Date: Thu, 6 Apr 95 13:29:27 -0500 From: "James Berg" NEWS FROM THE EVERGREEN CHRONICLES ==================================== EVERGREEN CHRONICLES SPECIAL ISSUE WINNERS OF NOVELLA CONTEST HARMONY by William Reichard HARMONIC CONVERGENCE by Ellen Lansky ==================================== On March 9, 1995, THE EVERGREEN CHRONICLES, a journal of gay and lesbian arts and cultures, will publish the winners of its nation-wide Novella Contest in a Special Issue. The first prize winner is HARMONY by William Reichard. The second prize winner is HARMONIC CONVERGENCE by Ellen Lansky. HARMONY, by William Reichard, is the story of a young manÕs (Willie) coming of age in rural America, his first love, and the breakup of their relationship. These events are set against the backdrop of WillieÕs working-class home life, peopled by his factory-worker mother and an abusive brother-in-law. ÒThis multi-layered tale of a sensitive boy growing up gay in a small Midwestern town is not a Ôcoming outÕ story,Ó said Jenifer Levin, author of Waterdancer and Sea of Light, Òbecause the protagonist unashamedly understands and accepts his own natural sexuality from the beginningÑbut it is a story of being essentially different in America. As such, HARMONY touchingly illustrates the price we all may pay for sexual and spiritual realization, for acceptance, for love. ÉThe fullness of the human heart, struggling to reconcile and to love, is the most difficult thing to write aboutÉ. [Reichard] dares to take on that challenge. The result is a fine piece of work; one that shows a big, generous capacity to delineate and share the magic that existsÑwhether with cruelty or tendernessÑin everyday life.Ó HARMONIC CONVERGENCE, by Ellen Lansky, explores the life of a rogue lesbian (Alice) who finds herself pregnant and seemingly alone. AliceÕs crisis is told along with a series of cross-country car trips, with a soundtrack by Bruce Springsteen and kd lang. According to novelist Don Belton, author of Almost Midnight, this is Òa story brought to life by an exuberant urge to capture all the signs and symbols of contemporary sexual life. HARMONIC CONVERGENCE unfolds with flashes of razor-sharp language, richly drawn scenes and the joy of a new writer finding her note. Lansky is an engaging teller of a story that transforms confection into confession, and she ends up with a celebration song of the queer nuance of queer community.Ó ABOUT THE AUTHORS WILLIAM REICHARD is a poet and fiction writer living in Minneapolis. His work has been published in numerous journals and appears in two new anthologies, GENTS, BAD BOYS, AND BARBARIANS: NEW GAY POETS OF THE NINETIES (Alyson Publications, 1995) and RECLAIMING THE HEARTLAND: LESBIAN AND GAY MALE VOICES FROM THE MIDWEST (University of Minnesota Press, forthcoming). He is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Minnesota and an assistant poetry editor for THE JAMES WHITE REVIEW. Among ReichardÕs awards are a Minnesota State Arts Board Headlands Fellowship, a 1992 Academy of American Poets award, an AWP Intro Award, and the 1993 Billie Murray Denny Award. ELLEN LANSKY grew up in Overland Park, Kansas. She attended the College of St. Catherine and the State University of New York at Binghamton, where she earned degrees in English. Lanksy is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Minnesota. Her scholarly articles on alcoholism and codependency in American literature have been published in DIONYSOS, and her short stories have appeared in ARISTON, STUDIO ONE, VINYL ARTS, NEW NORTH ARTSCAPE, and STILLERÕS POND. The Novella Contest and Special Issue are made possible by a grant from the Jerome Foundation. Over fifty entries came from across the United States. Manuscripts were judged anonymously by members of the Evergreen editorial staff, and five finalists were read anonymously by guest judges, Jenifer Levin and Don Belton. THE EVERGREEN CHRONICLES celebrates its tenth year of publication this year. Subscriptions are $15 for individuals (three issues) and $20 for institutions. Review copies available on request. For more information or to request a review copy, call The Evergreen Chronicles, (612) 649-4982, or write to P.O. Box 8939, Minneapolis, MN 55408. THE EVERGREEN CHRONICLES NOVELLA ISSUE Volume 10/S, March 1995 Publication Date: March 9, 1995 $5.95 (paper) ISSN# 1043-3333 ====================================== James Berg Senior Editor The Evergreen Chronicles, 612/649-4982 P.O. Box 8939 Minneapolis, MN 55408 bergx021@maroon.tc.umn.edu ======================================