Smoking With Kathleen Hellen by Michelle Reale A Smoke Backstage by William Michael Harnett Ah. The color vermillion. I love it. But writing is all about word choices. Why vermillion as opposed to red or scarlet? Vermillion was not a choice. The tilak—the vermillion mark—is a symbol of the unknown world in Indian and East Asian iconography. It is the third eye, placed somewhere on the forehead, usually above the middle of the two eyebrows. It is where the eyes become fixed, as in deep sleep, the opening to intuition and creativity. The story attempts to probe that connection between the realities of waking life and dream. I like the implicitness of this piece—it is shrouded in mystery. You give us some information, but not too much. Some readers might come to different conclusions. Explain how you feel about implicit versus explicit themes, and if you think the former is more prevalent in poetry. I am a poet, first. I think of language as a beautiful appropriation. These signs we have agreed upon bear witness, yes. But meaning? Everything is mystery. Who we are, what it means to be, these things we only guess. I've learned to resist closure. For me, the stories that resonate are those that gesture toward the ineffable. I felt this piece was rather hypnotic, though it had a distinct rhythm with short staccato spurts. Tell me about the process of writing this piece. Previous versions of the story were much longer, in linear temporalities. The girl, the drowning woman— each had her own incarnation, detailed and distinct. I struggled with successive drafts, a sequence of poems, until the two experiences merged as one memory, one dream—a continuity of plot manifested in the fragments, in glimpses of the true nature of existence. Read The Fifth Way of Wearing Vermillion. Issue Thirty-Four (December 19, 2011): Batman #12 by Barr Bielinski «» The Normal Thing by Mickey Laurence Cohen «» Gray Dogs by Chauna Craig «» Xenoliths by Joseph Gross «» The Fifth Way of Wearing Vermillion by Kathleen Hellen «» Out of Many by Anne Hensley «» Bus Driver by Alex Higley «» Zong by Emily-Jo Hopson «» The Worst Shark Attack Ever by Trevor Houser «» A Disagreement between Gentleman Hunters by Geoff Kronik «» Squall by Susan Rukeyser «» Master of the Art of Longrange Tenpins by Fortunato Salazar «» One Truth by Curtis Smith «» Running by R.S. Thomas «» The Freeze by Virgie Townsend «» Broken Bow by Lex Williford «» Interviews: Barr Bielinski «» Mickey Laurence Cohen «» Chauna Craig «» Joseph Gross «» Kathleen Hellen «» Anne Hensley «» Alex Higley «» Emily-Jo Hopson «» Trevor Houser «» Geoff Kronik «» Susan Rukeyser «» Curtis Smith «» R.S. Thomas «» Virgie Townsend «» Lex Williford «» Cover Art "Warhol's Appropriated Soup" by Marty Ison «» Letter From the Editor Interested in subscribing to SmokeLong's weekly newsletter? Click here. An email should be created. Send it as is, and you'll be subscribed. If the link does not work for you, send an email to imailsrv@smokelong.com with Subscribe slq-info in the body of the email (no subject is necessary). You'll receive updates detailing the release of new issues, new reading periods, contests, etc. We do not make our mail list available to anyone else.