Magma 86, Food, Edited by Ella Frears and Sean Wai Keung
The truth is, ‘best’ poetry to us is like the best food, various and multiple, with history, character, excitement and fun all working together to form an entire meal. The poetry featured throughout this issue does this, from different angles and perspectives. Some of it is celebratory, while others look at the darker sides of the food chain. Some of it is tight and formal, others light and loose. What unites them all is excitement, ours, theirs, (even the poem’s… if you believe in magic) as well as a fearless appreciation for the power of food as a way to open doors between things: language, emotion, culture and identity.
Cover design by Suzie Cichy
Magma Selected: Nabeela Saghir
Poems
| Nadine El-Enany | Woman Laughing Alone With Salad |
|---|---|
| Nina Parmenter | Things That Taste Chickeny |
| Michelle Penn | Volcanoes on Pluto |
| Heather Holcroft-Pinn | Sauce |
| David Gilbert | Salmon |
| Síofra McSherry | The maid behind the bar |
Articles
| Magma 86 Editorial | In the 2007 film Ratatouille, cynical food critic and main antagonist Anton Ego is asked what he would like to order at Gusteau’s restaurant and he replies “…some fresh, clear, well seasoned perspective”, which understandably confuses and terrifies the waiter. In writing the call-out for this Food themed issue, we worried that we were being… |
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| Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: What’s on the Menu? | Appetiser: Mother’s Milk When my daughter was placed on my naked chest for the first time she managed to find her way to her first food source. It was extraordinary to witness, this tiny new creature with shiny black eyes, wrinkly soft skin, not human yet, or maybe more human than she’ll ever be, snuffling… |
| Food-Zines in the UK | The last few years have seen a surge in DIY and community-focused zines in the UK centered around food. To get insight into how and why, I asked Kat Payne Ware, editor of SPOONFEED, an online food-poetry zine, and Rhia Cook, editor of Potluck Zine, a print-and-digital food-art platform, for their insights. Kat Payne Ware… |
Issue information
Food — Table of Contents 
Supported by Arts Council England