Maayan Magazine Word from: Jake

Meet Maayan - bilingual Israeli magazine of avant-gadrde poetry, prose and visual art. They recently put out their second issue, you can get a copy all around Tel Aviv in book stores, cafes and such. The circulation is 4,000 - which is impressive! Judging by the poster, they got gigs too (by the way, I think we should also be considering the bikini-shira combo for one of our next shows. I could take my "Chassidic Cheerleader" poem to a whole new level.) Check out its editor Roy "Chicky" Arad, certainly a character, you'll get a kick out of his form-defying anti-corporate album... Israeli style. Also, here's the English abstract from the first issue. My personal favorite is the "letter to the Minister of Interior Security," which I would like to quote in full in case the minister may be looking at our website.

Dear Sir,

On July 2, 1999 you spoke on the radio about the need for the government to support non-commercial art. This encouraged me to address you.
I believe that an artist is obliged to find its audience and not the other way around(for example I've established "Antigoy" – An academy to fight Paganism, which intendes to serve as a meeting place for artists and clients of the Carmel market in Tel-Aviv).
Therefore, I've got an immense interest in having poetry evenings in prisons. I am confident that such a project will be in the interest of all concerning and may lead to unpredictable positive results.
We must not forget that during different eras of history, prisons were the homes of people such as: Cervantes, Marquise De Sade and Dostoyevsky, among many others. I would be glad for your cooperation in promoting this project.

Sincerely yours,
Roman Baembaiev