#macromicrocosm

So, the new issue of MacroMicroCosm is out, what’s inside? RL Arenz III gives us quick synopses of each entry in MacroMicroCosm Recovering Villains.

Editorial: Send in the Clown(Prince of Crime)s by Lis Goryniuk-Ratajczak

Synopsis

What is a villain? Lis Goryniuk-Ratajczak asks the question in the introductory Send in the Clown (Prince of Crime)s as the devil's advocate. A villain is not necessarily evil but, instead, a point of view foreign to our own morality. Alternative customs, strange beliefs, unique societal hierarchies, and opposing religious faiths create a chasm that can be bridged with open minds willing to cross the great divide. Evil is real, but rarely experienced. Division can be the basis of greater understanding between humanity's nations if we are brave enough to sojourn through dangerous separation to unify through our commonality.

Short Fiction: What Doesn’t Fall Apart Gets Broken by Leah Holbrook Sackett

Synopsis

What Doesn't Fall Apart Gets Broken is Leah Holbrook Sackett's colourful soliloquy on the internalization of the soul being reflected externally. And the steps we take to hide the wounds behind a perfect facade that cloaks the inner turmoil from external representation. At the core is a choice to share our torn soul or the decision to hide our wounds behind a mask of indifference.

Serial Fiction: Mouth of the River Part 2 by Elyssa Campbell

Synopsis

Issue 3 (MMC Anti-Heroics) introduced us to Elyssa Campbell's creation, Thomas, in the first part of Mouth of the River. By the end we, the readers, realized the duality of the young protagonist who was realized as a singular being. In part 2 we are offered a glimpse at the halves who form the entity known as Thomas, experiencing both views and tasting the integration process of two into one.

Short Fiction: Like Screams from Deep Space by Gregory J. Glanz

Synopsis

Ridley Scott's classic, Alien, delivered a tagline that promised new terror. "In space, no one can hear you scream." A horrific promise which was delivered. Like Screams From Deep Space, by Gregory J. Glanz, nonchalantly introduces a rebuttal to the idea that silence, an inhuman threat, and a solitary state of being are the holy trinity of horror. With ease, Glanz argues each point through new filters. When sound rolls in waves of crescendo or trickles each drop with a tempo felt, as the mirror is placed before the protagonist to reveal a human antagonist more terrifying than fiction, and solace isn't found within a group but in the labyrinth of discarded memories. The unspoken question of our identity entwined in the story with the characters begets silent reflection. Who are we? And what defines us?

Serial Fiction: Aegis: Redemption by RL Arenz III

Synopsis

Aegis: Redemption is the swan song for Kyle Ross by R.L. Arenz III. The bookend for the 4-part story returns Aegis to the readers with a cragged, weathered exterior. Scars cover Kyle, both externally and internally. We find ourselves asking, "is it too late for redemption? And if not, what is the price for absolution?

Poetry: To Bury a Curious Girl by Amirah al Wassif

Synopsis

To Bury a Curious Girl is the last of Amirah al Wassif’s poems to be published in Volume 6. It is the swansong of a girl in an oppressive environment fighting for her ability to expand her future, and punches with an impact the world needs to see.

Art: Between the Rocks by Dariusz Janczewski

Black and white photograph. Mineral and florae. Come see.

Art: Framed by Cement by Dariusz Janczewski

Black and white photograph. Architectural and brave.

"In our stories is a mirror for our greater sense of belief, regardless of whether that belief is particularly religious, or where it falls on the political spectrum. Authors need to demonstrate why terrible ills are wrong, to defeat  the evils which penetrate our world. "  -- Sapha Burnell

An Excerpt of the Article by Sapha Burnell

Heroes require villains. Stories require adversity to function. Outside a 'Western' model of hollywood storytelling, the tales wafted and weft move from one chaotic position to order, or order to chaos. Something has to happen, even if the antagonist is the sense of place, or an ideal struggled against. Or that damned tardy Goddot. 

But what do we do, when the villains are too detrimental to write? Or our heroes turn darker than a shade of Batman's cowl? After a reality check (does the villain need to be that harsh?, is this sensationalist without due cause?), and a reminder of both an author's sovereignty over their creative process and responsibility to connect with and validate a part of the human condition, the question remains; what value does writing a villain so far removed from one's own moral centre have? 

I stand with my fellow authors, who believe  fiction guides culture. In our stories is a mirror for our greater sense of belief, regardless of whether that belief is particularly religious, or where it falls on the political spectrum. Authors need to demonstrate why terrible ills are wrong, to defeat  the evils which penetrate our world. 

The crux point to Son of Abel is Caleb Mauthisen’s search for the Mark of Cain realized, when his ex Delilah takes him to a man of pure evil. In order for my fledgeling 2015 self to fathom what sort of man could have the ultimate evil mark within my mythological universe, I pictured the most evil person on the planet…

We’re bringing the energy to a place of calm with Volume Six of MacroMicroCosm. Are you ready? Locked and loaded, armed with inner composure? 

