feel the safest and where our authentic selves had their beginnings. Though we leave our homes to strike out on that Yellow Brick Road on our way to many Emerald Cities, we each carry our own personal “Kansas” that guides us through forests and fields of poppies.

    In this issue, you will hear from the Wicked Witch of the West, offering a different perspective to consider, one where the concepts of “wickedness” and “independent action” may not be as different as we’d like to believe. We will hear from Dorothy, at later stages in her life—back home in Kansas and after having returned to Oz—where she reflects on the ripple effect that her original trip created throughout the remainder of her life. The Tin Man will wonder whether or not asking for—and discovering—a heart was really what he thought it would be. After all, outside of Oz, having a breakable heart can be dangerous, painful business. You’ll be invited to discover the “personal Kansas,” sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorical, of our authors through their poems, essays, and stories.

    I want you to remember, as you move through this issue, that each of these contributors has taken a journey to arrive here, in the Emerald City on your device. As editors, we ask that you pay no mind to us here behind the curtain—at the end of the day, this is all smoke and mirrors and illusion. The true magic is like The Scarecrow’s brain, the Tin Man’s heart, and the Lion’s courage: it’s traveled miles to arrive here, and yet, it’s been there all along, whether or not these authors knew it. Though the “personal Kansas” we all carry in our hearts and call “home” may not always be the places we choose for ourselves later in our lives, it echoes throughout our brains, our hearts, and provides us with the courage to keep it close while we search out our Emerald Cities.

    Good Quadlings, this issue is a pair of Silver Shoes. The stories, poems, essays and art inside of it have wonderful powers. What a curious thing! They will carry you to any place in the world with just the click of a title, and each click can be made in the wink of an eye. Readers, all you have to do is to knock your heels together three times, and command the issue to carry you wherever you wish to go.

    Are you ready?

    There’s no place like home.

    “No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.”

    Allie Marini

MANDEM

MANDEM

Morning: A Light in the Distance (cover)

MANDEM is the art name for Maize Arendsee, an art instructor and Studio Art MFA student at Florida State University, and her life-partner, Moco Steinman-Arendsee. MANDEM’s artwork is described as an exercise in categorical violations, simulation, and narrative. With an academic background in classical mythology, gender studies, and critical theory, MANDEM works across media and materials (painting, assemblage/collage, film, sculpture, and book-making), intentionally destabilizing genre in terms of content and media. MANDEM’s artwork has been widely exhibited in art galleries and museums, and it has been featured in over 100 publications.
Morning: A Light in the Distance was originally the cover for the album ReverbNation by Eternal Essence.


Sara Amis

Sara Amis

Living Like Lions and Bears
Sara’s work has appeared in Magpie MagazineThe FlagpoleThe Dead Mule School of Southern LiteratureJabberwocky 3 and 5, DaturaMoon Milk ReviewLuna Station Quarterly.


E. Kristin Anderson

E. Kristin Anderson

It did not matter so much
E. Kristin’s work has appeared in Post RoadCimarron Review[PANK]Asimov’s Science FictionCicada and Abyss & Apex. Her chapbook A Guide For The Practical Abductee was released by Red Bird Chapbooks.


Brian Barr

Brian Barr

Heartless
Brian publishes comics through his own imprint, Cruel Productions, and has had a comic featured in Surreal Grotesque Magazine. One of his stories will be featured in the metal horror anthology, Axes of Evil II.


LS Bassen

LS Bassen

A Host of Vermillion Poppies (text)
LS is Fiction Editor for Prick of the Spindle, as well as serving as a reader for Electric Literature. LS also serves as a book reviewer for BrooklynerThe RumpusPress1The Cider House ReviewSmall Beer Press.


Cathy Bryant

Cathy Bryant

Dorothy, Later in Life 
Cathy co-edited Best of Manchester Poets vols. 1-3, and her latest collection, Look at All the Women, was published by Mother’s Milk Books in 2014.


C E E

C E E

X-Oz
CEE is said to have died by his own hand in October of 1979, but this item is apocryphal and cannot be independently verified. Inquiries regarding this individual utilizing the government hotline, are NOT recommended. Your call will be traced.


Annie Cilley

Annie Cilley

Dorothy
Annie is a 23-year-old musician and writer living in Oakland, CA. After spending two years as a touring musician and street performer, Annie has settled down (for now) and is focusing on producing original work.


Sarah Clare

Sarah Clare

The Ruby Slipper
Sarah is the supporting Editor to Cæsura magazine—poetry, prose, the written word makes her tick. She firmly believes that life is a test of language.


C.A. Cole

C.A. Cole

Trip to Oz
C. A. has been published in The Broken Plate, and various places on line.


Emily Rose Cole

Emily Rose Cole

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Tin Man Sings the Blues 
Emily is a poet and folksinger. Her debut solo album, I Wanna Know, was released in May of 2012. She really digs this issue, because she’s working on a book-length collection based on the Wizard of Oz.


