Volume 09, Chapter 06 | April 2022

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Image by Vony Razom

Dear writers, readers and friends,

This month sees the publication of Aftermath (https://www.andotherstories.org/aftermath/) , by Visual Verse co-founder Preti Taneja. Written in the literal aftermath of the killing of Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt, by Usman Khan, this exceptional work is an exploration of grief, guilt, trauma, politics and deeply-rooted injustice. Nikesh Shukla calls it a “masterclass in literary brilliance” while Max Porter calls it “a major landmark in British narrative non-fiction… a vitally important as well as deeply moving book”.

Those who have followed Visual Verse from the beginning will know that we have deliberately evolved our platform to provide literary space to underrepresented writers, and to encourage brave and challenging work. We are extremely privileged to have benefited from Preti’s rigorous intellect, literary expertise and her commitment to human rights and social justice. And now with her latest book she shows us the true power of words.

This month I chose to honour this commitment to brave, inclusive work by featuring an image by artist Vony Razom who is currently producing art from a bomb shelter in Ukraine. This image is complimented by three writers who have had to flee their homes, or whose families have had to flee. We are so grateful to each of them for bringing their completely unique voices to Visual Verse and sharing a piece of themselves in their work. Content warning: Please be aware that this issue contains reference to sexual abuse and violence that some readers may find upsetting.

On page one, we kick off with a beautiful homage to birth and rebirth by Daniela Suleymanova. With Russian, Armenian and Malagasy origins, Daniela explores the dimensions of multiculturalism, and the complexities and the beauty of métissage through visual arts, photography and writing.

On page two, we present Emmanuella Dekonor (https://twitter.com/kenkeyandfish) , a native of Ghana who spent her early years in the UK where she sought refuge in 1982, following the ‘June 4th Revolution’ staged by junior military officers. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck University. You can read more by Emmanuella in our archive (https://visualverse.org/writers/emmanuella-dekonor/) .

And on page three, we welcome Najwa Ahmed (https://najwaahmed.com/) (1989), a Palestinian writer and visual artist based in Berlin. In their short films “when we were already made”, “silence” and “Zehra on the roof” they worked with queer identity politics and the consumption culture of bodies. In their writing and performance such as “the watermelon resistance”, “how dance moves my gender euphoria” they tackle topics of displacement and migration stereotypes, sometimes only to reflect and sometimes to deconstruct. Connect with them on Instagram @purplekarmel (https://www.instagram.com/purplekarmel/) .
For every piece submitted before midnight today, 1st April, we will donate £1 to Poets for Ukraine (https://gofund.me/80ab4dec) and £1 to the Vony Razom (https://vonyrazom.com/) , the Ukrainian artist whose work we feature. Please consider chipping in (https://gofund.me/80ab4dec) to help Poets for Ukraine reach their funding target.
Donate to Poets for Ukraine (https://gofund.me/80ab4dec)

Before I sign off I’d like to say another huge thank you to our most recent cohort of volunteer editors and curators who have valiantly kept Visual Verse running these past few months: Tam Eastley, Anna Mace, Nahda Tahsin and Jordan Fleming and of course our two utterly brilliant editors: Lucie Stevens and Isabel Brookes. Thank you all for your time and commitment.

Now it’s over to you, dear writers. As always, we invite you to be brave with your writing and/or to use Visual Verse as a moment of blissful escapism. The image is the starting point, the text is up to you.
Kristen (She/Her)
and the VV Team

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@PretiTaneja (https://twitter.com/PretiTaneja)

Volume 06, Chapter 10 | August 2019

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Image by Jakob Owens

Dear writers, readers and friends,

Welcome to August. In a time of great weirdness – in the climate, in politics and all of the rest – this is the month to stretch beyond the borders of language and reality towards some other future. And here it is – we bestow upon you this little piggy, along with a bumper summer selection of writing from the finest poets, fictionists and translators we could gather.

