{"id":38229,"date":"2017-05-28T09:17:11","date_gmt":"2017-05-28T15:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=38229"},"modified":"2018-09-23T09:18:28","modified_gmt":"2018-09-23T15:18:28","slug":"lit-journal-speaks-boldly-and-uninterrupted-saltfront-issue-no-5-spring-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/lit-journal-speaks-boldly-and-uninterrupted-saltfront-issue-no-5-spring-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Lit Journal Speaks Boldly and Uninterrupted: saltfront, Issue No. 5, Spring 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>J
\nJust as visitors and residents find a rich array of amusement in Utah\u2019s wildlife, scenery and outdoor adventures, the literary journal\u00a0saltfront<\/em>\u00a0(Issue 5, 2017)\u00a0<\/em>provides readers with an equally diverse and captivating experience. From the redrocks of Zions to the grandiose Rocky Mountains, each entry paints clearly the cacophony of landscapes and stories that somehow just seem to work together symphonically.<\/p>\n

Whether poetry, prose, or photography, each submission in the current edition of\u00a0saltfront<\/em>\u00a0plays off the others and together tell the entire story of not only the assorted landscapes, but attitudes and cultures of the people who fill them as well.<\/p>\n

The title page greets the reader with a stunning image of blazing cloud formations over the rolling hills of the great desert. Hidden below is a man, almost unnoticeable beneath the grand display\u2014that is, until you see him, and he cannot be unseen. What begins as a pristine scene is disturbed by the presence of man, and a narrative begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudies in human habit(at)\u201d is the tagline of\u00a0saltfront<\/em>, which is currently in its fifth issue. Questions of our domination over nature, how humans interact with the Earth around them, how the landscape dictates our lives and molds our personalities, are all present and unavoidable throughout. The implications, not always so gentle, force the reader to hold up a mirror and take a long, hard look. The editors begin with a note, warning that the issue is dark, to which I wholeheartedly agree. It\u2019s often frightening to see yourself.<\/p>\n

In the prose poem \u201cHow to Talk With (Other) Animals,\u201d by Ian Peisner, the speaker lists seven points for how to communicate with other creatures, particularly nonhuman ones. He personifies each creature and recognizes its story. \u201cTrees are great storytellers,\u201d he writes. \u201cRocks are quiet, but thoughtful. Rivers have so many voices, they can be tough to understand. I am intimidated by the ocean, but it has a beautiful voice. Sometimes the sky won\u2019t stop singing. No one laughs like the moon.\u201d Entering the picturesque scene, the reader begins to flow with the rhythmic authenticity of Peisner\u2019s words. As one of the first pieces in the volume, this poem helps to build a relationship with the reader and the wilderness we imagine. In turn this becomes a crucial point in the later works.<\/p>\n

Humanity enters the narrative quickly and its effects can be seen in full force by the time we come to the photo series \u201cIn Place\u201d by Loy Andrus. These three photos depict a miniscule human dominated by a vast grandeur of scenery. Much like the title page photograph, the person is hidden in the large landscape, but their effect is omnipresent. Tampered rocks fall. Footprints drudge through clean, white snow. Sanctuary for a visitor steals the home of a native. It doesn\u2019t matter how cautious or unobtrusive the human attempts to be; they cannot help but affect everything in their path. Although we may assume humble positions, our hand is heavy and only destroys. Challenged is our concept of place, whether in place or out of place\u2014belonging comes into question and Andrus gives no clear answer to how one should interact with the wild, or if one should at all.<\/p>\n

Nate Liederbach, on the other hand, definitely has an answer, which becomes dramatically more apparent through the development of his 20-page short story, \u201cFruited Plains.\u201d Perhaps one of the bleakest pieces in this issue of\u00a0saltfront<\/em>, \u201cFruited Plains\u201d is rich with dark irony. A family travels by car from Kansas City to Colorado across the Great Plains. It is obvious that the other family members are astutely aware of road travel and this route in particular, but the main character, Donovan, is not. His innocence is shattered in this third-person limited story, and the reader ends with an unpleasant memory, which both he and Donovan will likely never forget.<\/p>\n

The story highlights four particular encounters in which the family\u2019s car, driven by the father, hits four increasingly larger animals. It begins with a bird, then a rabbit, next a badger, and finally a pregnant doe. After running over each of the animals, the father then proceeds to brutally end their lives, Donovan watching all the while. A grotesque rage is unleashed in these moments from what is presented as a kind, Christian, bible-loving family. Other than Donovan, who notices the tender details of their demise, the family has no sympathy whatsoever with the animals and takes it upon themselves to dominate nature, believing it is their right.<\/p>\n

This stark juxtaposition cradles the illuminating theme of the issue\u2014man\u2019s habitat has shaped the nature of his habits. Also, it cannot go unnoticed that many characters throughout the issue reflect various, local culture controversies. Unmistakably seen in \u201cFruited Plains,\u201d the true morality of this family comes into question and the answer conflicts with what their religion might have presumed. This, along with many of the other included works, helps to carry the theme through, never missing a beat.<\/p>\n

To fully illuminate\u00a0saltfront<\/em>\u2019s ambition of illuminating \u201chuman habit(at),\u201d the editors have chosen various and diversely experimental pieces that approach the subject from every possible angle. These authors have penetrating voices, and in many cases form follows content, which further emphasizes the overall theme.<\/p>\n

At times it is difficult to understand the seemingly haphazard organization of the pieces, but in the end, a striking story emerges. An entire plot is developed between the pages and by the end the reader is satisfied, but ready for more. It\u2019s all about that oh-so-familiar and yet still-controversial topic of environmentalism. Dare we ask, \u201cto be or not to be\u201d?<\/p>\n

What \u201cmight be\u201d is the real caution from\u00a0saltfront<\/em>\u2014what might be with us and what might be for our planet. For writers looking for somewhere to submit their take on the subject, this is the place. If not, at the very least make this journal one of your subscriptions.<\/p>\n

Technique and craft are not overlooked by\u00a0saltfront<\/em>\u2019s editors and we are able to draw much from the works they include. No doubt this targeted, tightly curated journal is going to grow into something even bigger, brighter, and more beautiful than it already has proven to be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

saltfront\u00a0<\/em>(Issue 5) includes works from Larry Menlove, Ian Peisner, Gary Dop, Laurin Becker Macios, Nathan Hauker, Chila Woychik, Simon Perchik, Nate Liederbach, Reiser Perkins, Mary Pinard, Scott Abbott, Jai Hamid Bashir, Cody Eden, Howard Winn, Megan Merchant, Jonathan Travelstead, Heather Holland, Loy Andrus, Matthew Cooperman (with Ed Dorn), and Valerie Martinez<\/h6>\n
saltfront
\n<\/em><\/a>Issue 5, 2017<\/em>
\n$12.00
\n<\/em>123 pp<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/a><\/h6>\n
<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

J Just as visitors and residents find a rich array of amusement in Utah\u2019s wildlife, scenery and outdoor adventures, the literary journal\u00a0saltfront\u00a0(Issue 5, 2017)\u00a0provides readers with an equally diverse and captivating experience. From the redrocks of Zions to the grandiose Rocky Mountains, each entry paints clearly the cacophony […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1612,"featured_media":38230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-literary-arts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/saltfront.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-22 06:36:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38229"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38231,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38229\/revisions\/38231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}