Flower Conroy

Flower Conroy

The Orphan’s Pup
Flower is the author of Escape to Nowhere and The Awful Suicidal Swans. She is the winner of Radar Poetry’s first annual Coniston Prize. Her poetry has appeared in American Literary ReviewJai Alia, and other journals.


Hedwika Cox

Hedwika Cox

Glinda the Good
Hedwika’s fiction and poetry has been published in Red Paint Hill’s Mother is a Verb anthology, Swirl, the Inkling, and others. She is the Fiction Editor of Torrid Magazine and an Assistant Editor at Black Denim Lit.


Robert Douglas

Robert Douglas

 The Sweet Scent of Death
Robert, a native Canadian and US citizen, is a former newspaper columnist and editor who now lives and writes in Tallahassee, FL.


Robin Dunn

Robin Dunn

Under the Shadow of Oz
Robin lives in Los Angeles, even when he doesn’t.


Elise Forier Edie

Elise Forier Edie

The Love Magnet
Elise’s works have been published by World Weaver and Tartarus Presses, and have appeared in Penumbra and The Enchanted Conversation, as well as stages and theaters all over the world.


Austin Eichelberger

Austin Eichelberger

Adventures in Another Land
Austin’s fiction has appeared in Cease, CowsFlash: The International Short-Short Story MagazineGone LawnExtract(s)Eclectic FlashFirst Stop Fiction, and others.


Susan Erickson

Susan Erickson

Mr. Wizard
Susan’s poems appear in 2River ViewCrab Creek ReviewLiteral LatteMuseum of AmericanaThe Fourth RiverHamilton Stone ReviewNaugatuck River Review and in Malala: Poems for Malala Yousafzai.


Kate Falvey

Kate Falvey

Green Ghost Explains: the History
Kate’s work has appeared in The Yellow Medicine ReviewThe Citron ReviewThe Stony Thursday BookDanse MacabreMemoir(and)The Mom EggPrick of the Spindle. She also edits 2 Bridges Review.


Nettie Farris

Nettie Farris

m and n: Wicked Witch of the West
Nettie is the author of Communion. Poems in the m and n series have been published previously in OddvilleLimestonePegasusSlow Trains, and Bigger than They Appear: An Anthology of Very Short Poems.


AJ Huffman

AJ Huffman

Of Oz
AJ has appeared in LabletterThe James Dickey ReviewBone OrchardEgoPHobiaKritya, and Offerta Speciale, in which her work appeared in both English and Italian translation. She is the founding editor of Kind of a Hurricane Press.


Elizabeth Johnston

Elizabeth Johnston

Dorothy Tells It With a Sigh
Elizabeth’s poetry has appeared in The Mom Egg, and New Verse News, as well as in two book anthologies, B, and Veils, Halos, and Shackles: International Poems on the Abuse and Oppression of Women.


John Kaniecke

John Kaniecke

In Our Land of Oz
John’s poetry book, Murmurings of a Mad Man, was published by eLectio Publishing. He’s secretary of Rhyming Poets International and a member of Revolutionary Poet’s Brigade.


Jennifer Schomburg Kanke

Jennifer Schomburg Kanke

I, Quadling
Jennifer’s work has appeared in Prairie SchoonerPleiadesGoblin Fruit, and Gingerbread House. She serves as the advisor for The Kudzu Review, FSU’s undergraduate literary journal.


Charie LaMarr

Charie LaMarr

The Yenta of Ros 
Charie is the author of Squid Whores of the Futon Fish Market and has work in Axes of Evil, James Ward Kirk’s Memento MoriBones and Ugly Babies 2, and We Walk Invisible, among others.


David W. Landrum

David W. Landrum

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The Witch’s Guard
David’s work has appeared in The Fairy Tale WhispererModern Day Fairy TalesMyths, Legends, and Fairy TalesFather Grim’s Storybook, and Sorcerous Signals. His work is available through Amazon.


Steve LaVigne

Steve LaVigne

How to chop wood—the tin man’s explanation
Steve runs a local poetry group in Champaign, Illinois. His work includes poems in riverSedge Journal and The New Verse News.


Kate Lechler

Kate Lechler

Cottonwood
Kate teaches literature at University of Mississippi, is a bookseller at Square Books, and edits for Nautilus Publishing Company. She also reviews science fiction and fantasy for FantasyLiterature.com.


Roger Lovelace

Roger Lovelace

My Darling Trilby
Roger calls North Alabama home, and currently lives in Athens, Alabama. He enjoys the slow pace but not the humidity. Always an avid reader, he has recently turned to writing, concentrating on short stories and flash fiction.


Lennart Lundh

Lennart Lundh

Silver Slippers
Lennart is a short-fiction writer, poet, historian, and photographer. His work has appeared internationally since 1965. Len and his wife, Lin, live in northern Illinois.


