‘Medicine Walk’ Featured in Santa Barbara Literary Journal

Santa Barbara Literary Journal released ‘Bellatrix: Volume 3’ in June 2019, which among adventurous fiction, poetry, essays, and lyrics, features an excerpt of psychic-animism fiction, Medicine Walk by Jack Eidt. See below for an excerpt. Buy the book!

Santa Barbara Literary Journal, Volume 3: Bellatrix

Excerpt from Jack Eidt’s “Medicine Walk”

The desert wanted him to stop at blinking lights. Needing fuel, he pulled off the highway at a place called Casino WildWest.

Beyond the gigantic self-parking lot, he limped toward the blinking porte-cochère, sore from sit-driving, confident no one would see nor recognize him here. He would rest his auto and purchase a cold drink, then continue toward the high alpine, to heal himself.

Yet Bon was mistaken about his anonymity, as the Gambler with two beautiful young women spotted him immediately. “Welcome, son, to the WildWest,” the old guy said, cowboy hat tipped, giant bulbous red whiskey nose, sunken eyes barely visible under the white felt hat, blue jean material covering the rest of his body. “These’re my daughters,” the Gambler said, referring to the young, lithe blondes wearing tight-fitting bright-colored shirts and shorts, with athletic shoes and hose. Bon immediately fixed his wind-blown hair, buttoned his sweat-drenched striped blue shirt to his neck. Lady-luck was changing, oh yes, desert wind-sun-earth delivering him beyond the slow-lane mental-poverty-stricken existence greenhouse-heating-encased in that sad mobile he possessed the keys to. The process of healing involved doing things you would never do. He hated playing cards, gambling casinos, cigar-smoked-sports-betting, but imbibing the magic of a road trip required him to open his mind to everything and listen for messages.

Neither daughter spoke, only daddy ushered them down to the blackjack tables. “Try your luck, you ‘n me, boy,” the Gambler said, bloodshot eyes crow-cold on him, his scent was clearly alcoholic, gin and tonic. Not nice people, not nice place, Bon wondered about the prudence of an indiscriminately open mind. “Thinkin’ that job of yours back home gonna pay for real living?” the Gambler continued. “You want the wide-open land, then stop fooling yourself and sit on down here.”

STORY: Corridor of the Surreal: Silver Webb and Jack Eidt Talk ‘City of Illumination’

From SBLitJo
Santa Barbara Literary Journal
Volume 3: Bellatrix
June 2019

Fiction

“Wisdom” by Nate Streeper
“Her Chemical Highness Sets Out” by S.M.C. Wamsteker
“Shutter” by M. M. De Voe
“A Piece of Work” by Diane C McPhail
“Medicine Walk” by Jack Eidt
“The Scream” by Cheri Kramer
“Clap Hands” by Max Talley
“Nano-Dog” by Jeremy Gold
“The Post” by Jesse Krenzel

STORY: Courting Delirium: Max Talley and his Dark Zeitgeist

Humor

“Blessed are the Flesh Eaters” by Zane Andrea
“Lipstick” by Margaux Dunbar Hession
“Express Lane” by Chris Casey Logsdon
“Swimmers” by Melanie Doctors
“In Hand” by D. Avery

Poetry

“St. Gregory’s Abbey” by Isabelle Walker
“Cling” by Perie Longo
“Believer on a Bullet Bike” by Perie Longo
“Asphalt” by Ronald Aden Alexander
“Starters Block” by Ronald Aden Alexander
“Caterpillar to Sparrow” by Isabelle Walker
“El Norte” by Paul Lobo Portugés
“AfterWords” by Cie Gumucio

Lyrics

“Golden” by Dennis Russell
“The Santa Ynez Valley Song” by Randall Lamb
“Mellow” by Burton Jespersen and Patrick Rydman
“Fires” by Mark A. Alciati
“Tectonic Trance” by Sonya Heller
“California” by Dan Bern
“I Won’t Come to California” by Russell Brutsché
“Please, Don’t Come to California” by Natalie D-Napoleon
“Surfliner” by Bryan Titus
“My State of California” by Laura Hemenway

Non-Fiction

“How Do You Keep a Wave Upon the Sand?*” by Ronald Aden Alexander
“Interview with Literary Agent Eric Myers” by Silver Webb
“A review of Come and Get Me by August Norman” by Lorelei Armstrong
“Mountain of Ashes: Interview with John Reed” by Christina Lay
“A Review of Mountain of Ashes: A Cosmic Love Story” by Chris Wozney

Editrix

Silver Webb

Editors

Laura Hemenway, Mistress of Song
Ron Alexander, the Poetry Baron
Rachael Quisel, Word Wrangler
Señor McTavish, Contributing Editor

Volume 3 is available for purchase on Amazon!

Brainchild of Editrix Silver Webb, the Santa Barbara Literary Journal is a biannual publication available on Amazon in both print and kindle format and was inspired by and birthed from the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

Updated 18 March 2023