Volume 08, Chapter 11 | September 2021

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Image by Vika Wendish

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Dear writers, readers and friends,

Another issue of Visual Verse is upon us. It has been a cruel and trying month for many around the globe. Our hearts go out especially to the people of Afghanistan who have endured unimaginable anguish. I often think about how those in such circumstances process their trauma and a recent conversation with a group of artist friends reminded me that a person’s own creativity – however it manifests – can be such a powerful part of that process. The act of writing, drawing or making brings us back to ourselves and in that moment we are safe. It is my hope that Visual Verse provides this space for everyone, everywhere.

Now, I have a feeling that some of you will be cursing me for this image selection. As beautiful as it is, it makes for a challenging writing prompt. That’s why I love it. And that’s why I chose it. This prompt, by artist Victoria (Vika) Wendish (https://www.instagram.com/vikawendish/) is designed to cause friction and make you work. How you all respond to this image cannot be predicted and thus we are on tenterhooks as we await your words.

Our featured writers this month have exceeded our expectations in terms of showing us the possibilities with this image. First up, we learn the art of balancing with Farhana Shaikh (https://twitter.com/farhanashaikh) , a writer and publisher born in Leicester. Farhana is the editor of The Asian Writer (https://theasianwriter.co.uk/) and she manages small independent press, Dahlia Books (http://www.dahliapublishing.co.uk/) , who we hope to collaborate with in the future. Be sure to follow her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/farhanashaikh) where she talks about all things books and publishing.

On page two, we’re excited to highlight the work of Michelle Davey (https://twitter.com/cockneybloggirl) , a poet, radio presenter and primary school teacher from East London. Michelle is a mother of three children and an advocate for autism awareness. She co-hosts the podcast Let’s Talk Autism (https://www.letstalkautism.co.uk/) as well as blogging about life as The Cockney in the Countryside (https://cockneyinthecountryside.com/) . Michelle has graced us with many wonderful pieces over the years and we love her original take on this month’s image.

And on page three we present a beautiful, fading poem by Wes Viola (https://linktr.ee/wesviola) , another regular contributor to Visual Verse whose writing has impressed us. Wes Viola is the pen name of Wes White, who was the Bard of Glastonbury (http://ynyswitrin.org.uk/) in 2015/16. His recent projects include the Way to Zed (https://www.camberwellarts.org.uk/caf20-fringe/the-way-to-zed-by-wes-white) , a poem cycle and tarot deck inspired by the letters of the alphabet, and Wedding Ritual (http://theweddingritual.blogspot.com/) , a series of artist profiles in which reflection on creative growth, tributes to other creatives and downright filth are all encouraged. If you are a writer or artist featured in Visual Verse and would like to be profiled on Wedding Ritual, you can contact Wes at theweddingritual@gmail.com (mailto:theweddingritual@gmail.com) to express your interest.

So, it’s over to you. As always, 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. Submission close midnight (UK time) on 15th September.

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

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Volume 05, Chapter 10 | August 2018

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Image by Jon Tyson

Dear writers, readers and friends,

The August edition is alive, one day late this month due to travel commitments. We hope the extra day has simply given you time to build your enthusiasm.

For some reason all three of our lead writers have names beginning with ‘S’ this month. Maybe it’s because we’re based in the northern hemisphere and the summer is going to our heads. Or maybe it’s a nod to a strange and sublime image, meant to literally swirl your creativity into ever more intricate formations and bamboozle the words out of you. This captivating visual is courtesy of Jon Tyson whose fabulously gritty photographic work you will find here (https://unsplash.com/@jontyson) .

Our lead writer is Sam Guglani (https://twitter.com/@samirguglani) , a writer and Consultant Oncologist in Cheltenham who specialises in the management of lung and brain tumours. He has Masters degrees in Ethics (Keele, 2009) and Creative Writing (Oxford, 2014). He writes poetry, a column for The Lancet titled The Notes, and his novel Histories is published by riverrun (Quercus Books, 2017). He is Director of Medicine Unboxed, a project that engages health professionals and the public in conversation around medicine, illuminated by the arts, and his piece is intergalactically good.

