Vision Statement:

OJAL Art Incorporated (OAI), publishing since 2017 as Open: Journal of Arts & Letters and its imprint Buttonhook Press is a 501c3 nonprofit organization supporting writers and artists worldwide.  OAI offers a range of contemporary aesthetic experiences made available through its several media platforms.

On behalf of OAI, Open: Journal of Arts & Letters and its imprint Buttonhook Press have as their primary ambitions to gather, publish, and popularize notable contemporary writing and other fine arts and to promote the work of its contributors to a varied and discerning audience in the English-speaking world and beyond.

On behalf of OAI, Open: Journal of Arts & Letters and its imprint Buttonhook Press offer its audience the opportunity to sample an array of artistic expressions presented by both emerging and established contemporary artists, writers, musicians, and videographers from around the world.

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Publisher

OJAL Art Incorporated (OAI), publishing since 2017 as Open: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L) and its imprint Buttonhook Press is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation registered in California, USA.

Buttonhook Press is an imprint of OAI/ O:JA&L

Executive Editor

Cutter Streeby  earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with Honors at University of California, Riverside; a Master of Arts in English Literature from Kings’ College, London, UK; and a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University of East Anglia, in Norwich, Norfolk, UK. He is the CEO of Grayling Agency™, Director of Marketing at Tupelo Press, Growth Marketer at Grok Stream and an entrepreneur.

Senior Associate Editor for Content Development and Production

Jeff Streeby a Pushcart Prize nominee and a nominee for Sundress Press’ Best of the Net Anthology, earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire. He is a frequently published mainstream poet and haibunist whose work has appeared in over 40 literary journals in the US, the UK, Ireland, and Asia. He is a writing consultant for second-language academic writers working in English. He has over 30 years of experience as a teacher of English language and literature at secondary and university levels.

Senior Associate Editor

Pamelyn Casto is the author of Flash Fiction: Alive in the Flicker, A Portable Workshop. She has published articles on flash fiction in Writer’s Digest, Fiction Southeast, Writing World (and elsewhere). She has an essay in Rose Metal Press’s Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction: Tips From Editors, Teachers, and Writers in the Field and her 8,000-word essay on flash fiction is included in Books and Beyond: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of New American Reading. She also has a 5,000-word article on flash fiction as the lead article in Critical Insights: Flash Fiction. She is a frequently published writer of poetry, short stories, and essays. Subscribe to her free online monthly Flash Fiction Flash newsletter for markets, contests, and publishing news.

Associate Editor for Content Development: Prose Discourse 1001-10,000 words

James Weitz is a satirist and author of a novel, Gonzo Global, a satire of globalization in which Mexican tap water is exported to the United States and sold as a laxative. He has lived in Asia and Latin America for most of the previous 15 years. During that time, Weitz has worked as a technical editor and taught ESL, composition and law at schools and universities in Latin America, China and Taiwan. Previously, he worked on anti-corruption issues at the Organization of American States and in privatization at the World Bank. His stories have appeared in the journals Red Savina Review and Pennyshorts. Jim Weitz has an Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics with a focus on cross-cultural communication from Nottingham University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota. He also contributes articles to O:JA&L on Literary Tourism associated with the Western Pacific region.

Associate Editor for Content Development and Senior Editor for Experimental Discourse

W.J.P. Newnham hitchhiked around Australia working as barman, bum and waiter, slaughter hand, deckhand and master, spending 25 years working in the Northern Prawn Fishery. He has travelled extensively in Southeast Asia, the Americas, and Japan and speaks marketplace Indonesian with some fluency. He is the winner of the 2016 The Lifted Brow’s Experimental Non-fiction Prize. His numerous short stories have been published in Nocturnal Submissions, Overland, The Lifted Brow, Meanjin, Westerly and Horror Sleaze Trash [to name but a few].

Associate Editor Content Development: Media and Media Production

Malisa A. Elliott is a nonsense-averse scribe and bibliophile; or, in other words, a globally-minded interdisciplinary writer, published poet, creative producer, filmmaker and playwright. When not writing and producing, she enjoys working with other independent creatives, arts enterprises and groups, as well as educational organisations and charities, to develop dynamic approaches to their  development, arts initiatives, media projects and cultural programmes. Malisa is also the founder of Sibyl Arts, an independent, multidisciplinary arts company for cultural, media and educational projects and content.

Associate Editor for Content Development: Flash Discourse

John Holman has written creatively for most of his adult life and has been reading, writing & critiquing flash fiction, narrative essays, and prose poetry since 2002. A successful freelance writer for much of his career, John abandoned his corporate clients to focus on the boundless pleasures of a life of scrutiny, simplification and endless travel. Born and raised in the East End of London, England, he now lives a subtropical lifestyle with his life partner of almost forty years in SE Queensland, Australia.

