3 Issue
COntinue THE VOICE Connection 27/12/20
N o N C C T E o I N 2
Magazine Design by Anna McFarlane
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A Note From The Head Editor T
his year has been a year none of us could have predicted, and has taught us just how important connectivity is. So for our final issue of this year we wanted to have our zine be all about connectivity. This year we spent a lot of time connecting over the internet, most popularly on Zoom or for the old-hearted (like myself) through letters and voice calls. As things opened up a little, I became the most grateful I ever have been for coffee with a friend. So please sit down with a glass of mulled wine, a gingerbread latte or any beverage of your choice, and connect with us through our pages. You can also always connect with us through email, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, we love hearing from our readers. I particularly enjoyed talking to Deborah Alma from Poetry Pharmacy this month and you should definitely check that interview out! (On p36) Kirsty Taylor She/Her
Cover shot by Natalia Paklikowska
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CONTENTS
The Art of Connecting Through Paper and Pen- 6 ‘The Touch’- 7 An Array of Collages - 8 Flash Fiction - 11 Switch Off! - 12 Poetry Corner - 14 This Connection Saved My Art - 16 The Gallery - 18 Short Story - 24 60’s Flair - 27 An Interview with a Musician - 28 Sustainable Art: Mairi Timoney- 30 Playlist - 32 Fashion Edit: A Christmas Tradition - 34 Small Business Spotlight: Poetry Pharmacy - 36 Coorie Moments - 42 How Have You Stayed Connected This Year? - 44 Next Issue Ad/Open Call for Submissions - 46
Illustrations by Sophie Freestone
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The Art of Connecting Through Paper and Pen T
his year made it more difficult to connect to other people than I had ever expected, but as a young and fit person I certainly had it a lot better than others who had to shield. One of many who had to shield was my Gran and with her living so far away from us it was hard to see her often before all this happened. The more I felt disconnected to the world I would set up a Zoom group call, text someone or FaceTime a friend to pull me out of my funk; I realised that there were people living in this isolated world who did not have access to the internet and were lucky to see their postman in the distance. This sparked me to start writing to my Gran. My Gran and I have not always had the idyllic relationship. There has always been love between us, but growing up we just didn’t always see eye to eye. It would be more than fair to say that my Gran and I are far from similar; but as I wrote letters to my Gran telling her about my life and asking her how she was (knowing I wouldn’t get a reply) I realised we have way more similarities than I ever could have realised. For one, she loves to receive letters and that is something we most certainly have in common. There is something about receiving a handwritten letter that just means so much more than any other type of communication. A letter takes time and effort, it is a moment where someone is truly speaking to you without notifications pinging up as they write. It is also a therapeutic experience for the letter writer as they get to reflect, which is something that is good for all of us to do once in a while. Letters have been around for generations, and to me, they are the elite form of connection. Reading a letter from a loved one after they have passed gives you a moment with them. Reading love letters sent back and forth by couples through the hardest times gives you hope. A letter is something you can return to and its magic never runs out. I will always be eternally grateful for the time that I had sending letters to my Gran, and readers, just know it’s never too late to start writing. By Kirsty Taylor. In loving memory of Christina Taylor: 1929–2020. When Kirsty isn’t head editing for us, she is writing poetry, hosting a podcast or studying to be a student teacher.
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‘The Touch’ (acrylic on canvas board, 40x30) by Michal Jokel. Michal Jokel is a Slovakian artist, and you can find his work as well as dm him for commissions on Instagram.
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An Array of Collages by Martin Došek M
artin Došek has been creating and exhibiting collages since the 1990s. He takes his material from magazines, whose visual aspects convey a recent image of our world. From this source he is able to find the essence of processes, relationships, and hidden connections. Došek is interested in collage because it is an entirely free form. He paints and writes over the glued images: this is not some pop art décollage, but rather a genuine, properly old-school surrealist obsession. You can find more of Martin’s work on his website, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.
Righ- Signal Left- Voice of the Stars Over Page- Human
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Flash Fiction Half by Brent Holmes “No one used to get upset when I talked to myself.” The grief-share circle sat quietly. “That’s how it felt talking to my wife, like talking to myself. I would react to conversations. I would talk about my dreams. I would express my feelings. No-one treated me any different.” A man snuck a look at his phone. A woman refilled her coffee. “Now she’s gone.” A long pause. “But I still need to talk to myself. I react to half-conversations, I talk about my nightmares, I express my feelings… and people stare.” Some eyes wandered across the room. Others were fixed to shoes or phones. “I see now how much of me she was. Now, I talk to myself, but myself doesn’t talk back. I say something, and then there is silence. No-one approves of how I talk anymore, but I need to speak… more than ever.” “We’re here for you,” the group leader said, trying to hide a yawn. “We understand.” Deep bags pooled under his eyes. “I need to hear my mind, get my thoughts into the open, but I can see people stare when I talk in the park. I can sense their judgement when I hide away in a closet or bathroom. Even when I’m alone in my house, I can feel their eyes crawling over me, boring into my skin as I speak! But I have to work out the mess in my head. So, I’m here. This is how I talk to myself now. It’s still only half a conversation, but at least now no-one is staring at me. I wonder if I can ever go back. I ask myself if I’ll be okay, but no-one answers.”
