Schehirrazade By Amal El-Mohtar to the sound of Taqasim on Violin by Simon Shaheen… This poem appears in Sybil’s Garage No. 7. For Cat Valente YOU BRING THE East to me in a palmful of rice, a scattering of doves, a burning temple, the green smell of tea. You smile, hold the sun plucked from a Grecian sky between your teeth, laugh shake gods and poets from your belly into my waiting hands, pile them there like coins and jewels and jasmine petals, seashells with the sea still in them, the desert’s weight in sand. You knew Virgil when he was …

Today’s venture into Jewish mythology has led me to the Shamir*, a small worm the size of  a grain of barley which has the power to cut through stone.  A biblical injunction prevented King Solomon from using metal tools, the implements of war, to cut stone for God’s temple, so Solomon had to go on a quest to find an alternative.  His aide recommended the Shamir, a creature with rock-splitting power.  But no one knew where the Shamir hid.  Solomon first summoned a demon into his presence using his magic …

As Kristin Janz admits on her blog, she’s a friend of mine.  But I promise all the showering of gifts and flowers sent to her house had nothing to do with her praise of Sybil’s Garage No. 7.  She says, “I think #7 is the best issue yet.”  And “One thing that I’m really impressed by, looking at the whole issue, is the diversity of content…I like not knowing what to expect next when I turn the page.” Read her full review here.

I was hoping the idiocy surrounding the so-called Ground Zero Mosque (more accurately known as the Cordoba House or Park51 Islamic Center) would blow over once Obama made his statements in support of it and freedom of religion in general.  That was naive.  I favor the building of the Islamic community center because I believe we should never be in the business of telling any group where and when they can practice their faith.  I just read this NY Times article which quotes some more idiocy from the pols which …

Richard Larson’s “The Noise,” which appears in Sybil’s Garage No. 7, has been chosen for Wilde Stories 2011, The Year’s Best Gay Speculative Fiction (link). Also, James B. Pepe’s “I am Enkidu, His Wild Brother,” from Sybil’s Garage No. 6, made the shortlist for the Best American Fantasy Stories (link).  (Unfortunately, the anthology won’t be published for reasons described on the site.) Congratulations to Richard and James, whose excellent stories are getting the attention they deserve!