Volume 09, Chapter 07 | May 2022

Posted on by

Image by Miikka Luotio

Dear writers, readers and friends,

Today we take flight with a new issue of Visual Verse and we take flight to a new home for Visual Verse. After almost a decade in Berlin, The Curved House is moving to Melbourne, Australia. We will continue to run Visual Verse as a global publication, with half the editorial team in Australia and half in Europe, and we will continue to publish diverse and innovative writers from all around the world.

As a farewell to Berlin, I wanted to find a way to honour the city that gave our unique publication life. In 2013, a chance introduction to Berlin-based designer Pete Lewis (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mr-pete-lewis-51468049) led to the first designs for the Visual Verse website. Shortly after, Preti Taneja (https://www.preti-taneja.co.uk/) visited Berlin and manifested a whole editorial vision for the publication. She became the founding Commissioning Editor and we launched on 1st November, 2013. A few years in, Berlin gave us another gift in the form of Lucie Stevens. Lucie is now back in Sydney but continues as co-editor. Visual Verse is the kind of dream project that Berlin is renowned for and the city has continued to nurture it, and us, for almost 9 years.

In the spirit of seed-sowing and collaboration, I have chosen an image depicting a special little Berlin scene, by Miikka Luotio. Alongside the image are three writers whose work has had an impact on me, or Visual Verse, helping to shape and evolve us.

We open with Paul Scraton (https://twitter.com/underagreysky) , a writer and editor based in Berlin. Shortly after moving to Friedrichshain, a district in the east of Berlin, I picked up a copy of Paul’s book The Idea of a River, published by Readux. This unassuming little gem is a lesson in linking ourselves and our environment. After reading it I set out to walk the river Spree, through Treptower park, with a consciousness I hadn’t tapped into for a long time. I saw Berlin differently and I’m very grateful to this little book for opening my eyes wider. Paul is the author of a number of other books including the novel Built on Sand (Influx Press, 2019) and the recent novella of the forest, In the Pines (Influx Press, 2021). You can find him atwww.underagreysky.com (http://www.underagreysky.com/) .

Divya Ghelani (https://twitter.com/DivyaGhelani) came my way via Visual Verse patron Cathy Galvin who runs the UK’s leading literary salon, the Word Factory (https://thewordfactory.tv/) . Last year she co-curated the August issue (https://visualverse.org/images/veronica-lissandrini/) of Visual Verse, bringing fresh new voices to the fold, some of whom are Berlin-based. This was a moment when I was personally struggling to keep things moving amid the pressures of the pandemic and other commitments, and Divya came forth with her characteristic ease and grace to re-ignite things. Divya is a writer herself and holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and an MPhil in Literary Studies from the University of Hong Kong. She has published widely, and is now working on a novel. Divya hosts a yearly New Fiction By Women & Non-Binary BIPOC Author Reading Series for The Reader Berlin and co-hosts a short story club for the Word Factory.

It is unusual that we would commission a lead writer twice, but I could not do a Berlin issue without the inimitable Victoria Gosling (https://www.instagram.com/victoriagosling) . Victoria is the founder of The Reader Berlin (https://www.thereaderberlin.com/) and The Berlin Writing Prize (https://www.thereaderberlin.com/2022-berlin-writing-prize/) . She has been the backbone of our Berlin literary life and a great champion of writers, readers and book businesses in Berlin. Some of my favourite memories of Berlin have been facilitated by Victoria – one year she took over an entire old Fort and hosted a magical weekend literary festival. Beyond this generosity, she is a hugely talented writer. Her brilliant debut novel Before the Ruins was published in 2021 by Serpent’s Tail (UK) and Henry Holt (US) revealing a gift for storytelling and masterful character development. I’m indebted to Victoria for her friendship, gentle influence and unending support.

What these three writers have in common is a willingness to create opportunities for others while also remaining dedicated to their own craft. That’s a lot of work, and perhaps what’s most beautiful about Berlin is that it gives people the time and space to give and grow.

The Berlin magic is forever in our DNA.

So now it’s over to you, dear writers, to see where this image leads. Of course, there is no need for you to write about Berlin. The image is simply the starting point, the rest is up to you.

Enjoy and thank you for all of your support and continued participation in this magnificent project.

Kristen
and the VV team

Follow us on Twitter

@visual_verse (https://twitter.com/visual_verse)
@underagreysky (https://twitter.com/underagreysky)
@d (https://twitter.com/kenkeyandfish) ivyaghelani (https://twitter.com/DivyaGhelani)
@VictoriaGosling (https://twitter.com/VictoriaGosling)

Volume 08, Chapter 10 | August 2021

Posted on by

Image by Veronica Lissandrini

Home


Dear writers, readers and friends,

Rise, write and shine. Your August issue is here and isn’t it a beautiful one? With the help of my co-curator this month, Divya Ghelani, we showcase four women to watch: one artist and three writers, all with abundant talent. I was deeply moved by this month’s writing – actual tears in some cases – and I felt a kind of tectonic shift as I read them. I felt the impact of both excellent writing and work that speaks to the moment we are in. That combination is the dragon we chase at Visual Verse. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Our writing prompt comes from Italian artist Veronica Lissandrini (https://veronicalissandrin.wixsite.com/portfolio) , whose work spans visual art and writing. She has a fierce manifesto on her website that centres many of the values we share: freedom, creativity, disruption, truth, community, joy and dream. Follow Veronica on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/iamverolix/) to see more of her fabulous work.