Our wonderful, surreal image prompt is brought to you by photographer and filmmaker Jakob Owens, who you can follow on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/jakobowens/?hl=en) .

This month’s writing lifts off with a wonderful piece by Michael Donkor (https://twitter.com/MichaelDonkor) , who studied English at Wadham College, Oxford, undertook a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway and now teaches English Literature to secondary school students. The Observer named him as one of 2018’s best debut authors for his first novel Hold (4th Estate) and this year he was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize.

On page 2 we feature Lucie McKnight Hardy (https://twitter.com/LMcKnightHardy) who grew up in West Wales and is a Welsh speaker. Her work has featured, or is forthcoming, in various places online and in print, including The Lonely Crowd, The Shadow Booth, Best British Short Stories 2019, and as a limited edition chapbook from Nightjar Press. Her debut novel, Water Shall Refuse Them, was shortlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition 2017 and longlisted for the Caledonia Novel Award 2018 and is published this July by Dead Ink Books (https://deadinkbooks.com/) .

Next up, we are delighted to bring you Jess Thayil (https://twitter.com/JessThayil) , whose poems have featured in Magma Poetry, The Stinging Fly, Ink Sweat And Tears, Black Bough Poetry, AbstractMagazineTV, Potomac Review and Whale Road Review. She’s also engaged in self-taught abstract and mixed media art practice.

On page 4, we’re thrilled to welcome writer and translator Lucy Jones, who is British born and has lived in Berlin since 1998. Lucy studied German, film and applied linguistics and did several jobs before becoming a translator, including freelance fashion photography. Returning to her roots in literature, in 2008 she founded Transfiction (http://www.transfiction.eu/about-us/) , a collective of translators in Berlin. She also hosts a reading event called The Fiction Canteen (https://fictioncanteen.blog/) for writers and translators in Berlin.

And finally we have Durre Shawar (http://durreshahwar.com) , a writer, editor, and co-founder of ‘Where I’m Coming From’, an open mic event that platforms underrepresented writers in Wales (next event is on August 13 (https://www.facebook.com/whereimcomingfrom/) ). Durre has been published in various magazines and anthologies including Know Your Place: Essays on the Working Class (Dead Ink Books), We Shall Fight Until We Win (404 Ink), Cheval 10 – Terry Hetherington Young Writers Award (Parthian Books). Her work explores themes of identity, intersectionality and mental health. Durre has worked and written for National Theatre Wales, British Council, Metro, National Museum Cardiff and Wales Arts Review. She is a regular speaker and performer at events and festivals and was part of the Hay Festival Writers at Work scheme, as well as BBC Writersroom Wales.

So, dear readers if you’re feeling political, personal, hungry or like swimming in a sandy-bottomed sea, we hope you enjoy our amazing lead selection. May it inspire you to get writing now. You know the rules: 50-500 words, one hour. Subs close on 15 August.

The image is the starting point, the text is up to you…

Preti, Kristen, Lucie and Luke

@visual_verse (https://twitter.com/visual_verse)
@MichaelDonkor (https://twitter.com/MichaelDonkor)
@LMcKnightHardy (https://twitter.com/LMcKnightHardy)
@BacktoJones (https://twitter.com/BacktoJones)
@JessThayil (https://twitter.com/JessThayil)
@Durre_Shahwar (https://twitter.com/Durre_Shahwar)

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Volume 06, Chapter 08 | June 2019

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Image by Craig Carry

Dear writers, readers and friends,

It is June and, with light minds and grieving hearts, this issue is dedicated to Judith Kerr, author of the classic children’s books Mog, The Tiger Who Came to Tea and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. Our first lead writer, Sita Brahmachari, calls her piece “Spirit Guide to Childhood”. Kerr was a spirit guide for so many of us, sparking an early love of reading and helping us become the writers we are, and her life was an example of everything we want to protect today: freedom of speech, refugee rights, migrant rights, children’s literacy. Kerr was German-Jewish; in 1933, she left Germany with her family because her father was critical of the Nazis. They later burned his books. The family travelled through Europe and arrived in Britain in 1936, where Kerr lived as a naturalised citizen for the rest of her life. She died on the 22nd of May, aged 95.

