Featuring America | Created by Jac and Gil

Art »

Boxing Gloves Wall St by Matt B. Simon

Stop Wall St Bailout by Matt B. Simon

Salton-Sea by Matt B. Simon

Greed Kills by Matt B. Simon

Felt Rain by Djavan Santos

Bottles by Djavan Santos

Pencil Illustration by Sergio Gusella

Poetry »

Ramblings of an idiot... by Josh Kilbourn
Exiled by greed, lust and self torment. Bestowed ignorance.
Swallowed up, consumed by compulsion.
If it was 258 A.D. I would be a Pirate, sailing with the Gothic-Herulic fleet.
Ravaging towns coast to coast, with a multitude of slaves and wenches.
Historically I'd be the esteemed hero of every child's story book.
One of absolute folklore and legend. Nay they say, not in this glorious Century.
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Untitled by Emma Olson
first, bundle. not longing to break free, huddled mass upon the
sidewalk. no longer able to separate himself from the blanket
that envelops him. grey body blending into grey sky, street and
I click clack by in high heels that barely skim the surface while
he breathes it with his being. cheek against the artificial stone
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if we are alone; language by Megan London
if we are alone; language
after oppen
I am too close or
they are too close or
we are all too close
to each other / to this &
buying time
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America'd by Ben Nardolilli
Canada outside the bathroom door,
Knocking, asking,
If I'm alright, sliding
A card under the slit,
His number on it,
He says I should call him
If it happens again,
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Make-over by H.E. Mantel
She got herself an
ankle tattoo, one with a
scalloped ribbon. And
PURR-manent makeup
-highly-erremovable!,
a hair weave, then an
Italian Cut, and
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The Woman's Song by Terra Brigando
She begins by singing an aria
up on 52nd street, right between
the second hand store and the flea bitten dog
tied up outside the Chinese fish market, his ragged bark
setting the tone to her song like a bruised drum.
She is singing in soprano, and although she is dressed
in her one best dress, this is not an oratorio;
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Welcome »

It's hard to believe we're already halfway through 2009.
What a year it's been thus far.
Our new president's 100-day mile-marker came and went, and while his long-term accomplishments and blunders have yet to be realized, many in our country and across the world have welcomed the regenerative spirit this new administration has shown.

We're extremely enthusiastic about our second edition of Featuring America that showcases the work of so many talented artists, and we're delighted to introduce to you the concept of a theme-based issue. As you will gather by reading the pieces and viewing the art presented, this issue's theme is rehabilitation. With the current state of affairs in America, we strongly believe there's a need to restore to a condition of good health and the means to keep working and reaching for our dreams.

Though the thematic approach to the magazine is unique to this issue, we hope it will remain as an evolving section that will grow dynamically with the magazine. It's a way to boldly showcase different perspectives, genres, or subject matter, either pertaining to a social issue, a cultural phenomenon, or whatever comes up as appropriate to highlight.

Another exciting addition to this issue is the section entitled "Words from Within," which features poems submitted by women in a literacy program held in a California County Correctional Facility. These women offer unique perspectives on the theme of rehabilitation, and their marginalized voices are ones we're not often privy to hearing.

Lastly, you'll notice you're now able to leave comments. Please do leave your thoughts for the artists who move you in any way, or post feedback to us so that we can continue to improve and progress. We think some stellar discussions can be fostered here.

Happiness to all,
Jac & gil

We're welcoming submissions for the next edition of Featuring America. Please submit to featuringamerica@gmail.com.

Contributors »

Jackie Beach, Co-editor
gil gaeta, Co-editor

Terra Brigando
Mrs. Boxer
Sarah Fidelibus
Sergio Gusella
Josh Kilbourn
Alexander Ligyron
Megan London
H.E. Mantel
Jennifer Miller
Ben Nardolilli
Emma Olson
Rob Saigh
Djavan Santos
Matt B. Simon
Dominic Sparano
Mark Spinrad
Women's County Jail, CA

Fiction »

Revenge by Mark Spinrad
Albert Gaines killed Marty Henderson. It wasn't an accident per se, though he certainly did not purposefully intend for it to happen. Still the court ruled in favor of murder charges because Gaines, a noted disrepute and troublemaker, was a "lost cause" with a rap sheet over seventeen pages long even though he was barely eighteen
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A Story About Bob by Alexander Ligyron
This is a story about a boy named Bob.
Bob was in a hurry. It was almost seven twenty seven, and after a little quick math, he realized that he was forty two minutes late. But Bob wasn't making any excuses for this, no, it wasn't his fault, he reasoned. Fat baby was late, was always late, and Bob should have known this by now. Instead of placing the call earlier and thereby allocating the proper amount of time to make it downtown, Bob was stuck huddling underneath some noname bodega on 47th street, its tattered awning not even sufficiently sheltering him from the steady,
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Words From Within »

Rehabilitation Mrs. Boxer

Essays »

The Transformers by Sarah Fidelibus,
President Obama reminded us in his address to a joint session of congress on Tuesday that, "[A]t every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas." Now is the time for both, of course, and our current circumstances present us not only with some of the toughest challenges we've faced in nearly a century, but also the greatest number of opportunities to truly transform our nation into what we want it to be going forward.
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Railed: Appreciating America's Forgotten Workhorse by Matt B. Simon
We inevitably lose interest in certain things as we age, binkies, cartoons, flashing lights. These are understandable examples, but when it comes to trains and railroads and their ilk, the awe that we held as children inexplicably disappears. We grow up, buy cars, spend months of our lives in traffic, and only remember trains when we're stuck at a junction while a mile-long freight train rolls in front of us.
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Blood, sweat, and tunes - A band's passion in a changing world by Jennifer Miller
Recently named one of Music Connection's Top 100 unsigned bands of 2008, Shattered Atom is breaking barriers and pushing forward as they prepare to launch their first full length album, "The Knife, The Thief." Jeremy Wilford (vocals/keys), Kelsey Drayton (drums), Daniel Khim (guitar), and Troy Ross (bass) are Shattered Atom. An Indie rock band that fuses organic and electronic sounds with pop structure, their sound is commonly compared to the likes of Coldplay and the Killers.
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Excerpt from Through-Sound, a novel (Chapter 2) by Rob Saigh
Tuesday. One a.m. Harmon dreamed he was in school, the first reel of his life called Frustration.... Harmon looked down to see he was bereft of clothes. He wanted to escape before any other student saw. Harmon grabbed some black roses to cover his genitals, but the thorns kept producing thin lines of blood, like dark varicose veins snaking along his skin. No one noticed him wincing. Ellen Sue Ambergris, with the pigtails and the fat five-colored pen in her front pocket, rose and strode to the front. She pushed her thick glasses up on her fat nose and proceeded to conjugate regler. "C'est parfait, Mademoiselle Ambergris."
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