Voices from the Sky: A Companion Podcast to Sky Island Journal - podcast cover

Voices from the Sky: A Companion Podcast to Sky Island Journal

Jeff Sommerfeld from Sky Island Podcastsvoicesfromthesky.buzzsprout.com
Voices from the Sky is a companion podcast to Sky Island Journal, an independent international literary journal where we discover and publish the finest poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from around the world. Always free-access for our readers, we publish accomplished authors—side by side—with emerging voices for over 115,000 thousand readers in 145 different countries. In this Podcast, we delve deep into some of our favorite pieces since our journal’s inception in 2017, and take listeners inside the heads and hearts of their creators as they help us more fully explore their literary works. Each season, we will feature a variety of writers and a variety of forms--poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction--one at a time, to enhance your experience as readers and thinkers. Following a discussion about the published piece, each episode concludes with a reading by the original writer, and I encourage you to follow along with the piece, which will always be linked in our show notes and on the Sky Island Journal website.
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Episodes

"If I'd Known You Were Coming..." by Jeremy Dixon (Issue 22 Flash Fiction Feature)

We recently published Issue 22 of Sky island Journal , and we're offering a trio of special features of brand new works from that issue! You will get a sampling of the world-class poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction included in Issue 22 , and hear from a few of the writers and poets themselves! I am honored to introduce you to Jeremy Dixon, who took time to speak with me recently about his flash fiction piece, "If I'd Known You Were Coming...” Here is a brief bio: Jeremy Dixon lives n...

Jan 11, 202321 minSeason 2Ep. 13

"Our Wondrous Monsters" by Jonathan Odell (Issue 22 Creative Nonfiction Feature)

We just recently published Issue 22 of Sky island Journal , and we're offering a trio of special features of brand new works from that issue! You will get a sampling of the world-class poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction included in Issue 22 , and hear from a few of the writers and poets themselves! I am honored to introduce you to Jonathan Odell, who took time to speak with me recently about his creative nonfiction piece, “Our Wondrous Monsters.” Here is a brief bio: Jonathan Odell i...

Nov 17, 202227 minSeason 2Ep. 12

"After the Bombs Fall" by Shannon Huffman Polson (Issue 22 Poetry Feature)

This past Saturday we published Issue 22 of Sky island Journal , and the next three episodes are special features of brand new works from that issue! You will get a sampling of the world-class poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction included in Issue 22 , and hear from a few of the writers and poets themselves! First up, I am honored to introduce you to Shannon Huffman Polson. Shannon took time to speak with me recently about her poem, “After the Bombs Fall.” Here is a brief bio: Shannon ...

Oct 26, 202220 minSeason 2Ep. 11

"To Dance" by Ifeoma Nnewuihe: A Narrative about Movement

Enjoy part five of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Ifeoma Nnewuihe, who in our last episode introduced us to her transformative creative nonfiction piece, "To Dance," which was originally published in Issue 12 (Spring 2020) of Sky Island Journal. Ifeoma Nnewuihe is a writer and visual artist living and working in Lagos, Nigeria. Ifeoma has a Master of Arts degree in Literature from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Her works have been published in Th...

Oct 22, 202248 minSeason 2Ep. 10

Intro to Ifeoma Nnewuihe & "To Dance" (Creative Nonfiction)

Welcome back to part five of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky ! This week, we welcome Ifeoma Nnewuihe who will introduce us to her inspiring creative nonfiction piece, "To Dance," which was originally published in Issue 12 (Spring 2020) of Sky Island Journal. Ifeoma Nnewuihe is a writer and visual artist living and working in Lagos, Nigeria. Ifeoma has a Master of Arts degree in Literature from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Her works have been published in The Jellyfish...

Oct 17, 202210 minSeason 2Ep. 9

"Bicycle" by Jessica (J.L.) Shively: A Story about the Humanity of Horror

Enjoy part four of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Jessica (J.L.) Shively, who in our last episode introduced us to her tremendous flash fiction piece, "Bicycle," which was originally published in Issue 18 (Fall 2021) of Sky Island Journal. J. L. Shively lives on a sparsely populated peninsula on the coast of Maine where she is continuing her search for old cemeteries and abandoned places while completing her collection of short horror stories. She h...

Oct 11, 202244 minSeason 2Ep. 8

Intro to Jessica (J.L.) Shively & "Bicycle" (Flash Fiction)

Welcome back to part four of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky ! This week, we welcome Jessica (J.L.) Shively, who will introduce us to her tremendous flash fiction piece, "Bicycle," which was originally published in Issue 18 (Fall 2021) of Sky Island Journal. J. L. Shively lives on a sparsely populated peninsula on the coast of Maine where she is continuing her search for old cemeteries and abandoned places while completing her collection of short horror stories. She has a ...