Assistant Editor as Liaison for Two-Year College Caucus at AWP

Marla J. Jarmer earned her BA in Theatre (Directing) from the Herberger College of Fine Arts and from the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University and her MA in English at Fort Hays State University.  She is a professor of rhetoric and composition, the writing center director, and the editor of Waiting for Rain at Danville Area Community College in Danville, Illinois, where she has been awarded both the A. L. Webster Endowed Chair (2016) and the Dorothy Duley Endowed Chair (2014 and 2017). She is the co-editor and a contributing author of The Bully Pulpit, Presidential Speeches, and The Shaping of Public Policy (2015) and has published works of poetry, short fiction, and creative non-fiction.

Guest Editor/Translator for Arts & Letters of Russia (Moscow focus)

Vera Falenko is a 2017 graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute, a State University. She is a native Russian speaker and a language specialist with fluency in English (English level C2, according to the European frame) and Spanish (Spanish level C1). She is a senior teacher of foreign languages at Alibra School, a private institution in Moscow. Falenko provides selected Russian and Spanish translations for our readers in the Eurozone and in eastern Europe. She maintains an independent book review site, offering book reviews in three languages.

Guest Editor and Interview Specialist Arts & Letters of Africa (Greater Africa focus)

Nureni Ibrahim is a researcher and critic of contemporary writing who lives and writes from Nigeria. He studied English and Literature at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. He is among the 2017 scholars of the Nigeria Higher Education Foundation, New York. He has presented papers both in local and international conferences. Ibrahim is a spoken-word artist and has performed poetry at Ahmadu Bello University Day of Literature, Footprints of David Arts Festival and a league of others. His works are featured in Decent E-News, Queensland, Australia; The Mamba Journal of the Africa Haiku Network, Kumasi, Ghana; Shamrock Haiku Journal, Dublin, Ireland; Best ‘New’ African Poets 2016 Anthology, Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon, to mention but a few. He is a 2018 Wawa Book Review Young Literary Critics Fellow.

Guest Editor/Translator, Arts & Letters of Africa (Nigeria focus)

Adekunle Adewunmi is  the author of Arise Nigeria, a collection of poetry that examines the peculiarity of the nation. He is a member of Poets in Nigeria (PIN) and was featured as Poet of the Week in Daily Trust Newspaper, Nigeria. A freelance, Adekunle works as a correspondent with Church Times, a specialized newspaper company. During his one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme at Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation, he worked as a Corps On-Air Personality (OAP) while submitting his poems and articles to the State's newspaper for publication. Adekunle Adewunmi was recognized in 2018 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as an Outstanding State Youth Ambassador for his efforts towards curbing youth irregular migration in Nigeria. Adekunle Adewunmi is an advocate of youth and good governance in Nigeria.

Guest Editor/Translator, Arts & Letters of Spain

Jorge Sarabia Martínez is a writer, poet, translator, performer, and artist. Sarabia-Martinez is familiar to audiences in Andalusia and Canaria under his heteronym Borge Luis Jorges as a co-host of the program Sonrie como Puedes on Radio Nacional Canarias or in the most bohemian café theatres where he recites his Gilicoñeces, El coñómano or Mariscus Interruptus. Among Martinez’s credits are a translation of Massimiliano Gatti’s Stanze Istanze from Italian to Spanish and several published books, most notably Fausto, o desesperadamente azul, a modern theatrical (per)version of the classical myth.

Guest Editor, Interviews

Ensign Kalireyna Streeby USN is currently in active service.

Guest Performance Artist, Oral Interpretations

M.C.K. (Mary) Carter, O:JA&L's guest reader-in-performance, lives near Alexandria, Indiana. She has an M.A. in Creative Writing from Ball State University, where she teaches Art Education and Art History. Graphic design, photography, and (oh-so-briefly) acting were earlier life-forms. Her essays have appeared in Sport Literate, The Atticus Review,and Juxtaprose Literary Magazine.

Guest Performance Artist, Special Oral Interpretations

Nishi Munshi has been an actor, singer, musician and choreographer/dancer in the entertainment industry for fifteen years. Her acting credits include working with  NBC, CBS, USA Network, FOX, Warner Bros., Lifetime and other networks on shows such as “Jane the Virgin,” “The Originals,” “Bones,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “Switched at Birth,” “Days of Our Lives,” and many more. Being a skilled Classical (Kathak, Bharatnatiyam) and Bollywood dancer, she has choreographed for and danced with prominent artists  Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo and with Michael Jackson’s Cirque ONE show.  She is an advocate for human rights and has served as a board member for Valley Family Center (victims of domestic violence) volunteered many hours of her time at the Braille Institute and as a tutor and mentor for at-risk youth in Los Angeles. Her Webisodes, Youtube videos, a book of poetry and the novel that she is currently working on are aimed to raise funds for the people of Puerto Rico, human rights activism and for educating our at-risk youth both in America and abroad.