The theme for the Spring issue is "Confusion". Deadline: Sept 9th.
Submissions are accepted via email at mettamag@gmail.comWords
Narrative non-fiction, fiction, interviews, encounters with (art, books, movies, places, conversations...) or profiles (of people, places, events, organisations, plants, animals, rocks, ideas...)... Word docs, sent as an attachment, new document for each piece, 1.5 spacing, Times 12pt font.Images
Photos, photo-essays, artwork, collage... Jpeg... 72dpi and 21cm wide.Sounds
Interviews, biophany, music... MP3... contact us.Movies
Yes! We can only host short movies, but are keen to support compassionate movie-making.Style
Length is up to you.Topic is up to you. (Each issue does have a theme but you can approach it in any way you like.)
But - PLEASE - read the next bit carefully.
Metta.magazine isn't defined by length or topic. It is defined not by what, but how. Metta aims to create a space for compassionate interaction. Our magazine promotes work that shares an experience in a way that encourages connection and understanding by:
1. Observing your experience without evaluating.2. Feeling your feelings, not your judgements.
3. Communicating your experiences and feelings in such a way that the reader comprehends exactly what happened and how it was for you (or your subject, character, etc).
This is easiest if you focus on an event or experience, a person or an organisation, that you know personally and can observe or recall in detail, then create a work based on what happened and the feelings experienced.
We warn you now that this is harder than it sounds. One of the difficulties we face today is that being "clever" or "wise" has become confused with being witty, cool, condescending and disparaging of some other group which is defined as wrong or dumb or at least uncool. This politics of wisdom divides people into demographic chunks of ins and outs, haves and have-nots, right and wrong, people with you or against. This adversarial, divisive system of communication is exactly what we're trying to get away from, so Metta is a space for the kind of work that itself fosters and demonstrates this subtly different mode of communication.
We want you to create a work that shares an experience with others, that enables them to see, hear and feel what it was like for you (or your subject). We know that this kind of writing leads to connection, rather than opposition or division.
If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1857)
We want each issue to create a collage of experiences which together celebrate how beautiful it is that our experiences are so different and yet still fundamentally similar.
We believe that a critical part of creating compassionate dialogue involves expressing ourselves in ways that give others the opportunity and encouragement to both listen without feeling threatened and to express themselves with the same degree of openness and compassion. We encourage the use of non-violent communication and the development of empathy. If you can make your work a pathway to helping others recognise your own humanity, while also giving space for theirs, then the project is heading in the right direction.
Not only do we believe that this is a valuable role which this magazine can and should play in the contemporary world, but we also think it produces great work.
And, as a creator, this process is worth doing. Writing in this way is a challenging and interesting experience, so we really encourage you to have a go!
For a little more detail on this subject, check out Wash the Cup, in Metta.magazine Issue #1: Beginnings, available here.
Not only do we believe that this is a valuable role which this magazine can and should play in the contemporary world, but we also think it produces great work.
And, as a creator, this process is worth doing. Writing in this way is a challenging and interesting experience, so we really encourage you to have a go!
For a little more detail on this subject, check out Wash the Cup, in Metta.magazine Issue #1: Beginnings, available here.
Themes
If you have ideas or suggestions about a theme for the magazine, for articles or any other ways to develop the magazine, the service, or our community, then please email Tim at mettamag@gmail.com.
Payment
See the money tree.
