CELEBRATING THE ARTS AND SCIENCES

It seems natural that a man who says that he respects people “who pay attention to their minds and bodies, appreciate life, are present in their daily tasks and are thoughtful and selfless” would continually be expanding his work and seeking ways to communicate ideas to a growing readership. I refer to Gary Entsminger, editor and publisher of Pinyon Publishing in Montrose, Colorado, who recently expanded the publications of his Indie press to include a magazine, Pinyon Review, Celebrating the Arts and Sciences.

The magazine features a line-up of poets and short story writers, computer programmers, and nature enthusiasts, and includes an essay on fractal geometry by Larry Fogg. Gary’s sidekick, Susan Elliott, an accomplished artist and ecologist, contributed several watercolor images to the issue and designed the front and back covers of Pinyon Review.

The Pinyon Review is a handsome journal, and I’m happy that it includes two of my poems alongside those of another Louisianan, Ken Fontenot, a native of New Orleans now living in Austin, Texas. Pinyon recently published a volume of his work entitled In A Kingdom of Birds.

I was fascinated with the Mandelbrot Set Fractal by Larry Fogg that appears on the title page of Pinyon Review, although I found his essay on fractal geometry not-so-easy to understand, except from the standpoint of fractal art: “Fractal geometry has been called ‘the geometry of nature’ because it does a good job of drawing objects like galaxies, mountains, trees, and blood vessels. Fractals are infinitely detailed and self-similar. That means that as you zoom in on the image, the smaller details resemble the large scale shapes…,” Fogg writes.

I'm partial to poetry about crows and was drawn to Don Thompson’s poem about this raucous bird. Don lives in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California, and his most recent book, published by Pinyon, is entitled Everything Barren Will Be Blessed. The poem is simply entitled “Crows.”

Crows never make excuses,

unlike us — but like us

complain bitterly about their blessings,

This one beside the road,

dissatisfied with the leftover rabbit

I killed for him yesterday,

squawks at the cosmos without thinking

anymore than we do,

how easy life is for him—

compared to rabbits, so undemanding,

for whom every run is a risk

neither man nor crow would take.

Coulter Country is the featured non-fiction article that appears in Pinyon Review and was written by Dr. Gerald L. Brody, a pathologist, an amateur ornithologist, and fly fisherman, who writes about his early adventures as a newly married person when he and his wife hiked in the remote wilderness of Wyoming.

The fare in this journal is varied and showcases quality writing selected by an Indie publisher who lives on the Uncompaghre Plateau at 7,000 feet in the southern Rocky Mountains. Gary works in a cabin where east-facing windows bring in light and where he can see the Buckhorn Mountains nearby. He’s a writer, publisher, naturalist, musician, and computer programmer who has written over 100 scientific/technical articles and computer software that helps scientists understand patterns of biodiversity and biogeography. From this brief biographical note, you can see why Pinyon Review contains a plethora of diverse writing for a universal audience.

Congratulations on Volume 1 of the Pinyon Review,Gary and Susan (Managing Editor) — may your readership increase with each new publication!

Pinyon Review can be ordered from www.pinyon-publishing.com/books/html or Pinyon Publishing, 23847 V66 Trail, Montrose, CO, 81403.