Sunday, July 16, 2006

KIDS AND CARTOONS IN A TIME OF WAR

Boom! The bomb went off
And the boy, who was on his way to school,
watched
As his right leg flew across the road
Watched it somersault over and over
And fall somewhere over there
He tried to yell, to tell someone

Then a man was tying something tight
High up on his leg
He grabbed the man's arm, but
Was told to stay calm
That they would take care of him.
He wondered if his leg knew
He was still there, and wanted it back.

There was so much noise
Men yelling about cartoons and Denmark and Allah and Mohammad
Sirens were screaming, a baby was crying.

They strapped him to a board
And again he tried to tell them
That his leg was across the road
But the man said: "No, no,
You were injured right here, not across the road
Don't be silly, your leg is here somewhere
But we'll never find it in all this mess
You're in shock."

Then he spoke to the one helping him, and said:
"Poor boy, he thinks
His leg flew to the other side of the road
He must be hysterical with pain
Here's the ambulance now, let's get him in."

As it took him away,
One man punched the other on the shoulder,
And said:
"How did the leg get to the other side of the road?
Why, it flew there all by itself. Ha, ha, ha ha
Poor kid, he was seeing things."

As the boy rode in the ambulance
He tried to speak - even thought he was speaking
But the attendant heard nothing
Just moans and a whispered,
"Mama, bapa mama bapa mama."

- Mary Billy, Canada

Saturday, July 15, 2006



Art prints by Jenny Waelti-Walters, Canada
Postcard by Asliza Aris, Malaysia

Artist stamps by Jeffrey Errick, Canada

Art print by Erin Reinbeth, South Australia
Kaitlyn Smith of South Australia sent in a beautiful embossed print only it was white on white & we could not scan it. Thanks to Kaitlyn though, we were able to scan the reverse which was on the outside of her envelope!

Art print by Loney Lem, South Australia
Art by emerenciano, Portugal


Photocopy art by Diane Bertrand, Canada

Postcard by Miguel Jimenez, Spain
Poem by Daniel de Culla, Spain

One of two postcards by Verapong Sritrakulkitjakarn, Thailand

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Postcard by Guy Bleus [42.292], Belgium. And to quote Mr. Bleus from "The Thrill of Working With Odours" ... "A shortcoming of electronic communication via modems, fax-machines, telephones, etc. is the absence of transmitted scents. There are simply and solely the odours of the own equipment. Trust me - the postcard smells DEVINE!

Artwork by Barry Edgar Pilcher, County Donegal, Eire

Sample of ATCs by Vicki Zastrow, USA
Photo prints by Mauricio Silerio V, Mexico

Collective collage from the project Brain Cell sent in by Ryosuke Cohen, Japan. Apologies to Mr. Cohen for having to split the collage in two sections in order to scan.

Postcard "jam" by Gail D. & Corrinne Fraser, Canada

Ms Suomynona
Add & Pass artbook sent in by Lancillotto Bellini, Italy

Sample of ATCs by Don McNulty, Canada
Print by Victoria Aimhlegs, USA

Poem by Gail D., Canada

CONFESSIONS OF JEMIMA

There was a little girl
And she wore a little curl
Right down the middle of
Her forehead ...

i jemima will not spend my little life among taboos & submission i jemima will choose the will that was given me to do & doing one day i will combat this fear this sphere here where mother hungers for ritual ceremoniously fasting & eating & praying to gods gods without shape or substance without substance she is never satisfied satisfied never in her garden of cacti & thorn
bushes her garden of guilt & shame she works
in her garden in her silence i jemima will not
wear the hood of blood the good hood of blood
that hides mother's misery-carved face gracing
our common genesis genesis to which my soul
is condemned damned in this little life this horrid
world of dark beginnings beginning with the
scarlet immortal fruit the fruitless badge of dis
honour dishonouring our common genesis with
burden burdening our wombness for centuries
scenting my skin skin benumbed & scarred &
benumbed for some soul's content contending
with mother's discipline mother's discontent
discipline whipped out of the unconscious
out of the consequence not out of love con
sequently consciously i jemima will not spend
my little life among taboos & submission i will
choose the will that was given me to do today ...
Postcard from anne, USA

Postcard made at Grandma's kitchen table. This is Josh's initiation into mail art [age: 8].

FEEL is the key word here in this braille postcard by R.F. Cote, Canada
This miniature works was sent in by Silvia Lissa, Argentina who also sent in this mail art call:

The Leaf: Magazine of Visual Poetry
Topic: Free
Size: 12 cm x 15 cm
Technique: Free. Reproduction in black & white
No deadline
Include name; address & email
Send to
The Leaf: Magazine of Visual Poetry
3270 Rivadavia St.
P.C. 3228- Chajari-Entre-Rios
Argentina
A tad scarred from travelling thru the mails, this postcard is from Sophie Valentin, France.


"Recycled images" postcards by Jeffrey Errick, Canada

Multi-media art board sent in by Sharon Busuttil, NSW, Australia
Sample of ATCs by Kitty Dole, U.S.A.

Sample of ATCs by Corrinne Fraser, Canada
Postcard from Denis Charmot, France