I’m proud to have my creative nonfiction essay “Not Fade Away” included in the latest edition of Syncopation Literary Journal (Volume 4, Issue 1). The theme of this issue is “Must Love Music,” and in my essay I try to connect to that theme by weaving together thoughts about a rock concert in the early 1980s, a band that was popular then and is still kicking, and the importance of keeping the power of creativity flowing throughout our years. I hope you’ll give it a read. And while you’re there, check out some of the other terrific writing in this and previous issues.
Syncopation Literary Journal is devoted to publishing works — artwork, poetry, fiction, nonfiction — that focus on the connection between music and storytelling. As founding editor Natalie Welsh says in her introduction to this issue, “I founded Syncopation Literary Journal on the premise that music and storytelling have the power to bring people together.” And she shares a quote from Henry David Thoreau, which I love:
When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest of times, and to the latest.
-Henry David Thoreau
On a related, um, note: I’ll be back in this journal this summer with two pieces — an essay and a flash fiction story — that have been accepted for Volume 4, Issue2 — “The 80s Issue.” Right in my wheelhouse. Any writers who wish to submit to this issue have until March 1 to do so. See the call for submissions for more details.
Andy writes! 
What a great essay–congratulations on publishing it. You are my second-career role model. “Not Fade Away” is a understatement. You are, to use the patois of the times, crushing it.
Thanks, Maridel. It was a fun piece to write!
Make that “an understatement,” although I realize correcting typos in comments is an indication of a psychiatric disorder….