The following three poems are hard and liberating. Read them out loud and with one fist clenched. Laura Passin is a writer and scholar specialising in contemporary US poetry and gender studies. I am not old – by Samantha Reynolds I am not old, she said I am rare I am the standing ovation at … Continue reading
Clotty seas, fungal walls, insipid kindness, reckless jokes, a grotty smile – it can be fun to play with contrasts, the unexpected, and in this case – make nice things ugly. It’s easy to find all the right adjectives and stack them up in front of the horrid stuff of life. And it’s easy to … Continue reading
He asked me if I wanted to go out and get wine and look at the stars. I said, politely and honestly, no thanks – I was tired and it was really cold out. He came back with, “How about wine somewhere closer?” so I had to find a way to say no, again, politely. … Continue reading
In the giant main square of Isfahan, two women eating saffron ice-cream came up to myself and a friend and asked us where we’re from. We replied, and with huge smiles they said “Welcome to Iran!” then walked off. Over the next week this sort of thing happened frequently, and sometimes extended into questions about … Continue reading
I read Mai’a Williams’ book like some one starved for word gems and insights. I want to cover this book for this blog because no one talks about mothers like they are the key protagonists in this world. They (and women and people of colour and people in poor countries and..) are portrayed as being … Continue reading
Non-plated food is lacking in imagination and a symptom of societal stupidity. In rich countries and the wealthier areas of poor countries it has become trendy for restaurants to serve food on cutting boards and slates, as well as “deconstructed” meals in cups, juice in watering cans, sausages in skulls and hanging from branches (seriously), … Continue reading
A common writing exercise is to go somewhere – say a park – and write what you see, based on the five key senses – sight, smell, sound, taste, and texture. Sometimes I like to modify this exercise and instead write what I imagine – the stories of the lives of people sitting in the … Continue reading
Farrah Akbik is a British-Syrian poet based in London who writes to raise awareness of the hardships Syria and Syrian refugees are going through. Al Sham (*another name for Damascus) I want to lay my head in the lap of Ghouta, Dull my senses with pomegranate wine. Drift like Ophelia down the river Barada, Lose … Continue reading
I’m a fiction author and journalist who is very much aware of, and angry about the racial, class, country-based, and gender and sexuality inequalities in the book and media worlds. Given the systemic exclusion many of us face, over two years ago I started only reading novels by female authors — preferably those from other oppressed worlds … Continue reading
I can actually draw quite well, but I do these drawings for fun and creativity. Enjoy :) Continue reading
The battle against depression (short or long term) has many fronts, including, in my opinion, the battle for a humanity and environment-first world where we are less alienated at work and among each other. But what makes writing such a powerful tool for both personal and political problems (which are invariably linked) is that we … Continue reading
