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The BellaOnline Mused Literary Review offers poetry, short stories, artwork, non-fiction works, plays, and interviews each quarter. The magazine is offered in ebook format for free! This gorgeous, formatted PDF is a delightful way to enjoy each season of the year. Mused is published on each solstice and equinox.

F E A T U R E D I S S U E

Winter Solstice 2015 - Volume 9, Issue 4

Few things in life are straight up-and-down. Our Earth tilted toward the sun makes summer; away makes winter. But did you know orbit-wise we’re actually closest to the sun on January 4th? So the poor Aussies get a hotter summer with their double-whammy. The exact moment that the tilt gets most extreme, which in 2015 is Tue, Dec 22nd at 4:49am, is one thing, but that closest-point ups the ante. For us Northerners we get a warmish darkest, shortest day. The Southerners are broiling in the close heat of their longest. Our world isn’t neatly black or white, half and half. It’s about a myriad shades of grey. There’s always something else to take into consideration.

Our Mused entries help us explore this multi-layered, overlapping-rippled world we live in. In poetry, a beloved friend can be five, ten, twenty, or sixty. A woman realizes her hair does not define her. Wind rattles homes, writhes songs in trees, and rips away memories.

Fiction entries explore divorce through the eyes of a young girl and a ground-down artist. A family barely holding together unravels at the seams. A teen girl is forced to be the parent when her mother falls into alcoholism. And a young Calcuttan woman reaches out for her dreams of love.

Non-fiction opens a window into fellow traveler’s souls. A young woman in 1931 moves to the big city, is relentlessly courted by a telegraph worker for a month, and is swept away in the love of a lifetime. A mere year later, we get to hear about a young girl growing up in North London in 1932. This is the same year that Maria Cuasay’s mother was born. Mom worked multiple jobs to support her family – but in the end Alzheimer’s wreaked its havoc.

And then we have art – those images which can speak a thousand words. Mark Berkerey proves once again that he is a stunning bug whisperer, turning Aussie insects into miniature works of art. We have floating feathers in a sea of gold and delicately etched silver forests. We have infrared photos and hand-processed film photos. We have paintings done in acrylics, oils, and light. Each draws us into a new world.

Put up your feet. Take in a deep breath. And then join us on this journey of life, one page at a time.

PDF and Print Versions of Winter Solstice 2015

Autumn Equinox 2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3

With this autumn issue we have completed eight full cycles of Mused. The number eight is considered quite lucky in both the Japanese and Chinese cultures. Christians praise the eight blessings of the beatitudes. Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days. Buddhists follow the noble eightfold path to peace and serenity. Eight brings balance and celebration.

I wanted to take this fortuitous moment to thank each and every artist who entrusts us with their works – both the ones we publish and the ones we don’t. It is a leap of faith to send in an artistic creation to any magazine and we applaud your courage. There are just so many of you who have become friends over the years. We look forward to the bugs, the landscapes, the delicate poetry and insightful stories.

Thank you, too, to the thousands and thousands of readers who eagerly await to each issue. It is your appreciation and enthusiasm which makes this all worthwhile. We have readers in Alaska and Hawaii, in South Africa and in China, in the outback of Australia and the mountains of Switzerland. We love hearing feedback from each and every one of you. Together we make each issue even better.

A warm thank you to the team at Mused. Every person here is a volunteer who invests hours and hours of attentive effort to help ensure each new issue outshines the previous ones. From carefully reading through the submissions to proofing the chosen works, every step is carefully attended to.

Diane Cipollo deserves extra mention. She singlehandedly creates the beautiful layout of every single issue. She finds color combinations, arrangements, and designs which showcase the beauty of our artists. And she is beyond patient with me as I get struck with bizarre combinations of insomnia and zombie-sleep which have content delayed until the very last moment. She is a consummate artist and talented designer.

The submissions for this auspicious eighth issue are just stunning. Several brought me to tears. There are poems about loving and poems about letting go. Stories that celebrate far off lands and whisper of broken trust. Tales of ghosts, new beginnings, and disintegrating lives. Each one shines.

Be inspired by what our artists offer – and then explore your own creativity. Pick up a camera, a brush, a pen, or a keyboard. Take that first step. Let your voice be heard. It’s the perfect day to begin.

PDF and Print Versions of Autumn Equinox 2015

Summer Solstice 2015 - Volume 9, Issue 2

Summertime presents a wealth of faces and opportunities. It is the warmth of racing across a meadow, full of life. It is the lazy languor of relaxing in a hammock, watching the bees buzz. It is the heat of a baking sun shimmering on blacktop. It is the icy cool of a mountain stream as you plunge into its dark depths.

Our visual artists share the joys of summertime. Mark Berkerey looks to the bees, as they quietly go about their floral duties. Christine Catalano gives us a graceful moth who treasures its wings for a brief two weeks. Darryn Rae's acrylic work bursts with color and exuberance.

In poetry, we soak in moonlight on an untouched pillow. We take the hand of a salt-wet child of the sea. We feel the sticky sweat of a hot summer's day. We feel the power of a phoenix rising from its ashes.

Fiction takes us on journeys of the heart. An artist finds her new path after her beloved husband passes away. A man doesn't understand the hunger of unrequited love until he falls into its grasp. A woman who feels she's helping others realizes sometimes the most powerful change comes from within.

As always, it's non-fiction that truly takes one's breath away. A woman who left her family behind to be with her true love contemplates the forks in life's paths. A woman's mother grew up in true poverty in El Salvador; she shares with us a world few of us could imagine.

Summertime is a time for counting our blessings, treasuring those who care for us, and appreciating every day.

PDF and Print Versions of Summer Solstice 2015

Spring Equinox 2015 - Volume 9, Issue 1

Throughout the long history of mankind, many cultures counted their year as beginning in the spring. Spring was about rebirth. A fresh start. A new beginning at growing a garden, making plans, and exploring this beautiful world that we share. Spring is when possibilities come to life.

Mark Berkery stuns us, as usual, with his heart-achingly-beautiful photos of the tiny creatures which keep our world growing. The Orange Tail Rein Bee is tiny - delicate - and we know how fragile the bee population is right now. The photo reminds us to care for those tiny beings who are so necessary to our web of life.

Lee Evans bring us this same powerful insight with his poem On the Beaten Path. His encounter with an injured bird causes him to take stock of just how much he has to be grateful for.

In fiction, Lucille Margaret Robinson creates an emotionally gripping story of a young girl striving to make sense of her tangle of a world. All around us are innocent children caught in unhealthy situations. We should strive to be aware and reach out that hand.

And in non-fiction, Aileen bravely shares with us what it was like to grow up with trauma which led to "voices" in her head - separated personalities which was her young mind's last-resort attempt to cope with something beyond endurance.

I am humbled and awed by what our contributors have shared with us. Each artist reminds us to open our eyes, to be aware of this endless universe we inhabit, and to nurture a compassionate heart. Reach for the stars - and at the same time care for those around us. We are all on this spinning blue globe together, a pinpoint in the vastness. We should be that change we wish to see in the world.

Free Ebook Version of Spring Equinox 2015

A R C H I V E

2017 Mused Literary Review Issues
2016 Mused Literary Review Issues
2015 Mused Literary Review Issues
2014 Mused Literary Review Issues
2013 Mused Literary Review Issues
2012 Mused Literary Review Issues
2011 Mused Literary Review Issues
2010 Mused Literary Review Issues
2009 Mused Literary Review Issues
2008 Mused Literary Review Issues
2007 Mused Literary Review Issues

The Osthoff Old-World Christmas Market

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Thanksgiving Harvest Festivals and Gratitude

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