Image by Henry & Co.
Dear writers, readers and friends,
What’s on your mind? Isolation doesn’t have to mean loneliness, as every writer knows. But in these world-strange times, writing takes on even more meaning – and maybe also less. Meanwhile, we try to go on. We have been here for nearly seven years, feeding your inspiration, encouraging your wordy risk-taking, bringing you a community of writers around the world all responding to the same image. So, to keep us all together over the next few weeks and months, our curator Kristen has started a #dailyvisual (https://www.instagram.com/visualverseanthology/?hl=en) challenge over on Instagram. Follow us at @visualverseanthology (https://www.instagram.com/visualverseanthology/?hl=en) to get a new image every morning. Your challenge there is to respond in the comments with 5-50 words written in 15 minutes. A little morning yoga for the brain.
Now, to this month’s prompt. Something uplifting from Henry & Co. who are masters of abstract urban photography.
As always we are shining a spotlight on some of the most extraordinary new voices, small presses and just published books we can find. We are very happy this month to focus on three writers recently published by the newly established Prototype Publishing (https://prototypepublishing.co.uk/) .
We start with Jen Calleja (https://twitter.com/niewview) , a writer and literary translator based in London. Her debut collection of short fiction, I’m Afraid That’s All We’ve Got Time For, is fresh off the Prototype press. She has published two poetry collections, Serious Justice (Test Centre, 2016) and Hamburger in the Archive (if a leaf falls, 2019). Her latest translation, The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann, was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2019.
Our page two is Caleb Klaces, a Birmingham-born author of the poetry collection Bottled Air (Eyewear, 2013), the chapbook All Safe All Well (Flarestack Poets, 2011) and, most recently, Fatherhood (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/11/fatherhood-caleb-klaces-review) , a novel (Prototype, 2019).
Astrid Alben (http://www.astridalben.com) is a poet, editor and translator. She is the author of Ai! Ai! Pianissimo (Arc Publications, 2011) and Plainspeak (https://prototypepublishing.co.uk/product/plainspeak/) (Prototype Publishing, 2019). Her poems, essays and reviews are featured in a wide range of publications, including in the Times Literary Supplement (https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/eighteen-seconds-to-impact/) , Poetry Review, Partisan Hotel and BBC Radio 4 Four-Thought (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08fgwyn) . Alben is the editor of three art/science anthologies published by Lars Müller Publications and was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship in 2014 for her work across the arts and sciences with PARS (http://www.parsfoundation.com) .
So, without further ado, it’s over to you. Stay safe, stay home, keep writing.
The image is the starting point, the text is up to you…
Preti, Kristen, Lucie and Luke
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Find out more about Prototype Publishing (https://prototypepublishing.co.uk/) and their amazing list.
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