To celebrate the life and work of Judith Kerr, we have enlisted a group of wonderful children’s writers for the month of June. Their pieces are in response to an image by Irish artist Craig Carry (http://craigcarry.net/) , who not only creates beautiful screenprints from his hometown, Cork, but also runs a superb music website, Fractured Air (https://fracturedair.com/) .

We kick off with Sita Brahmachari (https://twitter.com/SitaBrahmachari) whose creative projects with diverse communities are at the heart of her writing. She has been Writer in Residence for The Book Trust and Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants; her debut novel for young people Artichoke Hearts, won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and her subsequent novels (Macmillan Children’s Books) have been nominated for the Carnegie and many other major awards. Novels include Jasmine Skies, Tender Earth, Red Leaves and Kite Spirit. For Barrington Stoke she has written Worry Angels, Brace Mouth False Teeth, Car Wash Wish and Zebra Crossing Soul Song. She has contributed stories and poetry to a number of anthologies with a human rights focus and is currently under commission to Orion books for two novels the first of which, Where The River Runs Gold, is to be published in July 2019.

Next up we are thrilled to have an original, heartwrenching contribution from Jasmine Richards (http://www.jasminerichards.com) , an author of fifteen books for children from Harper Collins. She often finds herself writing about missing fathers or fathers missing out. When Jasmine is not writing she is collaborating with writers and illustrators to create inclusive fiction for publishers through her production company Storymix (http://www.storymix.co.uk) . So, if you are a creative from an underrepresented background, who is interested in making great books for all children, get in touch with Jasmine.

Louie Stowell (https://twitter.com/Louiestowell) , featured on page 3, started her career writing carefully-researched children’s books about space, Ancient Egypt, politics and science but eventually lapsed into just making stuff up. She likes writing about dragons, wizards, vampires, fairies, monsters and parallel worlds. Louie lives in London with her wife Karen, her dog Buffy and a creepy puppet that is probably cursed. Her first novel, The Dragon in the Library (https://nosycrow.com/product/the-dragon-in-the-library/) , is out on June 6th with Nosy Crow. Get hold of it here (https://nosycrow.com/product/the-dragon-in-the-library/) .

And to complete the June launch, we present the wonderful, inspiring Juliette Saumande (http://juliettesaumande.blogspot.com/) , a French writer and translator living in Ireland. Juliet spends most of her time writing, reading, reviewing and recommending children’s books to one and all. Her most recent title is My Little Album of Dublin, illustrated by Tarsila Krüse and published by The O’Brien Press. When she gets a minute, she blogs (http://juliettesaumande.blogspot.ie) about all the fun things children’s books inspire her to try on her and other people’s kids (in an arty way!).

So dear writers, do not mourn – there is life after life, in words we remember and words we have yet to imagine. Send us yours before the 15th May.

The image is the starting point, the text is up to you.

Love,

Preti, Kristen, Lucie, Ritika and Luke.

Connect:

@visual_verse (https://twitter.com/visual_verse)
@craig_carry (https://twitter.com/craig_carry)
@SitaBrahmachari (https://twitter.com/SitaBrahmachari)
@ (https://twitter.com/JRichardsAuthor) JRichardsAuthor (https://twitter.com/JRichardsAuthor)
@Louiestowell (https://twitter.com/Louiestowell)

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Volume 06, Chapter 04 | February 2019

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Image by Norbu Gyachung

Greetings dear readers and writers,

As you know, we at Visual Verse span many continents, come from many countries and reach out to you wherever you are. We are citizens of the world, and our site reflects that. While others build walls and diminish democracies, we will continue to use our platform as an antidote to boundaries of language, hierarchies of power and divisive and constructed categories of identity. We will celebrate all of you, however you choose to define yourselves. And most especially, we will support and promote your creativity, resilience and the courage it takes to use words and put new work into the world.

