#ArtLitPhx: Velma Kee Craig at the Uptown PEN

Velma Kee Craig at the Uptown PEN The Uptown PEN is a monthly open mic and reading series hosted by Four Chambers. The series aims to showcase the work of local authors and it also brings a monthly featured author. Local authors can bring poetry, flash fiction, or any other pieces. The open mic lasts around an hour (first come, first serve) and with a half hour for the featured author. To be featured, please e-mail: fourchamberspress@gmail.com.

Velma Kee Craig (Navajo) is the co-founder of White Springs Creative, which she runs with her husband and fellow director, Dustinn Craig. Velma is a graduate of Arizona State University with a BA in English Literature and a minor in American Indian Studies. She creates poetry, short films, and textile art. Her short film, “in this manner, I am” was selected for inclusion in the AZ100 Indie Film Collection, a project of the U of A Confluence center for Creative Inquiry in collaboration with the Arizona Media Arts Center. Her poetry can be found in As/Us Journal, Red Ink Magazine, and Restless Anthology.

The event takes place Tuesday, September 13th, 2016, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Practical Art. 5070 N Central Ave, 85012 Phoenix. For more information, visit the Facebook event.

Intern Post, Stephen McDonough: RED INK Magazine comes to ASU

Screen Shot 2016-04-01 at 12.40.11 PMRED INK Journal is the new version of RED INK Magazine, a magazine started at the University of Arizona. RED INK Magazine was published for twenty five years, but now it has found a new home and a new name. Arizona State University English Regents Professor Simon J. Ortiz brought RED INK to Arizona State University and is working to make it a literary journal. Simon Ortiz is a well-known and well respected Acoma Pueblo poet and writer. The purpose of this journal is to promote a native voice through literature, art, and humanities. This serves two functions. First, it preserves native voices by collecting and publishing their writing. Second, it promotes native voices by distributing the journal and getting people to read native writings.

RED INK Journal is a periodical published bi-annually and is being run by Arizona State University grad students.. The journal aims to preserve the native voice with writing about land, culture, identity, and community. While RED INK Journal is relatively new, they are looking toward the future and hoping to grow. They are accepting creative writing, essay, and scholarly submissions. In the future, they would like to get submissions from global indigenous people.

The journal looks different from the magazine, but what remains the same is the promotion of the native voices. RED INK Journal is part of a larger initiative Ortiz is working on called RED INK International. RED INK International has the same goals as the journal: to promote and preserve the native voices. It wants to educate and get a native view point across to the public. RED INK International is working toward those goals, but through a different method than publishing a journal. Ortiz wants to put native voice out into the community. Not only is a native voice important to native peoples, it is an important part of America’s voice and history. Ortiz thinks it should be taught at all grade levels. RED INK Journal is just one of the ways to help get the native voice heard in the community.

To find out more about the journal and the RED INK initiative, click the links and check out this article. You can also follow them on Facebook to stay up to date with all the RED INK Journal news and happenings.