Perigee

APOGEE ISSUE 05 PREVIEW: Derrick Adams

  Today’s feature: Derrick Adams, “Human Structure Shedding Light.”     Human Structure Shedding Light. 2013. mixed media collage on paper 50″ x 72″   DERRICK ADAMS is a multidisciplinary New York based artist whose practice is rooted in Deconstructivist philosophies and the formation and perception of ideals attached to objects, colors, textures, symbols and ideologies. Adams’ work focuses on the fragmentation and manipulation of structure and surface, communicating and exploring ideas of self image and forward projection. Adams received his MFA from Columbia University and BFA from Pratt Institute, and is a Skowhegan and Marie Walsh Sharpe alum, as well as a recipient of a 2009 Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, and a 2014 S.J. Weiler Award. Exhibition and performance highlights include: Open House: Working in Brooklyn, Brooklyn Museum of Art 2004; Greater New York, MoMA/PS1 2005; PERFORMA ‘05 & ‘13; Go Stand Next to the Mountain, The Kitchen NYC 2010; The Bearden Project, Studio Museum in Harlem 2011/12; The Channel, BAM Fisher Theater Brooklyn NY 2012; Becoming One with Your Environment, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris 2013; Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art, and The Shadows Took Shape, Studio Museum in Harlem 2013; and Black in the Abstract, Part...
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APOGEE ISSUE 05 PREVIEW: Anastasiya Lazurenko

  In the few weeks leading up to Apogee Issue 05’s release, we want to treat you to a sneak preview of visual art we feature in our latest issue. Today, we’re featuring Anastasiya Lazurenko’s work. Stay tuned for more!     Original polaroids 10.8  x 8.5 cm, from the project “Pearly Gates” (2010-ongoing) ANASTASIYA LAZURENKO is an artist based in Russia. Her artwork explores the female psyche and aims to document the beauty and spirituality of women seeking transcendental experience.  

Pre-Order Apogee Issue 05 Now!

  Issue 05 of Apogee Journal is almost here! Can’t wait? Pre-order your copy using the button below and we will ship it to you as soon as it’s available. Estimated delivery date: May 29, depending on location. This issue features writing by: Danez Smith * Kate Zambreno * Tiphanie Yanique * Tommy Pico * t’ai freedom ford * Camonghne Felix * Lisa Ko * Emily Brandt * A. Naomi Jackson * Kazim Ali * Sam Sax * Brionne Janae * Caitlin Blanchfield * Charif Shanahan * Jocelyn Sears * John Lee Clark * LiraeL O * Marisa Beltramini * Mike Crossley * Diana Arterian * Safia Elhillo * Zubair Ahmed * Lydia Conklin * Mina Zohal An interview with Paul Beatty, the author of THE SELLOUT And visual art from Richard Hart (cover artist) * Sara Cwynar * Anastasiya Lazurenko * Simone Leigh * Derrick Adams * Mickalene Thomas * The Bruce High Quality Foundation * Jason Lazarus * Jason Larkin * Nica Ross Also, don’t forget to join us in NYC on May 28 for our Issue 05 launch party. More information and advance ticket purchase (starting at only $5!) here.

Contributors: Issue 3

Letter from the Editor by Zinzi Clemmons Fiction Your Giant New Loft by James Yeh Ife Adigo Market–1978 by Chinelo Okparanta A Mindful World by Kaitlyn Greenidge First Time by Molly Giles Poetry Their Grandmothers Never Did the Laundry by Morgan Parker negro sunshine by Morgan Parker my sister breaks bread in the streets by Amber Atiya the bacon act by Claire Fornarola Confirmation by Eddie Martinez Learning the Language by Eddie Martinez Could be by James Ducat i wonder if heaven got a gay ghetto by Christopher Soto After the Japanese Footbridge at Giverny, ca 1922 II by Eva Saavedra The Lonely Crowded West by Nicholas Wright In Some Distant but not Too Distant Era by Nicholas Wright Sky Rescue by Mai Der Vang Diplomacy by Martin Ott Vick by Mitchell Grabois Complete Hysterectomy by Anna Wilkes stormy weather by Mahogany L. Browne Suppose You Were a Komodo Dragon by Cynthia Dewi Oka Nonfiction This is for All the Best Dancers at St. Bernadette’s by Stacy Parker Le Melle Seeing in Color: An Interview with Rich Benjamin by Melody Nixon Border Song by Adriana Ramirez From Asian American Masculinity (Part Two): Bondage and Liberation by David Mura Rumors: Remembering...
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Apogee Issue 05 Launch!

