Fall 2013, Volume 4. Issue 1

Well, it has been a long time since our last edition of Mosaic 2.0. To those authors who submitted their writings expecting a 2012 publication, we apologize. I will not go into details on why the Advanced Writing Centre team was diverted from this project, except to say that it has been a year of transitions for us and of intense activity with our student priorities at CNA-Q.  But rest assured, the AWC will endeavor to publish Mosaic 2.0 at least once per year, while striving for two editions, one in the spring and one in the fall.

Mosaic 2.0's contributors for this edition include authors whose names are familiar to regular visitors to our blog. And some authors are new to us. While most of our writers this time reside in Qatar, they continue a 'tradition' of representing different countries, races, cultures and, indeed, continents.This feature of our writing blog is almost as exciting for us as are the writings themselves. But truly, it is the writings, from around the world, in voices representing its diversity, finding their way to this single, globally accessible venue that is our raison d'etre, our reason for existing.

Predictably, the subjects embraced in this edition are diverse. Julie O'Rourke in a short-short story goes back into Roman history and contemplates the experience of Ovid as he realizes that his instinct for self-expression has dangerously angered the Emperor Augustus. Lina Al-Sharif touches on that primal need to express, emphasizing the importance for her of the freedom to write. James Thurgood covers a lot of turf with poems inspired by his encounters with people in China and the ancient poets they revere; and with a native elder in a Canadian city who 'disappears' but not utterly, not for James. Then in a whimsical piece, he regards himself as grave companion to Shakespeare's Romeo, at the point that his own remains are unearthed by an archeologist. Finally, he declares his affinity with a musical insect. Paula Hayden's three verses are terse testimonies about lies, the burden of stuff, and the coy instants of flamboyance that are typical of the Gulf's otherwise desert austerity. Epifania Amoo-Adare shares a contemplative mood as she absorbs the elements of nature at Accra, capital of Ghana. Umeshkumar Radhakrishnan's enigmatic piece seems to cry for uncooperative words to come to him with 'pleasure to the painful heart / and solace to the tattered soul'. Finally, I offer a rendering of Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene, as it might be played out in the pathos of modern romance--across oceans via texting.

So, enjoy, until the next Mosaic 2.0 edition. And to conclude on that point, please spread the word, that anyone is eligible to submit short stories, poems, essays, photos and artwork. Our editorial team at the Advanced Writing Centre will make the final selection of items for publication. For detailed explanation of eligible items, maximum length, etc., click on the Submit link in the top right-hand margin.

Kevin Pittman

Editor / AWC Coordinator