That, dear friends, is why we have chosen this month’s image and these inspiring writers. Our visual prompt for February was captured by photographer Norbu Gyachung. We won’t say more, the story is up to you, but we will tell you that Norbu started his life as a refugee in Tibet and is currently based in France.
We encourage you to explore his portfolio (https://unsplash.com/@norbuw) , much of which depicts the strength and passion of Paris and its people, embodied in many different ways.

Our lead, Daniel Trilling (https://twitter.com/trillingual?lang=en) , is a journalist who lives in London. He spent several years reporting on the experiences of people who come to Europe in search of asylum, and is the author of Lights in the Distance: Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe (Picador, 2018). He also writes occasional, more abstract pieces which you can read at tinyletter.com/trillingual.

On page two, we bring you Ariel Francisco (https://arielfrancisco.com/) , author of A Sinking Ship is Still a Ship (Burrow Press, 2020) and All My Heroes Are Broke (C&R Press, 2017). A poet and translator born in the Bronx to Dominican and Guatemalan parents and raised in Miami, his work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Academy of American Poets, The American Poetry Review, The New Yorker and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn.

Our third lead piece ‘Ortolan’ is by Tom Bolton (https://tombolton.co.uk) , a writer, researcher and photographer who lives in Streatham. He is the author of four books: London’s Lost Rivers: A Walker’s Guide (https://tombolton.co.uk/londons-lost-rivers-a-walkers-guide/) (Strange Attractor, 2011), Vanished City: London’s Lost Neighbourhoods (https://tombolton.co.uk/vanished-city-2/) (Strange Attractor, 2013), Camden Town: Dreams of Another London (https://www.bl.uk/shop/camden-town/p-1151) (British Library Publications, 2017) and Low Country: Brexit on the Essex Coast (http://www.pennedinthemargins.co.uk/index.php/2018/10/low-country-brexit-on-the-essex-coast/) (Penned in the Margins, 2018). He works in urban design and policy, and has a PhD from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, on London’s railway terminals. He leads walks and gives talks, and has written for publications including Caught By The River, The Wellcome Collection website, the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian. He also
writes on theatre and music for his own website and for The Quietus (https://thequietus.com/) .

And sending you off into your own words is Naomi Paxton (http://www.naomipaxton.co.uk/) . Naomi has a portfolio career as a researcher, writer, public engager, curator, performer, magician and award-winning comedian. She trained as a performer at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). Her publications include The Methuen Drama Book of Suffrage Plays (Bloomsbury, 2013), Stage Rights! The Actresses’ Franchise League, Activism and Politics 1908-1958 (Manchester University Press, 2018) and The Methuen Drama Book of Suffrage Plays: Taking the Stage (Bloomsbury, 2018).

Don’t forget the VV rules: we ask for 50–500 words written in the space of an hour. Our deadline is 15 February, and we will publish up to 100 of the best submissions over the course of the month. We only publish one piece per writer. Please don’t submit the same piece multiple times. If you’re concerned that your submission hasn’t reached us, drop us a line at visualverse@thecurvedhouse.com (mailto:visualverse@thecurvedhouse.com?subject=Submission%20query) and we’ll get back to you asap. We don’t send you a heads-up if we do/don’t feature you – but we might tweet! So do follow us (https://twitter.com/@visual_verse) – watch out for your tweet and keep supporting each other. You can read the Submission Guidelines in full here (https://visualverse.org/about-visual-verse/) .

Now – sharpen your pencils dear writers. The image is the starting point, the text is up to you…

Preti, Kristen, Lucie, Rithika and Luke

@teabolton (https://twitter.com/teabolton?lang=en)
@NaomiPaxton (https://twitter.com/NaomiPaxton?lang=en)
@trillingual (https://twitter.com/trillingual?lang=en)
@visual_verse (https://twitter.com/visual_verse)

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Volume 06, Chapter 02 | December 2018

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Image by Dong Chensheng

Dear writers, readers and friends,

The end is nigh … for 2018 at least.