Oct 10, 202210 minSeason 2Ep. 7

"Ash" by Vivian Tran: A Poem about Human Existence (Memory, Time, and Space)

We're back for part three of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Vivian Tran, who in our last episode introduced us to her poem "Ash," which was originally published in Issue 9 (Summer 2019) of Sky Island Journal. Vivian Tran is a former nuclear physicist with undergraduate degrees from MIT. She currently writes for engineers and lives in the Bay Area. She is an aspiring poet, and Sky Island Journal is the first literary journal her poetry has appeared i...

Oct 04, 202232 minSeason 2Ep. 6

Intro to Vivian Tran & "Ash" (Poetry)

Welcome back to part three of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky ! This week, we welcome Vivian Tran, who will introduce us to her poem "Ash," which was originally published in Issue 9 (Summer 2019) of Sky Island Journal. Vivian Tran is a former nuclear physicist with undergraduate degrees from MIT. She currently writes for engineers and lives in the Bay Area. She is an aspiring poet, and Sky Island Journal is the first literary journal her poetry has appeared in. In this epi...

Oct 03, 20226 minSeason 2Ep. 5

"Portable Cactus" by Ateeb Gul: A Poem about Grief & Hope

We're back for part two of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Ateeb Gul, who in our last episode, introduced us to his poem "Portable Cactus," which was originally published in Issue 5 (Summer 2018) of Sky Island Journal. In this episode, he takes us all the way back to his childhood in Pakistan to deliver his journey to becoming a published poet, translator, and academic writer. He also offers advice to fellow writers, talks a little literary theory wi...

Sep 27, 202251 minSeason 2Ep. 4

Intro to Ateeb Gul & "Portable Cactus" (Poetry)

Welcome back to part two of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Ateeb Gul, who will introduce us to his poem "Portable Cactus," which was originally published in Issue 5 (Summer 2018) of Sky Island Journal. Ateeb Gul is a Ph.D. candidate in the Islamic Studies specialization. His areas of research are Islam in South Asia, sirah literature (biographies of Prophet Muhammad), gender in Islamic thought, religion and literature, the history of science and phi...

Sep 26, 20226 minSeason 2Ep. 3

"Dark" by Linda Hegland: A Narrative about Grace & Presence

Welcome to Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! In our last episode we briefly introduced you to Linda Hegland and her creative nonfiction piece, "Dark," which was originally published in Issue 11 (Winter 2020) of Sky Island Journal . She discusses her journey to becoming a published writer, offers advice for aspiring writers, and shares unique insights into this outstanding narrative that reminds us to fully experience our senses, be present, and recognize that darkness does not need to be scary. L...

Sep 20, 202240 minSeason 2Ep. 2

Intro to Linda Hegland & "Dark" (Creative Nonfiction)

We are so pleased to launch Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Linda Hegland to kick-off this six-part series as she pulls us into the literary world of her creative nonfiction piece, "Dark," which was originally published in Issue 11 (Winter 2020) of Sky Island Journal . Linda H.Y. Hegland is an award-winning poet, lyric essayist and creative non-fiction writer and a writer of the occasional short story. Her work had been published widely in numerous literary journals in Can...

Sep 19, 20228 minSeason 2Ep. 1

"Stuck in Traffic on I-95 Southbound" by Steve Lambert: A Poem That Reminds Us We're All a Work in Progress

In our third episode of Voices from the Sky, we welcome Steve Lambert to close Season 1 as he discusses his poem "Stuck in Traffic on I-95 Southbound," which was originally published in Issue 2 (Fall 2017) of Sky Island Journal . He talks about the variety of ways that creativity has been at the core of his being since childhood, offers advice for aspiring writers, and shares unique insights into this outstanding poem that serves as a reminder that all of us are a work in progress, striving to f...

Sep 16, 202145 minSeason 1Ep. 3

"From Under a Porch" by Chad Broughman: A Story about Mercy

In our second episode of Voices from the Sky, we welcome Chad Broughman to talk about his fantastic story, "From Under a Porch," which was originally published in Issue 7 (Spring 2019) of Sky Island Journal . He takes us inside the distinct moment when he decided to become a writer of fiction, opens doors to peer into his writing process, and offers unique insights into this flash fiction story about mercy, patience, and much more. Chad V. Broughman was the recipient of the Rusty Scythe Prize Bo...

Oct 08, 202041 minSeason 1Ep. 2

"How to Spell America" by Sandy Coomer: A Poem about Immigration, Language, Communication, and Seeing Beyond

In our first episode of Voices from the Sky, we explore Sandy Coomer's outstanding poem, "How to Spell America," which was originally published in Issue 4 (Spring 2018) of Sky Island Journal . She takes us inside her journey as a writer, her writing process, and offers unique insights into this poem about the following topics: immigration, language, communication, and seeing beyond. Sandy Coomer is a poet, artist, Ironman athlete, and social entrepreneur from Nashville, Tennessee. Her poetry has...

Jul 29, 202028 minSeason 1Ep. 1
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