Why Perihelion? Astronomically speaking, "perihelion" is that point in a planet's orbit when it's closest to its host star. The "perihelion," for our writerly purposes, can also be thought of as that point in our daily lives when we're most intensely engaged in our process, face-to-face with its blazing epiphanies, reaching out at sometimes-elusive ideas that jump around in our minds like sparks. These minutes or hours represent each of our separate perihelions--moments of self-realization achieved through the written word.

Initially, my idea was to have a place online where I could compile all my writings: film articles and reviews, along with the poetry, creative fiction and non-fiction that I was developing through my graduate workshops in the Professional Writing Program at USC. But then I thought, why limit the site to just my stuff? Why not widen the net to include the work of my creative peers?

Living and writing in Los Angeles has brought me in contact with a community of truly outstanding poets, fiction writers, film scholars and critics. I'd like Perihelion to be a screen upon with the fire-forged words of my fellow writers, near and far, are projected.

Literary and film journals are a dime a dozen, I understand, especially in the Internet Age. Believe it or not, though, there are far more talented writers and critics out there than there are good journals to celebrate their work. There's a bottleneck of too many good writers and not enough channels through which to accomodate the flow of words. Perihelion, however small or modest, is my attempt to ease the building pressure.

At this time, I welcome content for all sections of this journal. I'd also appreciate your readership, repeat visits (especially since this site is still in its infancy), and your feedback. For submissions, comments and suggestions, please email Jay Antani at jay@perihelionjournal.com.