Perfect Day

Hands

In perfect geo-rotational sync-

Warm

Then deep and lasting sleep.

And when I awake

I am a butterfly:

My arms wings

and my eyes glazed with the

knowledge of a million years.

This bit of poetic whimsy is the brain child of NIU art student John Porcellino, whose alternative press magazine Cehsoikoe features a variety of esoteric art and poetry from artists nationwide.

Porcellino is the sole editor of the two-year-old magazine which he characterizes as being “a holding place for everything that’s not quite normal.” He views Cehsoikoe as bein an outlet for talented, unrecognized people whose material might not get published elsewhere.

“This is last gasp literature we’re talking about. Many excellent artists, because of the unusual nature of their work, find it is nearly impossible to get published. I believe that these people deserve a chance. They need a forum in which they can express themselves with absolute freedom, and without the threat of rejection. This is the purpose of Cehsoikoe,” Porcellino said.

He describes the magazine as being youthful and energetic. “It’s everything that’s not stodgy and archaic.” The work submitted is generally from college aged artists, although he has included the work of high school students as well as that of 74-year-old Judson Crews, a major figure in literature for over 40 years.

“The magazine has a decidedly cynical, although not necessarily pessimistic tone to it. It is characteristically energetic and thought provoking, and at times it is wickedly funny. The humor is usually of the dark variety, and the serious work is often decidedly bleak. But there is a playfulness about most of the work which ‘should leave the reader feeling pretty good,'” he said.

Porcellino began publishing the magazine two years ago as an extension of a music “fanzine” he published in high school. It was called Zo-Zo and it was basically just a variation of the alternative music scene. Cehsoikoe is just a variation of Zo-Zo with the primary focus being art and poetry.

When he started off, Porcellino had a very limited stable of artists submitting work. “It was me and two other people,” he said, in reference to those lean years long ago. This all changed when he discovered Fact-Sheet Five, a review of self-published small magazines nationwide.

“With the aid of Fact-Sheet Five, I can tap into an enormous underground network of publishers and creative minds,” Porcellino said. The review, which is published every two months, lists addresses and ways of contacting people.

Through Fact-Sheet Five, Porcellino has increased his circulation to over 100. Over 40 people across the country submitted work to the most recent edition. “The first issue had 12 scantily clad pages. The newest one had over 50 pages and I didn’t even include everything that was sent to me.”

Virtually everyone who submits to Cehsoikoe will eventually see his or her work published according to Porcellino. He said, “I’ve only rejected a very small, almost minute portion of material. I accept virtually anything, just so long as I find it reasonably challenging and it’s in keeping with the tone of the magazine. He added, “Something that you would find in the New Yorker probably wouldn’t look right in Cehsoikoe.”

Cehsoikoe has a charming cuteness about it. It’s a necessary alternative to Towers, which is more about slickness and packaging rather than art. Also, their system of selection transforms a very subjective thing, cut, into something very objective. Cehsoikoe doesn’t do that.”

Art student Todd Rittman said, “Cehsoikoe is an excellent venue for getting published. Towers isn’t very liberal in what they print.”

Th unusual name of the publication is the result of some idle in-class doodling on the part of Porcellino. “I wrote the word choke in my notes. Then I inserted the numbers 3, 2, 1, 0 in backwards. It looked like an Indian word and I thought that was cool, so I used it.”

Readers are encouraged to submit to Cehsoikoe. Address all work to John Porcellino, 450 College Ave., DeKalb, IL, 60115, or call him at 756-3425.