boarding the plane jeg forstårthe hubbub of the languagenot yet quite familiar my Polish faltershvad hedder det?what’s that? the glottal stop the in-drawn jaand the mental nodof partial recognition shift an accentby one notchand anotherlanguage nudgesitself intothe intonationof this flight Note:An early version of this poem, called ‘Riga – Copenhagen,’ was published as part ofContinue reading “Elżbieta Wójcik-Leese: Kraków – København”
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Andrew Nightingale: ‘The spider encapsulating absence’ and ‘An edge tarantism manifesto’
Andrew Nightingale Andrew Nightingale grew up in West Cornwall and studied microelectronics in Manchester. He now lives in St Leonards-on-Sea and works for an animal protection charity. His most recent pamphlet is “Denizen Disease” (Red Ceilings, 2022).
Review: purge fluid by Ivy Allsop
ABOUT THE BOOK purge fluid, Ivy Allsop. Available here. Published by Hem Press. MICROREVIEW BY AODÁN MCCARDLE In the first poem ‘Jonah in a benthic one-hander’ the narrow form of the text on the page issqueezed: language such as ‘palate’, ‘ammonia’, ‘nuchal’, ‘uvula’ ‘peeling wad’, ‘roof blubber’ tangibly overwhelm the reading mouth. The sudden intervention of aContinue reading “Review: purge fluid by Ivy Allsop”
Megan Cannella: If It Plays in Peoria: A Glossary of Midwestern Survival
cw: drug use asking, Bathroom? verb meaning I want to fuck meaning ya got any drugs meaning I need to cry meaning wanna go talk shit about this bitch meaning did ya see who just came in,Continue reading “Megan Cannella: If It Plays in Peoria: A Glossary of Midwestern Survival”
Review: a fondness for the colour green by Charlie Baylis
ABOUT THE BOOK a fondness for the colour green, Charlie Baylis. Available here. Published by Broken Sleep Books. MICROREVIEW BY JAYD GREEN From the outset, a fondness for the colour green offers a bright glittering kaleidoscope to the reader. The poems oscillate between a deep frustration and a willing silliness. The page is not serious, and fewContinue reading “Review: a fondness for the colour green by Charlie Baylis”
Robert Sheppard: Circle of the City: following in the steps of Chapter Five
As they moved from Lime Street…a vision of Leningrad was still super-imposed upon Liverpool in his mind’s eye. Malcolm Lowry, In Ballast to the White Sea no ‘flags’ left: cobblesswirling around the unfencedNelson edifice: CHANGE LAGS Death peeps out, hoodedskull: it chilled Redburn everytime: but the cannon points Empire’s precisemachinery straight at you:the chainsContinue reading “Robert Sheppard: Circle of the City: following in the steps of Chapter Five”
Nadira Clare Wallace: extracts from Hope Fight
from Surrender Harder I like a long tongue that can re-enter the pastand get to licking there with phrases, getto massaging there my injured ago’s. * When I look up I feel I am home-come.Why, what have those shredsof dream-fleece––clouds––got to do with me?Maybe I’m more than capsizing body.Maybe there is something sky-allied that wouldlikeContinue reading “Nadira Clare Wallace: extracts from Hope Fight”
Cynthia Abdallah: ‘Lamu’, ‘Ulale Ngoxolo Madiba’, and ‘Naisula’
LamuOf mangrove roots stretching into the Indian OceanOf Takwa ruins and ancient townsOf dhows, donkeys and jelly fishNaked children and roiling wavesAbandoned forts and strange carvings Ulale Ngoxolo MadibaOf leopard skins, slaughtered oxen, swollen feet and body achesOf Zulu dances, Siyabongas and enchanting hallelujah. Naisulaof plain grass lands, grazing zebras and thick bushesOf Maasai morans,Continue reading “Cynthia Abdallah: ‘Lamu’, ‘Ulale Ngoxolo Madiba’, and ‘Naisula’”
Susanna Galbraith: ‘ekphrasis’ and ‘nude self portrait, crouching’
nude self portrait, crouching there is a white page and a man sits within its bounds, a knee pressed to the right edge a hand that would be pushing left if it weren’t invisible. being inside brackets changes the difference between pushing and holding. the invisible hand never had any fingers the invisible hand wasContinue reading “Susanna Galbraith: ‘ekphrasis’ and ‘nude self portrait, crouching’”
Hattie Atkins: All Creatures
You emerge, bowlegged, and blinking into the sun,skin paled like fruits before the harvest. I ask whereyou’ve been, but you sigh and shake your headand we tread the path home, careful and unspeaking,mud emptying from your pocketslike an offering. I offer a bowl and I offer a bed, but you’re sateddespite all you’ve abstained, andContinue reading “Hattie Atkins: All Creatures”
OSMOSIS PRESS 