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for Olaf Stapledon

Oh Marlene on the wall: I made you
the angel of your own night sky, glow
(in the dark) brighter than city stars (glitch
-ing streetlights) and closer. Flashbulb celebrity
nebula ready for close-up, the moon's circum-
ference measuring up to a meteor's, similar
to Saturn's. You're encircled by this yearning
to lift the roof & be in among the weather
of the (that [real]) world: walls fall, nightmare
papier mâché melts to let in something stranger—
cat-footed—that holds its breath and stalks
my hurting heart. Oh Marlene, among (other) stars,
(only) in the time we have to live (here) in the dark.




Sophie Mayer is the author of three poetry collections: Her Various Scalpels, The Private Parts of Girls, and Kiss Off, and co-editor of campaigning poetry anthologies, Catechism: Poems for Pussy Riot and Binders Full of Women. She lives in London where she teaches Creative Writing, including the Science Fiction MA, at the University of Middlesex. She is the editor of There She Goes: Feminist Filmmaking and Beyond.
Current Issue
29 May 2023

We are touched and encouraged to see an overwhelming response from writers from the Sino diaspora as well as BIPOC creators in various parts of the world. And such diverse and daring takes of wuxia and xianxia, from contemporary to the far reaches of space!
By: L Chan
The air was redolent with machine oil; rich and unctuous, and synthesised alcohol, sharper than a knife on the tongue.
“Leaping Crane don’t want me to tell you this,” Poppy continued, “but I’m the most dangerous thing in the West. We’ll get you to your brother safe before you know it.”
Many eons ago, when the first dawn broke over the newborn mortal world, the children of the Heavenly Realm assembled at the Golden Sky Palace.
Winter storm: lightning flashes old ghosts on my blade.
transplanted from your temple and missing the persimmons in bloom
immigrant daughters dodge sharp barbs thrown in ambush 十面埋伏 from all directions
Many trans and marginalised people in our world can do the exact same things that everyone else has done to overcome challenges and find happiness, only for others to come in and do what they want as Ren Woxing did, and probably, when asked why, they would simply say Xiang Wentian: to ask the heavens. And perhaps we the readers, who are told this story from Linghu Chong’s point of view, should do more to question the actions of people before blindly following along to cause harm.
Before the Occupation, righteousness might have meant taking overt stands against the distant invaders of their ancestral homelands through donating money, labour, or expertise to Chinese wartime efforts. Yet during the Occupation, such behaviour would get one killed or suspected of treason; one might find it better to remain discreet and fade into the background, or leave for safer shores. Could one uphold justice and righteousness quietly, subtly, and effectively within such a world of harshness and deprivation?
Issue 22 May 2023
Issue 15 May 2023
Issue 8 May 2023
Issue 1 May 2023
Issue 24 Apr 2023
Issue 17 Apr 2023
Issue 10 Apr 2023
Issue 3 Apr 2023
Issue 27 Mar 2023
Issue 20 Mar 2023
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