To wrap the year, we bring you this curious character in red by Chinese artist Dong Chensheng and lead pieces by the founders and contributors of BLYNKT Magazine (http://www.blynkt.com/) . BLYNKT is an online publication which explores one theme deeply each issue through a range of creative non-fiction, essays, art, interviews, prose and poetry. Issue 4 “New Beginnings” will be available in early 2019 and BLYNKT is accepting submissions (http://www.blynkt.com/submissions.html) until December 15th, 2018. Stay in the loop with BLYNKT via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BLYNKT/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/blynkt) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/blynkt/) .

Our first lead piece, which explores the value of family legacy, is by Carly Dee, a writer from London who is the co-founder and co-editor of BLYNKT Magazine. Carly writes prose, poetry and creative non-fiction which has been featured in Corner Club Press, Firewords Quarterly and The Avalon Literary Review, among others. She is currently working on a film-script in Berlin with her BLYNKT partner and co-founder Q. Lei, as well as a non-fiction and spoken word project which will be available in 2019.

Q. Lei has penned for us a short story that will make you nosocomephobic if you aren’t already. Lei received her PhD in East Asian Studies in the discipline of Philosophy of Science from Princeton University. She is currently working as an independent filmmaker and writer between Shenzhen and Berlin. She has conducted various research projects on the topic of science and society at the University of Tokyo, Freie Universität and Princeton University. Her creative writing has been published in Litro Magazine, the Centum Press Anthologies and The Speaker, among others. She is currently working on her second documentary on the history and development of Shenzhen – the “Silicon Valley of China”. You can find her latest updates and adventures on her blog (https://www.inbetweenalbum.com/) and on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/qleifilm/) .

Next up, we have a piece about elements, eyes and ‘i’s by Malik Ameer Crumpler (http://malikameer.com/) . Malik Ameer is a poet, rapper, music producer and editor who’s released several albums, glitch art films, five poetry books and one book of raps. He was guest-editor of Paris Lit Up (http://parislitup.com/paris-lit-up-4-magazine/) issues 4 and 5. He’s editor-at-large of The Opiate (https://theopiatemagazine.com/) , co-founder of Those That This (https://thosethatthis.com/) and Visceral Brooklyn. Malik has an MFA in Creative Writing from LIU, Brooklyn. He co-hosted Transatlantic Poetry 2017-2018 (https://www.transatlanticpoetry.com/) , curates/hosts Poets Live (https://poetslive.org/) and The Wordists. He is the M.C. for Hip Hop group Madison Washington (http://defpresse.com/artists/madison-washington/) on Def Pressé and a non-fiction staff writer for Itchysilk (http://www.itchysilk.com/) . Beneath The Underground: Collected Raps 2000- 2018
(http://www.lulu.com/shop/http://www.lulu.com/shop/malik-crumpler/beneath-the-underground-collected-raps-2000-2018/paperback/product-23879473.html) is Malik’s new book and ((((FACTS))))) (https://defpresse.bandcamp.com/album/facts) is Madison Washington’s new album.

Our fourth piece is a tender love letter written in paint by Lavinia Abbott (https://twitter.com/laviniasabbott) . Lavinia is a London-based independent filmmaker with over fifteen years’ experience in theatre and film. After graduating from Nottingham University with a degree in German and Politics, she attended drama school in Paris and New York and appeared in several plays before she turned to writing and directing for film and theatre. Her first short film What Happened to Manfred (shot in Berlin) recently won the Award for Best Student Film at the Around Films International Film Festival in Berlin. She has since written and directed three more short films in West Africa and in the UK. Lavinia is passionate about social and political issues and will typically make these the focal point of her work.