Mary McMyne

Mary McMyne

The Wicked Witch of the East Confesses Her Love of Tap
Mary wrote Wolf Skin. Her work is in Painted Bride QuarterlyPedestal MagazineLos Angeles ReviewNew Delta ReviewWord RiotPoetry InternationalApex Magazine.


Geoff Mosse

Geoff Mosse

The Royal Historian of Oz
Geoff is a quiet and humble hard working freelance writer and artist that resides in a heavily armed, fortified compound in Savannah, Georgia. His first graphic novel, The Mick, is available now from Red Handed Studios.


JB Mulligan

JB Mulligan

The Oz Cinquains
JB is the author of The Stations of the Cross, This Way To The Egress, and The City Of Now And Then. He has appeared in Inside/Out: A Gathering Of PoetsThe Irreal Reader (Cafe Irreal); and Reflections on a Blue Planet.


Nick Nafpliotis

Nick Nafpliotis

Fearless
Nick writes about weird crime, bizarre history, pop culture, and humorous classroom experiences on RamblingBeachCat.com. He is a reviewer for AdventuresinPoorTaste.com. He can also be found on Twitter @NickNafster79.


N. Nicholson

N. Nicholson

Dorothy, Under the Bhodi Tree 
N. is the editor-in-chief of Barking Sycamores. Their work has appeared in HyperlexiaqarrtsiluniRed Wolf, and Awe in Autism. They live in Grove City, Ohio with their fiancé.


Julia Older

Julia Older

Mother Cloud 
Julia wrote The Isles Of Shoals Trilogy. She wrote the IPPY National Bronze Poetry Medalist Tahirih Unveiled, about Persia’s first women’s rights activist, and Tales Of The François Vase.


Jillian Phillips

Jillian Phillips

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Since You Asked: 
Jillian work has appeared in Heavy Feather Review, Cellar Door Anthology. Her chapbook, Pretty the Ugly was a finalist in the Emerge Literary Journal Chapbook Contest in 2013 and was published by ELJ Publications.


Winston Plowes

Winston Plowes

The Home Wish of the Good Quadlings
Winston has poetry in Turbulence magazine, The Best of Manchester Poets (vol 3) and The Found Poetry Review.


Madeline Polzer

Madeline Polzer

Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz at Closing Time
Madeline is an aspiring writer, previously published poet, and student currently living in the Midwest.


J.K. Rogers

J.K. Rogers

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American Oz
JK teaches theatre and English at several local colleges, and is a Journeyman member of I.A.T.S.E. Local 42. Her essays have appeared in The Briar Cliff Review and ConnotationPress.


Paul Rogov

Paul Rogov

The Release of Ozma
Paul poetry has appeared in Potomac ReviewMemoir JournalSpry Literary Journal, and Foundling Review. He has been a Visiting Writer-in-Residence at Kingston University London.


Michael Sarnowski

Michael Sarnowski

The Stories
Michael poetry has appeared in Potomac ReviewMemoir JournalSpry Literary Journal, and Foundling Review. He has been a Visiting Writer-in-Residence at Kingston University London.


Lorraine Schein

Lorraine Schein

Dorothy Gale 
Lorraine work has appeared in Strange HorizonsHotel AmerikaMad Scientist JournalGigantic Worlds, and elsewhere, and recently in the anthologies Phantom Drift, Wreckage of Reason and Drawn to Marvel.


Stanko

Stanko

A Host of Vermillion Poppies (art)
Stanko’s paintings depict familiar images such as sunflowers, beach scenes and even grilled cheese sandwiches with bright fields of color outlined in black, demonstrating Stanko’s unmistakable “New American” style.


Jen Stein

Jen Stein

Grown Dorothy Steps on the Scale
Jen works in family homeless services. Her work has recently appeared in Poetica Magazine and Wicked Banshee Press, and is featured in a micro-collection in ELJ Publications’ Wood Becomes Bone.


Cetoria Tomberlin

Cetoria Tomberlin

Dorothy’s Songs
Cetoria is a poet and fiction writer originally from South Georgia. Her work has previously appeared in Fairy Tale ReviewSouthern Women’s ReviewLADYGUNN, and various others.


Nathan Tompkins

Nathan Tompkins

The Tin Man
Nathan is a poet and photographer living in Portland, Oregon. He’s had work in various publications, and is the author of two chapbooks: Junk Mail of the Heart, and The Dog Stops Here.


Sessily Watt

Sessily Watt

The Scarecrow in Kansas
Sessily is a regular contributor to Bookslut.


Sarah Ann Winn

Sarah Ann Winn

To(to)
Sarah poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Apeiron ReviewFlycatcherGreat Weather for MediaLunch TicketRappahannock Review, and Vector Press, among others.