Spring Theme: The Journey
Submissions are open from March 15 to May 1.
Submission Guidelines
Poetry, short story, nonfiction, book excerpts, essays, interviews, book reviews, and visual art, and media that address interfaith edges, archetypal themes of spiritual passage from any tradition, or the spirituality of relationship with the earth/cosmos/each other are encouraged at this time. All submissions must in someway speak to the spiritual life. They may reflect a religious tradition or not. Doctrinal and credal discussions are not appropriate for this literary and artistic journal, and are for some other venue. Read a little Ibn “Arabi (see below) or Han Shan; or see the old Manifestations Ezine for examples of the type of writing we are looking for.
By submitting any writing you are granting one time online publishing rights to Manifestations Literary Journal, and guaranteeing it is your own work and free from copyright restrictions. Submissions should be sent to our submission manager with the genre in the title box. We are unable to offer you any money for your submission. This is not a lucrative venture, but thank you for the gift of creativity you offer to the world.
Each issue of Manifestations has both an editor and a muse.
Spring Issue Muse: Ibn ‘Arabi – Islamic poet, scholar, and saint. Let the muse inspire you with his poetry at The Ibn ‘Arabi Society,
A taste of his work is below:
Poem 14 of the Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, translated by R.A. Nicholson.
He saw the lightning in the east and longed for the east,
but if it had flashed in the west he would have longed for the west.
My desire is for the lightning and its gleam, not for the places and the earth.The east wind related to me from them a tradition handed down successively,
from distracted thoughts,
from my passion,
from anguish,
from my tribulation,
From rapture,
from my reason,
from yearning,
from ardour,
from tears,
from my eyelid,
from fire,
from my heart,
That “He whom you love is between your ribs; the breaths toss him from side to side.”I said to the east wind, “Bring a message to him and say that he is the enkindler of the fire within my heart
If it shall be quenched, then everlasting union, and if it shall burn, then no blame to the lover!”
Spring Issue Editor: Barbara Flaherty – Poet, editor, and lover of godly folly. Barbara is the author of two books, Holy Madness (Chanting Press 2007) and Doing It Another Way: The Basic Text (Chanting Press 2008). She has published poems and essays in various journals, anthologies, and encyclopedia.
We also thank Han Shan and Shi De of Cold Mountain fame for gracing our pages. They are the caretakers of this site.