Wrapping up our lead pieces for the year is a poignant and reflective poem by Benjamin Lawrance Miller. Benjamin teaches composition and creative writing at Queensborough Community College (CUNY). He grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia, and he has an MFA in Writing from the School of Critical Studies at CalArts.

Finally, thank you to all of you who submitted to our birthday issue last month. We had an overwhelming response
– over 100 submissions arrived in just two days and they kept on coming! Luckily, our editorial assistants – Luke and Rithika – were on hand to help us publish these wonderful birthday presents.

And so, beloved members of the VV community, we wish you all the best for the final chapter of the year and look forward to seeing what 2019 brings. The image is the starting point, the text is up to you.

Kristen, Preti, Lucie, Luke and Rithika
(Welcome to the team, Rithika!)

Volume 04, Chapter 01 | November 2016

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Image by Hernan Bas

Dear writers, readers and friends,

Happy Birthday! Visual Verse is three years old this month and we are thrilled to continue to grow this very special publication. We now have well over 1000 writers and readers getting this newsletter each month and we receive up to 150 submissions with each new issue. Over the last three years we have published writers from around the world – New Zealand to Scotland and Argentina to Japan. Some have been nominees (and even winners) of Bookers, Goldsmiths and Polari prizes. Some have gone on to publish debut novels and short story collections. We have championed big names and up-and-coming ones, from small presses and none – and every month we find our inbox stuffed full of the best, the freshest, the most exciting and radical writing from around the world. Today we celebrate Visual Verse as a platform for new writing, no matter where it comes from, and we celebrate you. Our writers who have made Visual Verse what it is.

A birthday for Visual Verse means the start of a brand new volume. Volume 04, Chapter 01 features Miami-born artist Hernan Bas (http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/artists/hernan-bas) , the candle on our cake. His work is often inspired by stories, full of literary intrigue and tinged with nihilistic romanticism and old world imagery; he says his influences include Oscar Wilde and Joris-Karl Huysman. He has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions around the world, including at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and at the 53rd Venice Biennale. His work is part of the permanent collections of New York’s Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art among others.

Hernan’s works are stories that unfold and Visual Verse is nothing if not an act of translation: the world and all its art transformed into words. This month we decided to go even more meta and lead with some fantastic writers who are also actual translators. For where would literature be without these multilingual multi-talents?

The icing our cake is a lead piece by Maureen Freely, the author of three works of non fiction and seven novels, including, most recently, Sailing through Byzantium, an elegy to the art of thinking in many languages. She is also the translator of five books by the Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, and a number of memoirs, biographies, rising stars and 20th century classics. Her translation with Alexander Dawe of The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, was awarded the Modern Languages Association Lois Roth Award for a Translation of a Literary Work in 2014. She has been a regular contributor to the Guardian, the Observer, the Independent and the Sunday Times for three decades, writing on feminism, family and social policy, Turkish culture and politics, and contemporary writing. As President of English PEN, she champions free expression worldwide. As the former chair of the Translators Association, she also works with campaigns aiming to promote world
literature in English translation. It’s wonderful to celebrate Visual Verse with her.

Our cake’s first layer comes from Cecilia Rossi, originally from Buenos Aires, who holds an MA in Creative Writing from Cardiff University and a PhD in Literary Translation from the University of East Anglia, where she now works as a Lecturer in Literature and Translation and convenes the MA in Literary Translation. Her original poetry has appeared in several journals including Poetry Wales and New Welsh Review. In 2010, her translations of Alejandra Pizarnik’s Selected Poems were published by Waterloo Press. In 2013 she won a British Academy Small Grant to undertake research into the Pizarnik Papers at Princeton University Library. Her latest translations of Pizarnik’s prose texts and excerpts from her journals appeared in Music and Literature No. 6.