Next up we have Samuel Fisher (https://twitter.com/@fishersamuk) , author of one of our debut novels of the year, The Chameleon. He also wears many hats – running Burley Fisher books in East London, where many, many writers find a warm welcome, support for their events and an excellent selection of books. And, he is also a publisher – of the recently minted Peninsula Press, bringing you thought-provoking essays in beautiful book form – a true example of the issues and objects of our times. His piece, to hint at its inspiration, is a thing of beauty.

Finally we are very excited to bring you a piece by Sarvat Hasin (https://twitter.com/@sarvathasin) . She was born in London and grew up in Karachi. She is the author of the novel This Wide Night (Penguin India, 2017) which was longlisted for the DSC prize for South Asian literature and the short story collection You Can’t Go Home Again (Penguin India, 2018). She is the fiction editor of the Stockholm Review.

So, dear writers, standards are high. Multitasking is the new job for life and we are here to remind you to write for love not glory – although we want that for you too.

And we are now looking forward to reading you! (Don’t forget the RULES: 50-500 words, written in response to the image in the space of an hour. Get it to us by 15 August, and we will publish the best 100 pieces.) The image is the starting point, the text is up to you.

Preti, Lucie and Kristen

Volume 05, Chapter 06 | April 2018

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Image by Anthony Intraversato

Dear writers, readers and friends,

April is a month often associated with beginnings. Now that equinox has past, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are looking forward to a new season – one of light, warmth and colour. When we emerge from our caves after a long winter, will we see the world in new ways? This month’s visual prompt by Anthony Intraversato (https://www.instagram.com/anthonyintraversato/) brings to mind the insight that differing vantage points can create.

With so much going on in the world, we thought it only right to begin April with a choice selection of work arising from diverse pathways in the literary landscape, writers who between them traverse music, translation, travel, poetry, creative non-fiction and fiction
– a celebration of the multiplicity of writing identities represented in Visual Verse and a marker of how art brings us together in all our astonishing difference of form and voice.

Our lead writer Jeffrey Boakye (https://unseenflirtspoetry.wordpress.com/) is an author, teacher and father currently living in East London with his wife and two sons. His first book Hold Tight: Black Masculinity, Millennials, and the Meaning of Grime was published in 2017 by Influx Press. His upcoming book Black, Listed is due for publication in 2019. Jeffrey has a particular interest in education, race and popular culture. This is his first contribution to Visual Verse.

Our second lead, Abeer Y. Hoque (http://olivewitch.com/wordpress/) , is a Nigerian born Bangladeshi American writer and photographer we met in India. She likes velvet, tequila and the corpse pose. Her books include a travel photography and poetry monograph (The Long Way Home, 2013), a linked collection of stories, poems and photographs (The Lovers and the Leavers, 2015) and a memoir (Olive Witch, 2017).

Delaina Haslam (http://dhaslamtranslation.com/index.html) is a translator of French and Spanish; she is also an editor and writer and is based in Sheffield. She has worked for publications including InMadrid magazine and le cool London, and about translation for Glasgow Review of Books, the Poetry Translation Centre, and Yorkshire Translators and Interpreters. She has been the invited translator at Poetry Translation Centre workshops, had a submission accepted for Newcastle University’s Poettrios Experiment and has performed collaborative translation at Sheffield’s Wordlife open mic night. She is writing a memoir about baby loss, for which she won the Off the Shelf Festival Novel Slam in 2016.

Finally, we’d like to introduce our new Editorial Assistant, Rose Warner Miles. Rose is from the US and has a Bachelor degree in English Literature & Psychology from Williams College. She grew up in New York, where she interned at Poets House and worked at the American Museum of Natural History. She is a poet, a wanderer, an intersectional feminist and an unapologetically devoted fan of cheesy TV teen soaps. We’re thrilled to add her enthusiasm and poetic nous to the team.

And so dear writers with April arriving, it’s no joke – the image is the starting point, the rest is up to you.

Kristen, Preti, Lucie and Rose

Find us on Twitter

@visual_verse (https://twitter.com/@visual_verse)
@unseenflirt (https://twitter.com/unseenflirt?lang=en)
@olivewitch (https://twitter.com/olivewitch?lang=en)
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