unspeaking and retelling
November 2024
One of the most time-consuming, and ultimately most rewarding, tasks in putting together a literary magazine is reading the many submissions that are sent to us, twice a year, in the hope of publication. Poems, essays, stories: hundreds of writers submit their work each time, amounting to more than half a million words. And we read them. Twice. Sometimes more.
Each submission is read by at least two members of the editorial team. Those team members then share their favourites and attempt to whittle them down, together, to a final list, shaped through collaboration, compromise, and hopefully a degree of consensus.
It takes time and it takes effort, but it’s worth it. The only reason to get involved in a literary magazine like this one is because you love reading. With every file we open, every story, essay or poem we read, we’re hoping to be excited, shocked, comforted, amused. We want to learn something, to feel something. We want to love your words. That’s what we’re doing this for.
We’re not quite there with Issue #31 just yet, but almost. Many of our selections for the next edition have been made already, and the rest will happen very soon. It’s a great point in the whole process, as the magazine fills up with work that we can’t wait to share. We’re very lucky indeed.
Over on the website this month, there’s a couple of pieces you should really check out. The first is a poem by Hollie McNish – the magnificent Hollie McNish – called ‘making love’. It’s a poem of great tenderness and quiet passion, which begins like this:
cheapest room in the hotel no windows on the wall but the bath was hot and full, and you were in it
The other piece to share with you is our Book of the Month review. This one is a collection of poetry by Mae Diansangu, called Bloodsongs (published by Tapsalteerie), and the reviewer is Myla Corvidae.
According to Corvidae, ‘the poems here invite us to take a pause, reflect on ourselves, our morality and how we bide our time if all that’s left to us is the words in our minds.’ It’s a collection of ‘unspeaking and retelling’, she writes, through which ‘we are pushed as readers to reconsider what we were always told to be “true”.’
You can read the full review on the website here. (And thanks to Myla for the title of this month’s newsletter.)
Remember, if you’d like to receive the next issue of the magazine – which will have some fabulous writing in it, I promise – you can subscribe over on the website, or sign up as a Friend or Patron here on Substack. We’re grateful for all of your support. We couldn’t do this without you.
Until next time!