The ganache is by Saskia Vogel (http://www.saskiavogel.com) , who has written on the themes of gender, power, and sexuality for publications such as Granta, The White Review, The Offing, Sight & Sound, and The Quietus. Her translations include work by leading female authors, such as Katrine Marcal, Karolina Ramqvist and the modernist eroticist Rut Hillarp.

And the final layer is by Jeffrey M. Angles, who has spent his life traveling back and forth between Japan, where he lived for many years, and the US, where he is a professor of Japanese literature and translation at Western Michigan University. He is the award-winning translator of dozens of Japan’s most important modern Japanese authors and poets. He believes strongly in the role of translators as social activists, and much of his career has focused on the translation of socially engaged, feminist, or queer writers into English. He writes poetry in both English and Japanese, and his collection of Japanese-language poetry Watashi no hizuke henkō sen (My International Date Line) was published by Shichōsha in 2016.

As an extra slice, if you want to hear more about the art of translating fiction, tune in to BBC Radio 3 on 24th November at 10pm when Preti will be picking some of the latest brilliant new books recently translated into English, and discussing them live.

Enjoy the flavours, dear writers, then get inspired, and send us presents we can share.

The image is the starting point, the text is up to you.

Kristen and Preti

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Volume 03, Chapter 09 | July 2016

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Image by Oscar Keys

Hello dear Readers,

What a month. A real-life House of Cards is playing out in British politics while that wild Trump-a-thon rages on across the seas. Our hearts are heavy for the lives lost in the Orlando bombings and now, in Turkey, we mourn the 42 people who lost their lives in the Ataturk airport bombing. It is hard not to feel helpless but, as Michele Hanson, writing in the Guardian, reminds us: In a world of fear and loathing, we need art more than ever (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jun/27/art-education-creativity-transforming-lives) . We have our words, dear writers, and now is the time to use them.

For the July issue we give you a beautiful image by photographer Oscar Keys. We came across this image some months ago (thank you to the Twitter friend who recommended this one, we can’t find the Tweet but you know who you are) and it has stuck with us ever since. Now seems like the right time to deliver an image that is both soft and ambient, and ominous and threatening. We expect some dark responses, but we also hope some of you will find a playfulness in this image too.

Each month we strive to bring you a wide range of lead writers who represent the freshest voices out there, and this month is no exception. First up is Irenosen Okojie, writer and Arts Project Manager. Her debut novel Butterfly Fish has just won a Betty Trask Award, given to young writers of “outstanding literary merit”, according to the prize, and she is now hard at work on a new collection of short stories called Speak Gigantular, which will be published later this year. Her piece will hopefully tide us over until then! You can also read more from her on the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/irenosen-okojie ) website.

Shaista Tayabali, who we publish on page 2, is one of our Twitter finds who we came across while scouring the internet for interesting takes on life and living. Coincidentally, she lives in Cambridge, is a poet and writer and since graduating with an MA in Creative Writing from Anglia Ruskin University, she has been working to complete her first book, a memoir. Shaista has been blogging for several years (http://www.lupusinflight.com) and contributes frequently to the world of ethics and humanities in medicine; her work has appeared in Hektoen International, IJUDH, a journal of global healthcare, and various poetry magazines online. She brings us a deeply moving poem for Jo Cox, the amazing British MP who was tragically murdered in London last month.

Our Page 3 we are excited to publish a wonderful piece by Theodoros Chiotis, who writes poetry and code poetry in Greek and English. Theo is the editor and translator of the anthology Futures: Poetry of the Greek Crisis (Penned in the Margins, 2015). His work has appeared in print and online magazines and anthologies in Greece, UK, Australia, Germany, Croatia amongst others. He lives and works in Athens.

As Visual Verse makes its way through the chaos via Cambridge (UK) and Berlin (Germany) we are proud to publish your submissions from all over the world. If nothing else, we can stand together and celebrate our collective achievement in creating an anthology that is a beacon of hope for international collaboration, diversity, inclusion, humanity, art and so much more.

Write on, dear friends, write on.

Preti and Kristen

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