Brent Holmes lives to imagine, grasping at all the ‘what-ifs’ that flitter through his mind and weaving them into stories. Brent’s work has appeared on LKN Connect and Bell Tower Magazine and will soon appear in Fumble. Along with writing fiction, Brent has written five papers in research mathematics. You can check him out on Twitter.
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Swit S
ocial media has been essen ing people stay connected in the last year. It has changed the world, connecting people f the world together. However, t downsides to being so conne time, and the major risk is to health. Being ‘on’ all the time, a ly consuming media is tiring f and continual scrolling will brin down. But there are ways to m social media and look after health.
A good shower or bath wher off all the dirt that has accumul throughout the day can’t be b media cleanse will feel just as g ing your links with accounts th feel ‘less’ when you see their p something that inspires you is g many reminders of unreachab tainable goals can bring your m down. Removing toxic and up ple and hashtags will immedia mental health. It also helps yo what sort of content you want as you need to work to curate you want to see on your feed.
Sometimes the best thing you c connected is to spend some tim connected. You could read a b a walk or a run, or bake some needs to be something that sto checking social media. You co watching a movie – the aim is to from social media and allow yo and enjoy the moment. This d time will allow your brain to re to not be constantly working not designed to spend all our ti media, and we need to rememb 12
Illustration by Anna McFarlane
tch Off!
ntial for helpd, especially the fabric of from all over there can be ected all the o our mental and constantfor our brain ng our mood manage your your mental
One of the hardest things with looking after your mental health and using social media is comparing yourself to the images you see online. Everybody puts on a ‘face’ on social media and doesn’t share all of themselves there. What you see on social media is the highlight reel; you don’t see the bad bits or the hard work that goes into people’s successes. You don’t hear about the arguments when someone gets engaged. A new family’s smiling faces hide all the sleep-deprived nights they’ve had because the baby wouldn’t stop crying. A new pregnancy announcement doesn’t mean that they haven’t suffered from fertility issues or miscarriages. A successful business doesn’t show the anxious nights spent worrying that it wouldn’t succeed. So you can’t compare your worst time with everyone else’s best times – they’re not the same. The easiest way to manage this comparison problem if you’re just starting to deal with it is to stay off social media on your bad days as your internal comparison brain will only make you feel worse.
re you wash lated on you beat. A social good: removhat make you posts. Having good, but too ble or unsusmental health psetting peoately lift your ou work out If you’re feeling lonely, don’t endlessly to consume, scroll on social media as a way of solving e the content the problem. Instead, give someone a call – your Mum, your best friend, your sister/ brother or someone. And no, texting will can do to be not substitute for speaking to someone. me being dis- Video calls are as close as you can get to acbook, go for tual social interaction through social media. ething, but it Remember, likes and hearts cannot substiops you from tute for a genuine human interaction. There ould even be are less likely to be mis-interpretations and o remove you upset when actually speaking to someone, ou to just be because you can see and hear physical cues disconnected about the tone of what someone’s message, echarge and rather than it being left up to you to fill in hard. We’re that gap by what they have said. ime on social ber that. The best thing you can do to avoid social media burnout is to limit the time you spend
on social media or limit the number of apps that you use. Limiting your time will mean that your days and nights aren’t just filled with unlimited aimless scrolling, but simply a daily check-in. Even more importantly is how you use social media before you go to bed. It’s all to do with the blue light in mobile phone screens. The blue light on screens makes your brain release cortisol which signals your brain to wake up – not helpful when you should be winding down to sleep. For good sleep, you should stop looking at any screen at least an hour before bed, and doing this regularly will do wonders for your mental health. If you’re wanting to quit social media cold turkey, delete the apps off your phone and limit yourself to only looking on your computer or laptop. It’s much harder to aimlessly scroll on a laptop to computer while you’re doing other things, or are out and about. Social media is a fantastic tool for connecting with others, but you can’t give from an empty cup. If you’re feeling down and don’t know why, removing yourself from your social media bubble for a while might help. And if you’re wanting to reduce your screen time in general, try these tips. You’ll feel instantly refreshed, and much more able to connect with those around you, especially online. Words by Grace Balfour-Harle. Grace is an editorial assistant working in the magazine industry. She loves to dance, and teaches dance classes regularly in her spare time. Working in the magazine industry has given her a passion for writing and publishing, and she volunteers on the SYP Scotland committee to help young publishers in their careers, as well writing for her own blog about dance. She’s also a keen baker.
