Volume 07, Chapter 10 | August 2020

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Image by Andi Sapey and Other.Dance.Art

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Dear writers, readers and friends,

Welcome to the high holiday month of August, when we lighten your mood and invite you to transform with us into beings that might, if we wish hard enough, grow out of our human limitations and fly.

Today’s image is one of freedom within confinement. It is a collaboration between British photographer Andi Sapey (https://www.andisapey.co.uk/gallery/) and Other.Dance.Art, in which two dance artists explore the restriction of space and time during lockdown. In response to this wonderful image we have some very special lead writers…

On page one, we bring you Otis Mensah (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKKXT6kV3PhtKhsuqThWsH1nq7lsONrcd&feature=share) , an alternative hip-hop and spoken word artist, and Poet Laureate of Sheffield, UK. He has described his work as a means of challenging dominant models of masculinity, which he believes suppress the discussion of emotions, with negative consequences for mental health. As a hip-hop artist, Mensah has performed at the BBC Music Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival and his new book of poems, Safe Metamorphosis (https://prototypepublishing.co.uk/product/safe-metamorphosis/) is out now from Prototype Publishing. Follow Otis on Twitter (https://mobile.twitter.com/otismensah) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/otismensah/) .

On page two, please welcome Maria Fusco (http://mariafusco.net) , a Belfast-born, Glasgow-based writer and Professor of Interdisciplinary Writing at the University of Dundee. She writes fiction, critical and theoretical texts and is published internationally and translated into ten languages. She has won a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship (2019) and a Jerwood Creative Catalyst, and is a Hawthornden Fellow. She has also been an invited Writer-in-Residence at Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Kadist Art Foundation, Paris and Whitechapel Gallery, London. Her most recent work is: ECZEMA! (2018-19).

Our page three is reserved this month for one of independent publishing’s most versatile voices: Heidi James (https://twitter.com/heidipearljames) . She is the author of So the Doves, Wounding and The Mesmerist’s Daughter. Her new novel, The Sound Mirror (https://bluemoosebooks.com/books/sound-mirror-0) , is published by Bluemoose Books this very month of August. Be sure to check it out.

And finally, be inspired with Arji Manuelpillai (http://www.arji.org ) , a poet, performer and creative facilitator based in London. For over 15 years Arji has worked with community arts projects nationally and internationally. He was named the Jerwood/Arvon mentee for 2019/20. Recently, his poetry has been published by magazines including Ink Sweat and Tears, Strix, The Rialto and The Lighthouse Journal. He has also been shortlisted for the BAME Burning Eye pamphlet prize, The Robert Graves Prize, The Oxford Prize and The Live Canon Prize. Arji is a member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen and London Stanza. Arji’s debut pamphlet Mutton Rolls (http://www.outspokenldn.com/shop/muttonrolls) is published with Out-Spoken Press.

So dear writers, as the summer of 2020 reaches is wide and wild sky, we hope you’ll write and read with us, tweet with us, and stretch your writing arms with us. Remember, the image is the starting point the rest is up to you…

Preti, Kristen, Lucie and Luke

Tweet Us!
@visual_verse (https://twitter.com/visual_verse?lang=en)
@otismensah (https://mobile.twitter.com/otismensah)
@fuscowriting (https://twitter.com/fuscowriting)
@heidipearljames (https://twitter.com/heidipearljames)
@theleano (https://twitter.com/theleano)
Start Timer (https://vclock.com/timer/#countdown=01:00:00&enabled=0&seconds=3600&title=Visual+Verse%3A+One+image.+One+Hour.+50-500+Words.+)
Submit (https://visualverse.org/submit/)

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Volume 04, Chapter 07 | May 2017

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Image by Alejandro Alvarez

Dear writers, readers and friends,

Behold the glorious hues of our May image. We have been craving colour: bold, bright, saturated colour. Perhaps it’s because the weather is having trouble making up its mind. Perhaps it’s a plea to the sun Gods to deliver us heat and optimism. Whatever it is, this image by Alejandro Alvarez has sated us, and has inspired three wonderful new pieces of writing.

We kick off the May issue with the award-winning poet and short story writer, Anthony Anaxagorou (https://twitter.com/anthony1983) , whose literary prowess extends to publishing and to poetry education. Anthony has published several volumes of poems and essays, a spoken word EP and a collection of short stories and we are thrilled to be among the many publications to have published his work. Anthony also founded Out-Spoken in 2012 and Out-Spoken Press in 2013 and was a judge for the BBC’s 2016 Young Writers Awards. Visit his (very stylish) website to find out more (http://anthonyanaxagorou.com/) .

Painter turned poet, Jera Sulamari, offers us this hommage to the artist Shaffic Aboud, who died in 2004. Jera is the daughter of Lebanese parents, who has recently arrived in London via Paris and is beginning to express the memories of home via spaces she visits in contemporary cities.

And finally, by some magical twist of fate, we are extremely lucky to have a brand new piece of writing by Chris Townsend (https://twitter.com/@marmeladrome) , essayist, columnist and editor who has been published in The Paris Review, LA Review of Books and Berfrois, among others. Chris completed a doctorate in English literature at Cambridge University before moving to Berlin, where he is now based. Find out more on his blog (https://christownsendwriting.wordpress.com/) .

So, dear writers, what words will you paint with this burst of blue? The image is the starting point, the text is up to you.

Enjoy,
Kristen and Preti

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