Contortion

Valentina Daughton,
Editor-in-Chief

Having decided to take Issue Thirteen as the opportunity to create a new section on ‘Translation’, it was imperative to select a theme encompassing of the malleability of literary translation. Contortion seemed apt. Contortion, to me, signifies a certain flexibility. It has a decidedly bodily connotation, bringing to mind contortionists and illusory sleight-of-hand; the act of breaking and mending; of being bent into shape, and back out of shape.

But writing has a body, too. And never is this more apparent than in the practice of taking the textual body and quite literally re-configuring it. Translation is, by nature, a process of contortion.

We have dedicated this issue to poetry and translation. Perhaps because they are both mediums which are, in themselves, mutable. Yet what we have seen from your wonderful contributions is the great interpretive power of contortion. You have interpreted it in such a variety of ways, that each translation and poem is unique, and a great pleasure to read. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as we did!

Rory McAlpine,
Editor-in-Chief

When many think of a writer they picture a figure relaxing in a comfy chair, notebook or laptop open, writing away as inspiration flows from them as sure and steady as a river. This is a lie. Writing is a fight; it is a struggle, and the joy derived from it is often not in the finished article but the process of getting there. Contortion seems an apt way to describe how writers wrestle with ideas, inspiration, interpretation: they bend and twist-contort them- to shape their piece. In setting our theme as contortion our contributors are given an opportunity to reflect on the process of writing, bending and twisting the theme itself to create work inspired by it or in turn bending and twisting conventional structures, appearances or expectations in the piece to reflect the theme. The featuring of our new translation section in this issue is particularly apt considering that translations can be seen as a contortion of the original, bent or twisted to be accommodated within a new language that it was not intended to be conveyed in.

I hope you immerse yourself in these pieces, and while doing so spare a thought for the struggles of the writers that brought them to fruition.

Elizabeth Dutton,
Deputy-Editor-in-Chief

Our theme of contortion resonates with me as a metaphor for the transformative quality of life that is replicated within art. It connotes a change that makes us reflect both on the object of our gaze and on the process of change itself. It twists, and it turns, and it stretches beyond our comfortable limits, testing both our physical and emotional responses. This issue of the magazine celebrates poetry, the literary form that truly embodies the beautiful struggle of transformation. Contortion both influences the content and the very process of poetic construction, embedding itself within the very creation of form. The introduction of translated work into this issue further exposes and celebrates this art of poetic production. This theme is a way of finding new perspectives, embracing uncertainties, and ultimately interrogating what can be called beautiful. The issue invites a challenge to artistic boundaries as we encourage you to extend this in your individual response. Allow contortion to push you beyond the familiar, yielding both beautiful results and an unexpected journey.

Take your time and enjoy reading