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Poetry Corner ic
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g zin e e fr P it’s r he g , t g nd y ca earin n a i r 0 m 02 rive an w Du I 2 e , d om re 0 ac I e 3 e s h w r P be ing a ung ,w d e m m rke ve orn a yo t a s o p a N is m n, ari sp w r h r g o T ot jo Fe , ini ght red Int ly cks k i i o l l b g b on lue the min six b r a k o fl A it f al a the ,w r s wa xt to urb. e l t a wa nti Ne the c e o e s t es at hre tom dy r t a o s f e s r , te e op nch I’m ina d, th m I sh b lu and y illu hea s gra ap, ym s e b e h . n t re A d etn rts, me e o w h r t h ya ere y pa ay eft t l h d s s W t bo ’ll ail kI ntr n Ra , i e th h ac d the r’s ow I o An ighb morr ne t. To teer. Ca n Priva an
By
An
Unison Times when my body and soul feel together: when dried leaves are crushed beneath my feet and birds chorus together during my solitary nature walks, the moment of contact when I exchange an embrace with my loves that live states away, The times where my fingers type faster than my thoughts,
when I can breathe easy
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lou rs Sp l Cr end Fa acki id m Tw ces ng s orn A iste turn urvi ing Tra beig d, g tow val W nsfo e fa narle ards Oh ith n rma ced d, v win By , to o pl tive kit ital d An yes be ace Fo d st terd refu to g r t op ay rbi o om lo sh ed or ng ro i n w. g By gr An mo ew u n P co ved p in rivat ph lleg to Cl eer. ha oto e. Sh Ca evel An da s ap grap e is lifo and n Pr Yo y an pea her. a p rnia , Oh ivat e uc d o r i S t an En ed i om et, o a o an er fin teri n T e o arti tte d d h ng hi f h st, nd a e er to rd on na We r wo nd Ins me dn rk tag a esram few . .
though my legs feel sore on a midday, windy run, when I write recklessly for an audience of One, amidst the early, dewtime morning hours, though with miles and many minutes between us, I get to connect with you. By Regan Smith. Regan is an author and poet living in Pataskala, Ohio. She is the author of Morning Air, Morning Light a book of poetry which walks through Regan’s personal and vulnerable path from hurt to healing. She shares her poetry audibly throughout the states, globally through the written word, and digitally through her Instagram.
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This Connection S
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Saved my Art
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n 2018, Kirsten had stopped painting to focus on her masters. Her friend (painted in the portrait) found an old dusty painting of hers hidden in her flat and encouraged her to paint again. Connections are important in so many ways, and without this connection she may never have painted again. Kirsten painted this portrait of her friend with her partner as a thank you.
Kirsten Warrender is a self-taught oil painter, currently living in Edinburgh. You can find her work and request commissions on Instagram.
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THE GALLERY Natalia Paklilowska Each month we use this space to display the work on a visual artist, whether it is a photographer, illustrator or painter the most important factor is that they are creating something we think should be shared! Natalia Paklikowska was born in Lodz, Poland. Natalia specialises in portrait photography. Her work is a constant exploration of femininity, the human body and nature. By photographing mostly women, her portraits capture intimacy and beauty shaped with memories. Her photographs are experiments between photography and film with a storytelling approach. She currently studies at the National Film School in Lodz, Poland. You can find her work on her website or Instagram.
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swan
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Touch
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Valeria
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A collection of portraiture
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SHORT STORY
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Connectedness Image supplied by Luca Laconelli
Dates held significance. In precise multiples of one round-the-sun, events were cemented. The entire day held forever a special, arguably undeserved meaning. It was not just a rainy Tuesday, but a birthday; with cake and whimsy – rain be damned. It was not just a hot, sweaty summer night, but one filled with booms and celebrations of independence. And as she sat there, bouncing socked feet off the bedside, the date staring back at her from the wall was not just an assortment of rounded characters. June eighth; 6.08 – was an anniversary of death. She should have recognised the numerals as a warning; menacing pits of calligraphy. How she missed the man they had pulled into their depths. The plastic buckle of the monogrammed backpack clicked together awkwardly. She straightened the fabric, admiring the menagerie of pins covering the weathered outer shell. Memories were frozen in these mementos. She ran her fingers over their cool smooth surfaces, tracing their geometry as someone unsighted might. She felt beyond the material, unlocking recordings in her brain: The fair. Sunsets. Long drives. Jax puppy. Buttered popcorn. Iced Coke. Feeding ducks. Jax the dog. Picnics. Watching football. Putting Jax down. Her hands fell to her lap. Reliving joys and sorrows alike was searingly painful. She felt guilty when time passed without thinking of him, even if only a matter of hours. A lump formed in her throat. She swallowed hard. Then with a decisive motion, got to her feet. She slipped on a pair of Birkenstocks and walked towards her sanctuary’s exit and entrance to the outside world. Cherry wood furniture, seemingly out of place in the mostly undecorated front room, held the front door key on a hook. It hung there, next to a collar with the embroidered letters “J A X.” The surfaces of the customised furnishing were littered with various papers: old mail, magazines, receipts, and hospital bills, now one year post-mortem. Sometimes she burnt them. Sometimes she ripped them apart. Sometimes, she wrote “return to sender” and drew a crudely crafted doodle of an upraised middle finger on the envelope before returning it to the mailbox. Today, however, she walked by the paper mountain and out the door. Several of her friends and family asked her how she would commemorate his death-iversary. The calendar day hung on the collective mind. People who hadn’t thought of him since leaving his gravesite would feel a twinge of remorse upon reading today’s date. When they asked, out of kindness, how she chose to spend it, there was no consideration that today’s hurt was as bad as yesterday’s. And that yesterday hurt as badly as the day of his last breath. They assumed a spike in emotion on this anniversary; not a dull continuation of empty sadness. To anyone paying attention to her transformation, it was obvious she never recovered. Perhaps some had noticed but chose to give space rather than meddle. She was rather private after all. Through this mess of thought, her mind rested on two truths: 1. Today’s date made no damn difference. 