And now, our magnificent lead writers: On page 1, we welcome Amy Stewart who makes her Visual Verse debut with a brilliant piece, Luna. Amy is a writer living in York and she recently won the Word Factory Northern Apprentice Award (https://thewordfactory.tv/word-factory-apprentice-award-announcement-2021-22/) . She is currently researching a PhD at the University of Sheffield about female circus artists and the carnivalesque. Her short stories have been shortlisted for the 2021 Mairtin Crawford Award and the 2019 Bridport Prize. Amy’s work can be found in Test Signal (DeadInk Books/Bloomsbury, 2021), Ellipsis Zine, Bandit Fiction and the York Journal.

On page 2, we are thrilled to feature Avrina Prabala-Joslin (http://www.avrinajos.net) , one of our regular contributors whose talent shines brighter with every submission. Avrina is a South-Indian writer living in Berlin. Her short story She’s a Tank, a Battalion, a Banyan won the Short Fiction/University of Exeter International Short Story Prize 2021. Her works have been shortlisted for the Indiana Review Fiction Prize 2021, Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize 2021 and the Berlin Writing Prize 2019. She’s currently finishing a novel that follows a few nomads and we are very excited to read it.

Alaya Mays, on page 3, is a student at Western Washington University studying German and Creative Writing. She has been writing and performing her own spoken word poetry since she was 16. Alaya tells us she has a special love for calculus, sushi, and playing cards at brunch. Her first piece on Visual Verse was published when she was still in school and we are enamoured by her work: the style and maturity she already displays is something special. Watch this space.

My deepest gratitude to Divya Ghelani (https://www.divyaghelani.com/) who co-curated this month’s writers. Divya is a British-Indian writer living in Berlin. She holds and MA in Creative Writing from UAE and in 2016 she won an Apprenticeship at The Word Factory (http://www.thewordfactory.tv/site/divya-ghelani/) . (http://www.thewordfactory.tv/site/apprentice-scheme/the-workers/) That’s where we were introduced to Divya’s work and she was later featured in Volume 5, Chapter 3 (https://visualverse.org/submissions/the-peacock/) . Divya has also been published in the BareLit Anthology, Litro: India, Too Asian, Not Asian Enough, Radio 4 and many more. As it turns out, she can not only write herself, but also spot exciting talent in others. Thank you, Divya.

So, know what to do. Deliver us your dragons. We are looking for fresh, innovative, experimental writing between 50-500 words, in response to this image. Challenge yourself. Push your boundaries. Go beyond the literal. Write within an hour to conjure thoughts and ideas you didn’t know were in you.

The image is the starting point, the rest is up to you.
Kristen,
with Divya Ghelani and Team VV

Follow us

@visual_verse (https://twitter.com/visual_verse)
@DivyaGhelani (https://twitter.com/DivyaGhelani)
@AStewartWriter (https://twitter.com/astewartwriter)
@AvrinaJoslin (https://twitter.com/AvrinaJoslin)
@iamverolix (https://www.instagram.com/iamverolix) (Insta)

Volume 05, Chapter 03 | January 2018

Posted on by

Image by Candice Seplow

Dear writers, readers and friends,

Welcome to a brand new year. We have survived New Years Eve in Berlin, dodging the amateur fireworks that take over the streets here (not a health and safety regulation in sight) and finding ourselves full of hope and determination for the coming year. What better way to start 2018 than with a little puff of smoke from photographer Candice Seplow – may it ignite your writing spirit.

We are proud to bring you three wonderful voices to celebrate the new year issue. These writers are brave, poetic and uncompromising, so fasten your seatbelts and get ready for some Visual Verse gold.

First up we have the excellent Niven Govinden, author of four novels including All The Days And Nights, a beautiful examination of something we are obsessed with at VV: humans, art and how to write about them. The others are Black Bread White Beer, Graffiti My Soul, and the stylish, youth rush, New Years Eve appropriate We Are The New Romantics. Niven tweets at @niven_govinden (https://twitter.com/niven_govinden) , go find him.

Tomoé Hill is a senior editor at the wonderful online magazine Minor Literature[s]. Her thought provoking essays and other writing can be found there, and at Numéro Cinq, 3:AM, New Orleans Review, RIC Journal, The City Story, and an excerpt from a memoir in progress is forthcoming at Lunch Review. Follow her @CuriosoTheGreat (https://twitter.com/CuriosoTheGreat) .

And on page 3 we have Divya Ghelani who grew up in Leicestershire and holds an MA in Creative Writing and an MPhil in Literary Studies. Her novel-in-progress has been longlisted and shortlisted for four literary awards. She was a 2016 Word Factory Apprentice and has published stories in Litro: India and the BareLit Anthology to name a few. She lives between Berlin and the UK. Visit her at divyaghelani.com (http://www.divyaghelani.com) or follow @DivyaGhelani (https://twitter.com/DivyaGhelani) . She’s a risk-taker with a sense of humour fitting to start the year.

So, dear readers you know the score. Sharpen your wit and your pencils: the image is the starting point, the text is up to you. Happy New Year!

Kristen and Preti
@visual_verse (https://twitter.com/visual_verse)

Home


mailto:visualverse@thecurvedhouse.com
https://www.facebook.com/visualverseanthology