Review of Issue 20- now sold out, but Ill be putting it online soonish Issue 20 The almost monochrome, ghostly images of feathers on the covers, both inside and out, made for a low key feel and effectively set off the artwork on the centre pages and throughout the rest of the issue, giving the whole magazine a tasteful, understated, mysterious quality. This continued with the poetry of Steve Smith, whose “Palette” pieces insistently gave us pictures of urban life, like walking through unfamiliar streets and seeing it all flash before our eyes. “Without the multitudes of sides to every story, there is nothing” in his poem “Truth” just about summed up the experience very succinctly. Then, by contrast, came Sue Bellisio’s “Croatia in May,” a descriptive piece, continuing the theme of walking in a strange land. I liked the way the reader had to skip from Steve’s poetry to this prose, with the theme carried through. As usual, Laura Quigley snapped us out of any relaxed mood we may have been enjoying with “Next,” a disconcerting dialogue of quite sinister character, again about finding oneself in a foreign land. “It,” by Sharifa Hashem followed, powerfully demonstrating the insecurity experienced in a creative act. Good stuff! Another journey through life in Mel Marsden’s “Childhood Memories” painted some vivid, poignant images and, by contrast, the short “Untitled” piece by Emma Pike rounded off the theme before “Ghost Story” by Matthew Banks made us ill at ease in his customary expert manner. This guy is a good writer! I liked the nice editorial touch in the use of the piece of artwork at the end. Michael Harris was rather more optimistic with his short poem “A Plea,” followed in similar mood by “route 66.” Let us all hope we don’t sink! Short, sharp and to the point was “Robin,” by Kate Wilson, an example of how to say a lot with very little. I really like the cameos this sort of work creates. Richard Thomas then gives us a couple of pieces, “Coffee” and “As Boxes,” yet more expertly crafted vignettes that relate to modern theatre. Then finally, the talented Emma Benyon gives a concise account of her photographic endeavours. The entire issue seemed preoccupied with the theme of travelling in various ways through the unfamiliar, sometimes with feelings of alienation and sometimes not, but at all times very effectively. As we have come to expect, it was well worth the modest price. Robert Bellisio.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 14:45:26 +0000
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