2. She had never stopped mourning his absence. This year, June eighth fell on a Thursday. She missed her Thursday routine. New episodes of her favorite podcast came out. At work, the mood was lighter on “Friday-Eve”. The cafeteria served nachos. After hours, coworkers would go to a local dive bar for happy hour and karaoke. Wings were a quarter and a can of PBR was a buck. She’d stay out too late, drink too much, and sing too loudly. This was before his sickness took every second of her spare time. Time she’d give again. Friends and coworkers were concerned, but eventually fell away like petals off a withering lotus. What do you tell a sad girl with no time? “Thinking of you.” “Thoughts and prayers.” “How can I help?” She never knew how to answer. But she missed connectedness. She found solace online, chatting with strangers late at night. Her worries collected then, in darkness, under a username. It was astounding how easily one could find an anonymous, empathetic ear. The world is full of misery. Chatting online had its limitations. Like visiting New York City... no-one seems to live there, at least not permanently. Bipedal, briefcase-adorned ants scurrying between skyscrapers are all tour25
ists on business, education or pleasure. Their time in the metropolis is an escape from the reality of a sustainable day to day. Everyone eventually hops on a train and goes back to their normal lives – although it takes some much longer than others. Her thoughts drifted to the idea that the entire human experience may similarly be a temporary tourist destination, but quickly shook the thought, resisting that particular rabbit hole. The social bandaid that online platforms offered was enough to sustain her sanity through a few lonely nights. However, she often feared she was nurturing the virtual over the actual. It was time to experience unabashed realism, and so today, the eighth of June; a date which had so rudely seared itself into the tapestry of her life, she decided it was time to finally get real. She was shy; but in this new reality, there was no longer room for her diminutive persona. A mantra grew louder in her brain. It began as a whisper, and by now was a continuous shout. “Try something else. Try something else.” It was actually advice a friend offered in a bowling alley. After guttering four frames, he said, “You know? Try something else. Change your approach – this one’s not working.” She entered a convenience store. The bell on the handrail clanged loudly. The owner recognised her from hundreds of previous visits. Although neither acknowledged the other, this meeting served as a constant. The greying owner had the faintest worry on days she did not appear. In turn, she felt an uneasiness when he was not behind the register. Her first big change, accompanying a fried pie and Dr. Pepper, was the exposure of a broad, toothy smile directed at him. He smiled back warmly with surprised delight. “It’s always nice to see a pretty girl smile.” Her old way of thinking may have resulted in a fierce surge of rouge to her cheeks at his comment and a flash of irritation. Today, she accepted the compliment, grinned wider and wished him a wonderful day. Walking out of the store, her feet felt lighter and the sun’s rays warmer on her exposed skin. She made the decision to smile at every passerby, many of whom smiled back. Funny thing smiles are... they open an invitation to be friendly, to engage. They say, “Hey, other human! I see you, and I’m happy you’re here.” She contemplated how a human smile might be like a dog wagging its tail. Her feet took her to a picnic table beneath a large live oak. Its sprawling branches cast dappled shadows on the grass beneath. It was there she saw him. Trotting through the tall grasses, snapping at an insect near a cattail was Jax’s doppelgänger. Not far from Jax stood a young slender woman, carefully monitoring the grinning dog’s every move. She recognised the look on the woman’s face. This Jax was young, reckless, and probably disobedient. And yet, his owner felt he deserved a measure of freedom that comes with an unleashed walk around a sparsely populated park. Jax had never betrayed that trust, short of chasing after an instigating cat. Keeping her promise to approach life differently, she called out to the young woman. “I love your dog! He looks just like my baby.” The woman looked around; startled by this rupture of her own piece of isolation. When she saw the source of the voice, her face softened with relief. Perhaps it was nice to form an unexpected connection. Or, more than likely, she was relieved that the caller was not, or did not appear to be, a complete creep. The young woman and Jax approached her with a smile and waggly tail respectively. She reached out a hand and Jax sniffed cautiously before brushing his face against her. The two women talked openly about their pets, past and present. How delightful, how challenging, how endearing, and at the end, how devastating to see one go. She teared up unwillingly. Once the warm liquid started to pool in her dark eyes, she could not stop the overflow. The young woman reached out her hand in the most human expression of empathy and placed it on her shoulder. “I can tell Jax was a great dog, and you were a great mom to him.” She shook her head, letting the tears trace the outline of her cheeks before saying, confession-like, “A year ago a special man died. I’m not doing well with it.” The two strangers embraced for several minutes and she felt connectedness. Sapling limbs, really, but growth all the same. From that moment, her grief was no longer solely hers to carry. 26
By Elaine Hines. Elaine is a poetry and literature-lover living in central Arkansas. She enjoys spending time with her dog, Lady and connecting with other amateur writers through social media. You can find Elaine’s work on Instagram.
60’s Flair! T
his look is inspired by the connection that I have to rock music! The frame of this look has a little more sixties flair with some bright colours and a platinum lid to match all those platinum records. I think music brings us together and that the arts are the glue of our society, allowing us to exhibit our different cultures and beliefs to each other. My identity is deeply connected to music, but also to the amalgamation of different communities in our cities that have allowed the connections made to flourish; and for the identity as a Canadian citizen to be united in our differences.
