\u201cPoems that are read aloud come to life,\u201d said Robert Fagen, a contributor to the literary and arts journal Cirque. \u201cThere is a grand tradition, especially in Russia, of reading poetry aloud for an audience. It\u2019s a whole new dimension, \u2018another world, alive with silver and gold.\u2019 It\u2019s hard not to go home inspired from a reading and with a want to be up there some day to share new work with others.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Cirque had its first reading in Juneau, with more than 10 Southeast Alaskan residents reading work they published in the journal. When Sandra L. Kleven, one of the journal\u2019s editors, met Emily Wall, a local poet and a University of Alaska Southeast Associate Professor of English, at a writing conference in 2014 the idea of a reading in Juneau began to take shape.<\/p>\n
The conference of the Associates of Writers and Writing Program, or AWP, brings together more than 12,000 attendees each year. Participants include publishers, students, teachers, editors and writers. Kleven and Wall met during Cirque\u2019s onsite AWP reading, \u201cA Contemporary Theatre,\u201d or ACT.<\/p>\n
Wall was excited to meet Kleven and to later hear about Cirque coming to Juneau. As an audience member, Wall reflected on the satisfaction she feels listening to others.<\/p>\n
\u201cA reading, like a gallery show or art opening, is an invitation for us to come together and immerse ourselves in literature for an evening,\u201d said Wall. \u201cSometimes at a reading I feel as if I\u2019m at a beautiful feast\u2014we get to sit and swallow images and stories and ideas \u2014 and it\u2019s so fulfilling. \u201c<\/p>\n
Wall also spoke about the reading from a writer\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like my solitude in front of the desk. I\u2019m not a performer by nature. Standing in front of a room of people is not easy for me. But one thing I\u2019ve learned to love is how it shapes my own writing and revising. When you read, you get a strong, immediate feel for how an audience is reacting to your work. That\u2019s not something you can get from publishing\u2014we don\u2019t see our readers respond to our work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Burwell, the founder and co-editor of Cirque, made the reading possible by starting a small journal in 2009. The poetry journal Ice-Floe stopped publishing in 2006 and Burwell felt that poets within the region lost an important platform for their work.<\/p>\n
Over the course of three years the journal took shape and became regional, accepting plays, fiction, interviews, reviews, nonfiction, photography and poetry. Ice-Floe restarted, but Burwell could see there was still a need for a journal like Cirque.<\/p>\n
The first issue of Cirque was published on winter solstice, 2009. Since then, the journal has grown to receive about 300 submissions per issue from the North Pacific Rim region. The journal receives frequent submissions from Juneau, Portland and Bellingham, and has received submissions from Canada, Idaho and Montana as well. Cirque averages about 140 pages per issue.<\/p>\n
The journal is unique because it is entirely independent. Cirque is not funded by any art grants or universities, but instead builds a small $1500 budget through advertising, sales and donations. Its editors volunteer their time, and it prints on demand or can be read online.<\/p>\n
The journal is published twice a year on winter and summer solstice. The submission deadlines are on the fall and spring equinoxes. The next submission deadline is March 21, 2016.<\/p>\n
Kleven said he\u2019d like to host a reading in Juneau every year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many Juneau writers who I felt a familiar connection with, but whom I had not met\u2026 . I want to be instrumental in creating a way to bring their writing to the public both live and in print,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Sarah Isto, a local poet and contributor to Cirque, helped organize the reading by locating the venue and also provided Kleven housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sound and music of a poem, not just its appearance on the page, is important to me,\u201d said Isto. \u201cI think journals like Cirque are vital in introducing poets and artists to each other within an area, and in this case, introducing North Pacific Rim writers to the larger world.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information about the journal, visit www.cirquejournal.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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