“Santa Muerte” by Mel Green featured in Descant’s Newest Issue #152 “Ghosts and the Uncanny” Available in bookstores and online March 28, 2011

Descant is an internationally lauded  Literary and Arts Journal. A quarterly, it has featured such writers as Margaret Atwood, Dennis Lee, R. Murray Schafer, Timothy Findley, Michael Ondaatje, Anne Michaels, artists like Geoffrey Pugen, Ryan Burghard, Balint Zsako and many others.

This collection takes a daring look into the world of the dead, sometimes beckoning to it, even daring to interact with it. Also featured in this issue along with Mel Green are Richard Rosenbaum, Jennifer Oliver, Kate Cayley, Douglas Curran and Daniel Zuckerbrot.

Get a copy of Descant #152 “Ghosts and the Uncanny” or a list of bookstores that carry Descant at: http://www.descant.ca/

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Dia de los Muertos 2010 – Terlingua Texas

Dia de los Muertos

Terlingua, Tx.

November 2, 2010

The sun sets and the candles flickering on the graves burn suddenly brighter. It is their night, the gifts laid out on the graves for each of the departed to enjoy—their favorite things: tequila on one grave, an entire chicken fried steak is set out on another. It never fails to touch me this unique gathering—Day of the Dead in Terlingua, Tx. A seasonal event with roots in the ancient culture of the Aztecs, it brings a community together to mark the passing of another year; not just to remember those that are gone, but to sit and actually share a night with them.

And on this night I had the good fortune of finally meeting Ara Gureghian in person whose blog, “Oasis of My Soul” I have been following for some time. Ara not only takes beautiful pictures, but having once been a chef, he also cooks beautiful food. His dog “Spirit” famous for his goggles and bandana, rides in the sidecar of Ara’s motorcycle. They are a popular pair in the Big Bend. The desert has really come to be home for Ara who has been wandering for some time. His blog shares a heartfelt journey I think everyone should sample. He lost a son and took his grief on the road, following his heart wherever. It has led him here to Terlingua and this gathering where the past connects  to the present and the living with the dead. It is All Souls Day. We share food and drink and a warming bonfire. I give him a copy of my book, he rolls me a cigarette. It seems we have known each other for a long time …