By Alexa Gordon. Lex Gordon is an aries and also a Canadian university student. She grew up near the city but on a farm. This means that her personality is a wonderful mix of pretentious city slicker and downto-earth farm girl. The best description she has ever heard for who she is was from Dolly Parton, a Backwoods Barbie. She is obsessed with the art of makeup as it provides a new and fun medium to create and tell stories with. You can find more of her work on her Insgram.
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Rach (taken from the Sunrise/ White lies cover)
AN Interview With A musician
Rach is a 22-year old independent artist from Scotland whose first album Woodlands was released in July 2020. Her music is whimsical, romantic, and perfect background music for reconnecting. Are you self-taught? How did you develop your style? es, I am self-taught! I’m most definitely not a natural singer - just ask my parents - but I really believe practice makes… at least better. I think that just because you’re not necessarily born with a musical ear, you can always teach yourself to hone it. In terms of style, I think developing that for any artist is a bit of a process. It’s definitely not impossible that my style will develop and change from this first album that I’ve released, and I’m quite interested in experimenting with things like genre and style. I think even from listening to the demo version of Sunrise / Wihite Lies, you can see a bit of a deviation from the rest of the album, and a more acoustic EP is something I’m very interested in developing at some point.
weren’t able to go ahead, but I’d really love some visuals for it. In terms of more music, I’d be interested in developing a more acoustic EP next - whenever I finally write enough material for one! What are you keen to continue the voice on? Something that has always been important to me is activism around LGBT+ rights. I think that there’s still a lot of stigma and inequality which exist within the music industries and other arts, and this is something that needs to be spoken about more often. I think that art of any kind is often a safe outlet for members of marginalised groups in society, but the industries need to reflect this more than they currently do!
Who are your influences? I find that I listen to quite a variety of musical genres, but when it comes to developing my own songs, there are quite a small set of artists that I turn to for influence. Mainly, I’d say music from Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Halsey and other female artists have inspired a lot of my writing and production style. What’s your desert island album? This one feels almost impossible to answer! I think I’m going to have to choose Lana’s Born To Die album, because it was the first of Lana’s albums that I listened to, and I love every single track. That was so difficult though - I think I’d have to try and sneak in extra music! You released an album this year, what are your plans next? My plans are to work on music videos for a few songs on Woodlands! It has been a weird year, so the original plans Written by Manon Marrium-Sauvageot
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Sustainable Art W
e have decided to add a new feature to our zine where every month we highlight some sustainable art we have been loving and this month we have chosen to focus on the work of Edinburgh based artist, Mairi Timoney. Mairi studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art and at L’École Superieure Des Arts Decoratifs in Strasbourg, France. Mairi’s work often includes fragmented landscapes which come from an attraction to unfamiliar surroundings, quiet landscapes, architecture and the lives and stories of the people that inhabit these spaces.
How did you first get into art? I have always loved drawing and painting, it’s always what I have been most fascinated by. I knew I wanted to study at art college and so I started going to life drawing classes when I was 15. I left school at 16 to attend a portfolio preparation course. I began studying at Edinburgh College of Art when I was 17 and then I have carried on making artwork since then.
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by Kirsty Taylor
that goes on when I am making my work. I keep every scrap of paper, receipt, ticket and wrapping paper from gifts as these are often used in collages. I always reuse previous packages when I am shipping work out to collectors. I also save any plastic from the kitchen to be used as pots to hold brushes or mix paint in my studio. I would like to improve the materials I use when I do package up my work and eliminate a lot of single use materials. I would also like to use a more eco friendly paint and these are things I’m currently looking into at the moment. What is your favourite piece of work you have created so far? I think my favourite piece I have created so far is a painting I made in lockdown this year called ‘Under The Same Sky’. I really enjoyed the process of making this piece and the final outcome worked What drew you to the idea of connecting different materials and creating multiple focal as I’d hoped it would. points? It probably started from an indecisiveness or an This month’s issue is all about ‘connection’, interest in many different styles of art and dif- how have you stayed connected this year? ferent types of materials. I feel that working this This year I have enjoyed connecting with the outway gives me a wide scope of directions I can doors and whilst I have always loved being outchoose to go in as I can focus on more painterly side and my artwork has been greatly influenced work and I can bring photography in too. I can by it, this year I have realised how essential it is to design patterns digitally and print them off onto make time for it in my day to day life. textured paper or I can use pens and pencils on wooden boards. I love the openness this style of Where can our readers find you and your work? work gives me. I regularly use instagram to share both my finished work and my process too. You can find my page How do you ensure that you remain sustainable when you are creating your work? here. I also update my website with new works There’s a lot of saving, reusing and repurposing regularly too which you can find here. 31