Celebrate the work of our amazing Issue 05 contributors on Thursday, May 28 at Raw Space in Harlem! An evening of readings featuring Tommy Pico * Tiphanie Yanique * Lisa Ko * Emily Brandt * Charif Shanahan * Caitlin Blanchfield * Marisa Beltramini * t'ai freedom ford

Contributors: Issue 4

Issue 04 Masthead Acknowledgements Letter from the Editor by Chris Prioleau   Fiction Benton, Revisted by Koa Beck Old Maid by Annie Dewitt I Want Some Seafood Mama by Soleil Ho   Poetry In Defense Of Art by Aimee Herman A Common Amnesia by Alex Cuff Sea Psalm by Becca Liu Autoconstrucción & Objet Trouvé by Cristiana Baik Kisekae & Validator by JD Scott Epilogue by Julia Guez Foundation & Determination of Racial Affinity by Kenzie Allen _______ the usual old shoe still lifes in October, birds again & Miniature Odes by Khadijah Queen That Which Scatters and Breaks Apart & Trouble by Ladan Osman Changeling & Damage Path by Mya Green Fruits, 8th grade, freshly emigrated from Mexico by Paco Marquez Kundiman: Hung Justice & The Halo-Halo Men: An Anthem by Patrick Rosal [no subject] by Roberto Montes Mistaken for the Subject of an Obituary Terese Coe Dispatch by Tsitsi Jaji Thread by Victoria Matsui Not the Pine Nuts by Victoria McArtor 3 Poems by Shal Nirvanus   Non-Fiction In the Waiting Line by Gyasi Bing nation building/women’s political identity: the border’s apocalyptic mater-futurity by José Felipe Alvergue Seams by Migueltzinta Cah Mai Solís Pino The City is in...
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Forgotten Conversation

  Forgotten Conversation José Angel Araguz   I remember starting the book I borrowed–– stole–– a year earlier, since it was around me more than she was. Back then, I had the nights before me to call and call. 3AM, the back of my throat thick and smoke hollow, my tongue lingering over my R’s: Querrrida, sorry to call late, I’m here, one hundred three perrrrrcent chulo, you should call me. I have your Sandra Cisneros book, y como ella, I want you, juntito a mi. When she didn’t answer, I’d flip through the pages and marvel at the smell of cinnamon. I’d imagine an altar––perhaps candles and photographs around a night stand–– her asleep, her son with the spiked collar and black boots replacing her black nail polish. Back then, I had the nights before me full of perhaps. I would hold the book for hours, determined to get into it, the heart of a Mexican woman. Cisneros would’ve done it differently. She’d have a cigar and call herself Daddy. Her black hair would shine like plums in the moonlight as she prayed, unlike me, for something deeper than forgiveness. If given a second chance, she’d get it right...
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Don’t Forget Us: An Interview with Maia Cruz Palileo

  JoYin Shih interviews Maia Cruz Palileo The Cuchifritos Gallery is a pocket gallery tucked into the entrance of the Essex Market, at the gritty corner of intersecting neighborhoods—Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Artist Maia Cruz Palileo’s show, “Lost Looking,” was on exhibit this past winter. Upon entering, my gaze scanned the brightly lit studio before settling in for closer examination. Eyeing familiar images (a box television, a sleeping cat) and vibrant colors that conjure nostalgia, there was an instant presence of the real and unreal, a sense of magic realism, emanating from the images. As the title of the show aptly implied, the dozen paintings, selected by curator Jordan Buschur, reflected the integrations of Palileo’s Philippine ancestral homeland and her own Midwest American roots, recovered family lore; and objects and the emotional power they contain. Palileo walked me through the paintings, sharing the history that fueled each piece. Maia Cruz Palileo [MCP]: I was really excited to have a show at Cuchifritos Gallery. Part of their mission is: “to show exhibitions featuring the work of emerging and underrepresented contemporary artists with particular interest in exhibits that convey relevance to the local community.” I like the inclusiveness of this...
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Reading in Private: An Interview with Rivka Galchen

  Rivka Galchen is the author of American Innovations, a collection of short stories speaking in conversation with “classic” short stories from a female perspective, and Amostpheric Disturbances, a novel. Staff writer Joseph Ponce corresponded with Rivka via email about the dangers of “familiar” language, intentionally de-railing plots, and misconstrued emotion and characters. She will be reading as part of the First Person Plural Reading Series, along with Mya Green, Patrick Rosal, and a screening of the Field Niggas and Antonyms of Beauty, a film by Khalik Allah, on Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00pm, at the Shrine World Music Venue in Harlem, NY. Joe Ponce [JP]: American Innovations at times seems to be a commentary on the restrictive and even oppressive nature of language. Do you feel like the language you use in American Innovations is, in a way, a rebellion against old fashioned or constrictive language (the lazy language of idiom)? Rivka Galchen [RG]: I do think my characters, on the spectrum, find phrases particularly magnetic, even talismanic. They’ll try on a phrase as a way to feel, they feel obliged to try and feel the way that language suggests they ought to. It doesn’t quite work, of course....
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Who Deserves to Die?: On Rationalizing Murder

  Who Deserves to Die?: On Rationalizing Murder Elizabeth Wright   I hear sirens and helicopters outside. Crowds of protesters march down Grand Avenue and I-580. They’re yelling, throwing bottles, and fighting. I am doing laundry. I’m not out in the streets tonight, but I feel no loyalty to this country. Never have. It’s a common symptom of being African American. I feel nothing but a certain sense of partial belonging, comfort, and familiarity, but no allegiance. *** On November 24th, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch, announced the following: From the onset, we have maintained and the grand jury agreed that Officer Wilson’s actions on August 9 were in accordance with the laws and regulations that govern the procedures of an officer. Law enforcement personnel must frequently make split-second and difficult decisions. Officer Wilson followed his training and followed the law. (Reilly) *** Michael Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden said, “You’re not God. You don’t decide when you’re going to take somebody from here.” But someone, certainly, is playing God. *** “Come on guys.” That’s what Officer Wilson claims to have said when he politely asked Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson to get out of the middle of the...
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