Image by Tanya Layko
Dear writers, readers and friends,
Last month was one of the best issues of Visual Verse. The writing you submitted throughout May was brave, innovative and unpredictable. It was a pleasure to watch the issue grow and we especially loved seeing more experimentation. Keep it up! We look forward to seeing what comes from this new prompt, a magnificent image I was drawn to for it’s collage-like quality. It’s by Tanya Layko (Таня Лайко) – check our her Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/tanyalayko/) for more technicolor beauty and kooky portraiture.
For the month of June we are thrilled to introduce you to a new indie publisher based in Greater Manchester, UK, with whom we have created this issue. Master House Publishing (https://masterhousepublishing.com/) is founded by author and spoken word artist, Fehmida Master (https://twitter.com/fehmida_master) , and its mission and vision is to empower, strengthen and amplify as many voices of women, and voices of colour, as possible – voices that are so often under-represented in mainstream publishing. Master House Publishing launched with an online journal which quickly developed into a wonderful community. Following the launch of their debut collection, by our June lead Lisa O’Hare, Master House will be reviewing the submissions that have been received by them over the past few months, with a plan to publish more diverse poetry in the coming months. For now, you can enjoy the words of four writers from the Master House Publishing community, with thanks to Fehmida Master for co-curating this
selection.
First up we feature new writing by Lisa O’Hare (https://www.lisaoharewriter.com) , a regular contributor to Visual Verse and the author of the debut poetry collection, Lockdown Life: A Rollercoaster of Emotions (https://masterhousepublishing.com/shop/ols/products/lockdown-life-a-rollercoaster-of-emotions-paperback-lisa-ohare) , just published by Master House Publishing. Lisa’s poetry has been featured in several anthologies, zines, podcasts and on BBC Radio Manchester. Connect with Lisa on social media @thelisaohare or visit her website (https://lisaoharewriter.com/about-me) .
On page 2 we present the mighty talent of Jay Délise (https://www.jaydelise.com/bio) . Jay is a NYC/UK based writer, storyteller, and performer. Her 2019 solo spoken word show Black, And… premiered at the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival in July of 2019 and was nominated for both “Best Newcomer” and “Best Spoken Word” at the Manchester Fringe Awards. Her self-published audiobook tenderhead. (https://www.jaydelise.com/tenderhead) debuted at #1 in bestselling poetry audiobooks.
On page 3, enjoy the words of Linda Done, a writer who is also from Manchester, UK. Linda is a teacher, wife, mother, sister and friend with one book published: Everything Changes in Your 50s. More of Linda’s writing (https://masterhousepublishing.com/online-journal/f/linda-done) can be found on the Master House Publishing website.
And finally we welcome Zahra Pourmohseni (https://www.instagram.com/zahra.zpm/) , a 22-year-old English teacher from Iran who says she is “in love with literature”. Zahra is keen to let the social changes in Iran, that she hopes will happen, to influence her writing. She has recently started to write poetry in English and she has dedicated her piece to the people who never got a voice.
And so, here we are with your June visual prompt and a whole lot of gratitude to you all for keeping this publication fresh and inventive.
As always, the image is the starting point, the text is up to you.
Kristen
with the VV team, Preti, Lucie, Isabel and Luke.
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