PLAY ThornsRach
Chate
Angus
Coming HomeLeon Bridges
You C
Eddie
La Lune-
Billie Marten
Warri
Wildw
Halcyon-
The Paper Kites
The T
Lucius
Alaska-
Maggie Rogers
Amst
Grego
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YLIST
eau-
s and Julia Stone
Can Call Me All-
e Berman
ior Daughter-
wood Kin
Two Of Us On The Run-
s
terdam-
ory Alan Isakov
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Fashion Edit
A Christmas Tradition
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By Kirsty Taylor
T
here are so many ways that we can connect to one another nowadays but one of my favourite ways to connect is through traditions. I particularly enjoy having traditions with the people I love around Christmas, as it helps me to be centered and spend time with those who are still here to celebrate with me. I often find December a month of hectic running around and missing those who are no longer with me. So, I decided to start different traditions to keep myself present at this time such as watching the Panto with my best friend; a Love Actually viewing in the living room with my Mum; and a family walk on Boxing Day. One tradition that I particularly loved having was doing a Christmas jumper exchange with my best friend every year for our gift. We did however stop when we reached twelve jumpers as we had one for every day of Christmas, but my Christmas jumpers now have so much meaning to me. A Christmas jumper is one of the best things about Christmas as it lasts for years, is so incredibly cosy, and can also embody some of your personality. Throughout the years, I have become aware of how bad fast fashion is for the world. So I would recommend buying your Christmas jumpers at charity shops, independent ethical shops and vintage shops. You may also be able to score one as a hand-me-down from your parents or an older sibling. The key to a perfect Christmas jumper is: comfort, coziness, and personality. Oxfam’s online shop, Beyond Retro and Not Just Clothing are great places to find one, or just head out to your local charity shop. If you are not in need of any new Christmas jumpers you could start a new tradition of buying a Choose Love gift for someone you love every year, and you could give a coat, or warm winter clothes to people seeking refuge around the world
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Small Business Spotlight: Poetry Pharmacy This month I sat down with Deborah Alma to talk all about her business: Poetry Pharmacy. Poetry Pharmacy is a poetry focused bookshop in Shropshire, England which also has some products online. I was lucky enough to sit down with Deborah over zoom and learn more about this wonderful shop.
that I’m in now, which is the Poetry Pharmacy. As I peered through the windows of this derelict building with dusty shelves, I began to imagine what it would look like as a pharmacy. This resulted in me bullying my partner into moving to a new house, getting a stupid mortgage, you know, and kinda going “yeah, it’d be a really good idea”, and here we are now!
KT: I love that though. I love that you peered KT: What inspired you to start Poetry Pharma- through the windows of a building for so long cy? Where did the idea come from? and almost manifested your current life. DA: Well Kirsty, I don’t know if you know about DA: Yeah, I know. It’s amazing that I did it a project I was doing, called emergency poet? actually. It’s a lot of work. Have you heard about that? KT: Yeah, I have! I saw a little bit about that. DA: For years I’d been driving around in a vintage ambulance, dressed as a doctor, accompanied by a ‘nurse’, first going to: festivals, libraries, schools, music festivals, arts festivals, and conferences all over the place, and doing poetry on prescription. So, people encounter the ambulance and come in and lie on the back stretcher. Then after a series of questions, I would prescribe them a poem. So that was a bit of a mad idea, but it ended up meaning I could give up my sensible job and made me just about a living. Actually, not really. KT: A creative living! DA: Well, anyway. But then it got quite a lot of publicity at the time, or over the years even. And then there was a book from the project, which did really well. And the second book, which did less well actually, didn’t have such a good title. But I’m really old so as a result I was a bit tired of driving across moor land in the fog or in the city of London in this vintage ambulance. It had no power steering, and it was often cold and wet and exhausting. So, I decided I needed a change and I had sort of been constantly peering into this building 36
KT: That’s neat. And so obviously, for our readers who don’t know much about you, now that you are in the building, how does your Poetry Pharmacy work? Just for people who maybe don’t know, or are interested in trying it, people that live nearby, you’re in Shropshire, is that right? DA: Yeah, we’re on the borders, right on the West of England, about a mile and a half from Wales. So, it is absolutely in the middle of nowhere. So that was a mad idea. And the high street has tumbleweed blowing down it as well. I knew from the start that it had to attract people from out of the area especially at a time that is described as the death of the high street when poetry doesn’t sell and yet, here I am doing this. The idea of it and what it was for six months before the first lockdown, when things changed quite a lot for us, was that it was a kind of mini Poetry Art Centre, I suppose. At the heart of it is the idea of poetry on prescription. It has lots of different factors that need to be in place for it to work, and it was an experimental idea, but it does seem to work. So, we’ll go back to it. But there’s a cafe with good cakes and good fresh ground coffee so that people can hang around. It’s important to have cake and coffee.
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KT: Oh absolutely, essential. DA: It’s to encourage people to come in who would walk past a bookshop or who would walk past certainly a poetry bookshop.
when it’s quite a like, not an airy-fairy world, but it’s quite a nice community. And it’s funny because when I was growing up, I said I didn’t like poetry, and now I write it.
