I’ve cracked and finally bought myself a two year subscription to Magma. It’s just too good a read to miss (use it or lose it!)
So what does issue 61 have in store for the eager reader? Well, some strong poetry for starters, including work by Simon Barraclough, Claire Booker, Lisa Kelly, Ian McEwan, Amali Rodrigo, Kathryn Simmonds, Paul Stephenson, Christine Webb, Kate White and David Wheatley among a host of other talents. Particular stand-outs for me include an extraordinary paeon to the ordinary – ‘World Away’ by Gram Joel Davies, and the precocious talent of teenager Daniella Cugini whose ‘mrs dalloway’s last white poppies’ is a mind-blower.
Co-editors Jon Sayers and Nick Sunderland serve up more delicacies with a test drive of Tamar Yoseloff’s ‘Walking London: An Audio Tour’ which takes you on a psychogeographical tour of the hidden parts of the capital and is available for £5.00 from The Poetry School website.
If that doesn’t get your creative juices flowing, then read the rib-tickling article on wit by Finuala Dowling. She’s embedded writing prompts throughout her piece. So how about writing a poem in which the title is longer than the poem itself, or listing ways of breaking up a marriage (careful!), or ending a poem with the line: ‘This is just a poem’?
Magma 61 launch – half-time and the wine flows
Plus Magma brings young voices into the mix with a fine crop of Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award winners (aged 11-17); the results of an online survey of what poetry means to the person in the street; and the usual quality reviews of poetry collections and pamphlets.
And should the summer turn out to be a damp squib – don’t complain. Read Simon Barraclough’s response to Byron’s poem ‘Darkness’ (published in full) and discover the dystopic nightmare of a never setting sun. I’ll take a few drops of rain any day.
Magma (issue 61 – The Street) is available at £8.60 for a single issue or as a one year subscription (3 issues) at £18.95. If you’d like to buy a copy or submit your poetry (deadline for Magma 62 on the theme of ‘Conversation’ is May 31st) please visit:
bookerplays 