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As part of the Sanctuaries issue, we thought we'd feature some local poets.  Poetry has long been a source of solace for so many.  Reading poetry is an introspective process -- we read poetry to get a glimpse of the world or live into a situation that goes beyond personal experience, shedding new light on our own lives.  Below is a PDF link to a piece by our first poet...

Jim Murphy teaches creative writing at the University of Montevallo, where he also directs the Montevallo Literary Festival and chairs the Dept. of English & Foreign Languages. His chapbook, The Memphis Sun (Kent State UP), won the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Award, and his first full-length collection, Heaven Overland, is available from Kennesaw State UP.  His poems have appeared in or are forthcoming from Brooklyn Review, Cimarron Review, Gulf Coast, Painted Bride Quarterly, Puerto del Sol, Southern Poetry Review, The Southern Review, TriQuarterly and other journals.    Read more...

Files: 

Joy Spring Diamond w_ acknowledgement.pdf

According to Webster, a sanctuary can be defined as "a place of refuge and protection." As I think back on the last few years, I'm absolutely certain that my sanctuary has been (and continues to be) my kitchen. 

Unfortunately, my teeny-tiny kitchen was ill-designed from the get-go.  A washer and dryer serve as my only open counter space.  I have two working drawers that, when opened, are blocked by the refrigerator. Speaking of the refrigerator -- it came with NO crisper drawers, no organization theme, no ice maker and is on its last leg.  There's no hood for the stove and quite frankly, that's probably a good thing, just in case the entire thing decides to lift off.  And it's imperative to know that when more than two appliances are going at the same time, the circuit will absolutely blow. 

For years, I had a hard time finding confidence – both in my abilities as a cook and in my kitchen's ability to be effective tool for anything other than a Lean Cuisine.  Little did I know what this little kitchen "that could" would teach me years later. Read more...

Inner Peace is a Pavo series highlighting a few non-mainstream spiritual centers in Birmingham.  There are many, and though this journey will surely leave some important stones unturned,  for those of us who are not quite right for the mainstream Christian world or who may just need a different world view, there may be peace to be found here in Birmingham, yet. Read more...

In the Christian season of Epiphany the three wise men are prompted to seek the Christ Child by an angel’s message.  Their path is lit by a star in the sky.

You know what I’m thinking in January of 2010?  I wish I had a star in the sky and all I had to do was follow it and be led to inspiration beyond all imagining.

Regardless of your particular belief system, I think we can all agree that January evokes a season of looking inward, of retreating to the self to re-evaluate goals for the coming year.

My own New Year’s was much different from last year, when I was surrounded by friends, laughter and a sense of absolute joy.  This year I watched the ball drop in Time’s Square, feverishly curled up in a blanket on my couch and quite alone.

What will 2010 bring?  More importantly, what will I do to reinvent myself this year?  I have already made the countless lists and broken the many resolutions, all the while furiously scolding myself for not having a stronger will, a deeper sense of self, and a clear idea of career.
Read more...

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