DA: Yes exactly! I believe that there is a poem for everyone and I’m just kind of a zealot at finding it. We also have a poem of the week in the winDA: It’s to entice people to hang around and dow and passers-by stop and they have a good then there’s a consulting room where I do the look. And they read it, and then they move on. poetry on prescription, although I haven’t done And we have a poem of the week on the cafe those much recently. I’m doing some online. But tables as well. People come for coffee and leave not many. And so, there’s the consulting room, with a little scroll with a poem on it. Then lastly, which replicates the theatre of the ambulance. It I do these fortune cookie style pills with poems looks like a Freudian kind of room with a velvet inside them. chaise longue. And it’s still quite theatrical. I’m upstairs in the distillery right now, and I’m look- KT: Yeah, they look amazing! ing across now to a great big table, where you can sit 16 people around for workshops or read- DA: So yeah, I’m kind of threading it as much as ing groups. We’ve had poetry breakfasts and art I can, giving it away all over the place. workshops here before. We also have a massive poetry reference library here, and we do book KT: And obviously, I love the idea of prescribing launches, poetry readings, etc. So downstairs, poetry, I mean, I love poetry in general. But what we have our bookshop which is all that we are would you say specifically draws you to the form using just now, but it’s an unusual bookshop. of poetry? A big question, but what is it about poetry? What is it about poetry that you want to KT: The best kind. share? And what draws you to the form of it?
KT: Ah okay, I like it. Yeah.
DA: Yeah, most bookshops have poetry in a kind DA: Oh, my god, it is a really big question! It of little subsection spine on. can do so many things. And it can also drive you mad, you can have too much of it. It does KT: Yeah, a little shelf in the corner. everything that good literature can do for anybody, but I think there’s something about its intiDA: So, what I’ve done is put poetry into subject mate connection from one person as though to matter into genre. So, if your heart is broken, another, it speaks directly to something. It can there’s a shelf of books that deal with heartbreak, be a curse or a prayer. It can be empathy, it can poetry books, but also books. I don’t know if you be a blessing, it can be so many things. It can be know the School of Life books? Yeah. Philoso- beautiful. It can be challenging, it can be prophy, some kind of good quality wellbeing, al- vocative, I don’t know it’s too big a question. though not quite sure I like that word. But so, it’s psychology, philosophy, poetry, and wellbeing. KT: Yeah, no, I completely understand. So, this It’s all about feeling better, how to feel better is another tricky one. If you had to pick a favourthrough literature, I suppose. You can go to a ite poet - Who would you pick? And why? Even shelf if you’re a new mother there’s some books if it’s just one that you have, right now, or kind of on that, or books for grief or whatever. So, the one that you always find yourself going back to poetry is face on and front and centre, and it’s even if it’s a top five list. curated so that people who are frightened of poetry can find the books that they need, rather DA: I saw your question before. And I wrote than being intimidated by spine on titles. three poets down, but I did remember doing this on a plane. I was on a plane once and it was KT: Yeah, perfect. I love that. Yeah, I think that’s really bumpy, and I thought I was going to die. such a good idea as well, because I think peo- So, I was thinking I need to take my mind off ple can be so intimidated by the world of poetry this. In my head I was sort of narrowing down 39
poets, then I wrote them on paper, and then I just kept crossing them out this one or this one, and this one. And I was quite surprised with the one that I ended up with, which was Louis MacNeice, bizarrely. I didn’t like Seamus Heaney much when I was younger, a bit, but I really love Seamus Heaney now. And also, I’m really into Esther Morgan, the poet Esther Morgan, and her title poem from the collection: ‘Grace’ which I love.
KT: Perfect. So obviously, the world has been to say the least has been a little bit topsy turvy this year. Have you found that you’re prescribing more or more types of a certain types of poetry or are people coming into the shop and buying more of one type of the poetry pills, is there one that seems to be better since 2020 happened? DA: There are three bottles of pills that are going really well at the moment, the top seller at the moment is hope. Second to that is the happy pills and after that it’s existential angst. KT: That’s 2020 right there. Hope, happiness, existential angst. I think it sums it up quite nicely really. How have you as a business connected with your community recently? Of course, England has now had two lockdowns, if I’m right. So, what have you kind of done, especially when you’ve been in the lockdown period, just try to try and stay connected to the people who are your regular visitors or just people who are interested in your business, what kind of things have you been doing to try and stay in their minds? DA: That thing of connection for the Poetry Pharmacy is really important for us because we’re in the middle of nowhere, because it’s a bit of a crazy idea. And it came about really, because of the poetry community in a Kickstarter campaign that helped us raise money for doing the work that we needed, the wiring and the electrics and the heating and other things for the building. So, I’m somebody who’s out there and friendly, and I know lots of people. I’ve been traveling around in a bloody ambulance all over the place for years. And so, my community of poets, and wider than 40
that the art community is vital for this small business. Yeah, there is also our local community who really hated having a shop at the top of the high street shutdown for 13 years. So, they’ve been extraordinarily supportive and lovely. So, it’s vital for us. I mean, what I’ve been doing, because one of the things about this place is it’s very grounded in print, in cakes, in physical connections. So, it has been a blow for us. But it’s a pause button, I think. I’ve been involved in and supporting other people’s poetry readings, and so on. But I also edited the: These Are The Hands poetry anthology, which is the NHS poetry anthology. I co-edited that and we’ve been doing lots of, as you might imagine, readings online. So, lots of things going on with that. I’ve done quite a lot of interviews, there was an article in the I Paper, the Independent, where I was asked to recommend poems to people. So, it’s kind of sort of spreading but I’m not so good at social media, I’m good at keeping up friendships. KT: So, you spoke a little bit about how you’ve been staying connected this year. Is there anything that you’ve specifically been doing though, to stay connected just throughout 2020? Our theme for this month’s issue is connection, or connectivity. But it could be staying connected to nature to the outdoors to other people, which we’ve spoken about a bit or to the art/creative world, which I’m sure you’re doing through the work of the Poetry Pharmacy. I think that a lot of us kind of lost a little bit of connection with ourselves for a while, and we have had to regain that. DA: Yeah, so quite a bit of all of those things really, it’s really important for me that I live somewhere beautiful. So, I can walk. I walk with friends and that’s really important for me. And I’m lucky as my partner, who is a lecturer, is teaching from home. My heart goes out to people who haven’t got someone that they can actually physically touch that must be really hard. I’m writing a blurb for a friend’s new poetry collection. I work in the shop, so really, I’m connecting with the community every day and having conversations about poetry and literature and what poetry books would you recommend my 14-year-old granddaughter.