The Superhero issue is the perfect place to discover what's wrong... and seek the fix. Through the next four issues, we dive deep into the systemic problems in our world. Many of the writers I asked to give opinions told me it was too large a problem. 

We need heroes.A hero wielding a pen is a harsh animal. Twice given to instincts, open as a shield-less Spartan. A superhero does not attack without cause. It is the duty of  heroes to discover the sides of every argument, and with fairness and compassion, find the best path. To be a connective force in our diverse world.

While this issue’s title, was picked over a year ago, it fits the current global situation. What we need now, are mythic level heroes. Mythic people, who go through turmoil and come out not as jaded ‘realists’ cursing the names of the passionate young and stubborn elders. Eternal idealists, who pick up, dust off, and give utopia one more go.

There is always cause to push back and refine our bridge to a utopic world.

Is the best we have to offer division? We began this issue with a poster of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebrating multiple cultures, and creating equal opportunity for all cannot also wash out the myriad of patterns which inspire our world. We must create a global culture of equal opportunity, while maintaining universal human rights, and allowing for the celebration of many cultures.

We share the personal opinions of readers, who wrote into Plan Utopia. These opinions are the property of the original writers.

I know seeing disparate opinions can make some readers uncomfortable.

The first piece to rectification is awareness of outside perspectives. Once we hear these opinions, we can with compassion, discuss them. Open them up and reveal them for what they are. Educate some, encourage others, until we discover how best to shift the world we have to the world we want.

Congratulations to first-time novelist Guglielmo D’Izzia for your novel The Transaction, published by Guernica Editions! Please give our podcast & video review a listen, like and subscribe.

Safety in Numbers! Find a Comfortable Hidey-Hole!

MACROMICROCOSM HAVEN

is on Sale Now!

Welcome back to another edition of MacroMicroCosm!

If you are visiting in this strange and unfamiliar land for the first time, let us guide you on your sojourn through the weirdly fantastical works carefully crafted for your entertainment. In these tumultuous times allow your mind to wander through mythical settings of unique vision that face a different variation of danger with elegant form and mysteriously outlandish scenarios. Or dive into one of the reviewed books that refuses to deviate from the gritty realism of life and doesn't flinch in the face of the fleeting truth of life. Maybe you want to get lost in visuals conjured by beautiful poetry that know how to pluck the heartstrings of the soul.

Whatever the purpose of your visit, come closer to the proverbial camp fire with a warm mug of your beverage of choice and let us dazzle you along your journey.

Every journey begins with a single word.

And the word today?

Enjoy.

R.L. Arenz III Literary Editor

Contributors:

Lis Goryniuk

Harrison Varley

MMC Reviewers

Amirah Al Wassif

In which we say goodbye to Volume Five, with the search for safe spaces in the middle of a world on fire. 

2020? Go home. You're drunk.

Usually, these editorials practically write themselves. On the upend of nigh four months of self-quarantine (severe in my household's case due to my spouse's medical profession), we all seem compressed into a solitary yet shared experience. Alone fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic with naught but toilet paper & digital communications to redeem us. Extrovert that I am, the only voices I hear now are through the voice chats on our MacroMicroCosm Discord Server (which, you can join, btw, shameless plug). Where's my 'way in' to thoughts on Haven? The title of this issue, chosen over a year ago, in a meeting between myself and Teagan over a pot of tea and the beloved background noise of a  Japanese Anime binge session. None of us knew by the time this issue saw the lighted vapourwave grid of cyberspace (thanks William Gibson for 'cyberspace', by the way), that 'Haven' would mean 'place beyond the invisible menace plaguing the world'. 

Perhaps a 'haven', defined as 'a safe and beautiful place', used to mean a host of places, people. Sensations gained by trotting down to the bookstore and chatting up the crew at Tomes and Tales in my Canadian port of call. 

Even then, there was the inkling of a cyberspace haven. A collection, more of a gaggle of friends who banded together for the love of science fiction, play-acting online & the odd Water Tribe meme. Now, four months in by the time anyone really reads this, the haven of Van Deusen Botanical Gardens in Vancouver, or Tomes and Tales, or the Massage Therapy clinic I used to frequent before the mandatory closures is defined only by the cloud of interconnected digital witnesses.

Our new issue is out!

Break’s a bloody mess. Lieben’s coddling the elderly & the Count wants the Artist. What will Mademoiselle Zayn do in the latest part of New Boy: The Isle of Noises?!

Read the print reviews of the latest MacroMicroCom Podcast & YouTube Videos.

MacroMicroCosm lives!

We’re back with a new format and the same love of weird and wonderful fiction.

Crack open our “Maya” issue to read the latest book reviews, catch the next instalment of New Boy, by Sapha Burnell and see art by Tessa Concorde.