Autumn Leaves

A Twice-Monthly Online Poetry Journal

ISSN 1547-156X

[final issue]   [publisher's welcome]   [The Last Autumn Leaves]   [brags]

volume indices:
[vol 1]   [vol 2]   [vol 3]   [vol 4]   [vol 5]   [vol 6]   [vol 7]
[vol 8]   [vol 9]   [vol 10]   [vol 11]   [vol 12]   [vol 13]   [vol 14]
[The Last Autumn Leaves]

 
Final Issue

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guest poetry (children) | personal and historic truth | poetry of daily life | for Sondra | Sondra's poetry
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The Web Projects of Sondra Ball and Mario Cavallini

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to Snaps, our photo galleries
to statements of social witness
to Mario's haiku
to the link libraries
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to the Ball/Cavallini homepage


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The Longtime Welcome from Editor/Publisher Sondra Ball

A fair part of Autumn Leaves is my own poetry, of course. Hey, why else would I start an online poetry journal? But I also publish other peoples' poetry.

I am not even going to try to figure out which poems are the most technically wonderful, or will be studied in literature books a thousand years from now. I will post the works of others based on how much I personally like their poems, how much space I have on my web site, how much time I have to work on the poems, etc.

All other things being equal, preference will be given to poems written by Native Americans. So if you are submitting a poem, and you are a Native, tell me about it. Let me know your tribe or nation, and what your current relationship to that nation is.

However, this does not mean I publish only poems by natives. Some of the poems I have published in the past have been by non-natives. So don't let being non-native keep you from sending me your poem.

If I decide I want to publish your poem, I will let you know. I will be assuming only the right to publish your poem in my online journal. All other publication rights will remain in your hands. If I decide not to post your poem, you will probably never hear from me. Also, don't expect instant responses from me, even if I do decide to post your poem in my magazine. It might take me weeks to make a decision. After all, like everyone else in the universe, I have a million other things to do, and many of those things take priority over my web page.

I also am interested in posting poems by children or young adults. If you are a child or a young adult, include your age with your poem.

At this point, I have published all poems I received from children. Obviously, if I get overwhelmed by submissions, I will have to stop doing that, so I'm not making it an absolute policy. But as long as it's possible, I will publish all kids' poetry, as long as they include their age with the poem, and as long as it's appropriate for a magazine that might be read by eight year olds.

The Last Autumn Leaves

The publisher and editor of Autumn Leaves, Sondra Ball, left this earthly life on March 17th, leaving the rest of us with the question of whether to let her zine die with her.

As her husband and assistant on Autumn Leaves, I am very aware of how much this journal was a ministry for Sondra. Certainly it was a vehicle for her own poetry, but she was not at all shy about submitting to other publishers. No, the ministry was in her publishing the poems of others, and more than that, the encouragement and development of new poetic voices. The issues posted every couple of weeks were only the visible fruit of the effort; the true work was her network of relationships with her authors, and that, I could never duplicate or replace.

However, as the fruit of those relationships, Autumn Leaves has never been only about Sondra; it's been about the voices of this community of authors and authors-in-bud. Some of these have their own zines or other modes of expression; others will find other channels to speak through. But this particular crowd, in this particular place, deserves the chance to come together one last time, to celebrate, co-create, and say good-bye.

Thus this, The Last Autumn Leaves, a final issue not just to pay tribute to Sondra, but to give a clear, climactic expression of just what made this community work. I can't describe it, explain it, or write an obituary for it. I can only create the space for it to happen one last time.

This is that space. I may also produce a print anthology drawn from these poems, for those who need something more tangible in a commemoration; although first, there's a manuscript of Sondra's poems I've run across, devoted to peace (more to come, soon, on that). However, this collection — the poems in the table of contents below and the empathic, insightful, expressive souls who penned them — is the culmination of Autumn Leaves.

Please enjoy this moment, and create new ones.

Mario Cavallini
April 2010

Brags

Prix Poesie - Grand PrizeOur friends to the North have honored us again. Prix Poesie has selected Autumn Leaves as co-recipient (along with Peter Zanette of Ottawa, Ontario) of its 2003 Grand Prize, "for its outstanding contributions to international poetry and poets from around the world." We blush, and resolve to do better.


PPLF Award
Autumn Leaves has received the Canadian Prix Poesie’s laissez-faire Award for August 2002. Autumn Leaves is only the second international poetry site to recieve this honor.


WebSideStory World 1000 Pick of the Week!Autumn Leaves was selected as a "WebSideStory World 1000 Pick of the Week" for the week of 26 October 1998. The reviewer had this to say: "It's fall again, and as I was checking out the seasonal sites in the World 1000 "Arts" category, I found this one dedicated mainly to Native American poetry. You'll find all sorts of poets, but preference in publication is given to Native Americans. The author of the site, Sondra Ball, displays a good deal of her original works. I think you'll like the natural simplicity and honest tone of her poetry."


CyberTeddyOctober was obviously a good month for Autumn Leaves. On 29 October 1998, we were listed among the People's Choice WebSite 500, thus earning the "CyberTeddy's Top 500 WebSite" award.
Copyright © 2010, Sondra Ball and Mario Cavallini, all rights reserved.
Last revised: 5 May 2010
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