I’m actually having a lot of connections. Thank see all the things that we do. Normally there’s goodness, it’s important for me. an events page, which is sadly, almost empty at the moment. But in future there will be KT: Yeah definitely, I think this year has taught lots going on. You can book a consultation us all something, it’s that connectivity is way with me there. There’s also a gift pack where more important than we are though. I mean, you get poems and pills in the post, and then I think a lot of people already knew it was im- the other thing that’s really been good for us portant. I think it’s just really brought it to the, is bookshop.org, it’s our suppliers who send to the forefront of just how important it is to us the books, but we can curate a list for our own to our being I guess to work and function as page on there. So, if you look up bookshop. healthy humans. org you can look up Poetry Pharmacy in there, DA: You don’t realise how much you need it; and you can see our curated list. There are you think you’re doing okay. And then you books for I called it: ‘for days when the world make those connections. And oh, my good- is too much with us’, which is a Wordsworth ness, they make a world of difference. quote. So, there’s a list of books for dealing with stress or anything else you might need. KT: So lastly, where can our readers find you? We’re also on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so you can follow along there. DA: Well, we’re in Bishop’s Castle in Shropshire. And the website is poetrypharmacy. Words by Kirsty Taylor co.uk. And you can have a look around and
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Coorie M en p Wh
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As the world opens a little more, we wan life so we are including a monthly featur and illustrated by our team’s illustrator. nition of Coorie: a Scots word meaning and positioned as a ‘lifestyle trend’, simi involves ideas such as cosiness.
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nt to remind you to appreciate the little things in re of Coorie moments written by our head editor For anyone who may not know here, is the defig “to snuggle, nestle�. It has been appropriated ilar to the Scandinavian concept of hygge, which
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Words by Kirsty Taylor, Illustrations by Sophie Freestone.
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How have you stayed connec this year? ‘The year 2020 was marked by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic situation. It was impossible to meet each other or travel abroad. Many already arranged exhibitions were canceled or realised virtually. I’m still a bit surprised by how many great people react so quickly to these unpredictable events and organise online exhibitions. To be part of it gave me a lot of hope and huge motivation. I want to thank all of them for that.Social media partly filled this gap in communication and made the possibility to reach my friends or present my work. Government restrictions and fewer businesses bring more time to spend on my own work. But still, nothing can replace a real face-to-face meeting with friends or colleagues. That is for sure. I truly believe that next year will be better in this and we will all get closer again, organise exhibition openings, and finally meet there.’ - Martin Došek
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‘I, personally, try to sta ones as much as it allo measures taken by our g suring that I am safe first porary acceptance of so bring us back to ourselv ter all. Until then, I have other ways) through ar itself. The freedom of a boundaries and togethe presents an almost unlim - Michal Jokel
‘I stayed connected th of video conferencing more often than in ye outlet in sharing my p writing communities on work has been quieter time has given me mor in these new ways. De 2020 may actually be year yet!’ - Elaine Hines
u cted
ay connected with my close ows the actual situation and government (in Slovakia), ent. In my opinion, only a temocial distance will eventually ves, closer to each other afe stayed connected (among rt and the creative process artistic expression knows no er with the social media/web mited source of connection.’
his year by taking advantage and visited with old friends ears past. I’ve also found an poetry and short stories with n Instagram. My life outside without travel, and that extra re space to create and share espite its physical limitations, my most socially connected s
‘This year, I have stayed connected with my Mom through swapping books through the USPS, and engaging in hour long family phone calls; I’ve stayed connected with myself through journaling, and connected with others through sharing my poetry and gaining inspiration through their vast perspectives.’ - Regan Smith
‘I have stayed connected through this pandemic in several ways. I FaceTime with my family at least once a week, sometimes more. My neighbours have a one hour happy hour twice a week where we bring a chair and meet in the street six feet apart. My garden and home are a daily solace.’ - Ann Privateer
‘To stay connected, I’ve shared video calls with family and friends, played virtual game nights, and exchanged stories by email with my friends who love to read and write. I’ve also taken time this year to connect with the natural beauty of North Carolina’s forests and mountains.’ - Brent Holmes
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We are looking for creative work of any kind relating to the theme of ‘Ageing’, this includes poetry, short stories, music, dance, film, photography but is not limited to these. We are interested in all forms of art. Please send all work to continuethevoice@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram. The deadline is January 3rd at midnight. Please send your work with a short (1–2 sentences) ready-to-print bio. Maximum word counts for articles are 800 words, and 1500 words for short stories. Where to Find Us WWW
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