Magma 74 – Magma Poetry

Magma 74, Work, edited by Benedict Newbery and Pauline Sewards

Ventriloquists, lion-tamers and domestic servants all appear in these pages, alongside those who work with typewriters, pistols and pianos. And this cast of characters – our workforce – is contained and bound by Joff Winterhart’s brilliant cover.

Poems

Mark Coverdale	The Godfather of Dole
Lorraine Mariner	The God of Home Time
Rebecca Tantony	The Ventriloquist’s Voice
Stuart Charlesworth	Bedsheet phoenix song
Caroline Davies	What the bully at work cannot touch
Alison Brackenbury	Work Experience

Articles

Magma 74 — Editorial	When we put out the call for submissions for the Work issue, nothing could have prepared us for the sheer diversity of poems on the theme. And the ideas about what might constitute work. We received over 2000 poems, and…
On barriers to engagement: One poet’s intersectional journey	I began writing poetry to talk about my experiences of racism as a woman of mixed heritage who has lived in predominantly white areas. Poetry gave me a voice, the freedom to express my unusual experiences. Later, I began writing…
Inspired — Tim Wells responds to Linton Kwesi Johnson	In each issue we ask a contemporary poet for a poem which draws inspiration from another poet’s work. Tim Wells responds to Linton Kwesi Johnson’s poem Inglan is a Bitch. * When leaving school there weren’t many jobs, unemployment was…