Saturday, September 30, 2006

Essential Reading

island magazine, published by Julie Johnstone's Essence Press is a beautifully produced, hand-bound biannual publication concentrating on poetry concerned with nature. I don't like to use the term "nature poetry" lest it conveys something twee, which island is not. Julie describes it as "new writing inspired by nature and exploring our place within the natural world".
Other distinguishing features of island are the space given to the poems on the page and the work by contributing visual artists. Taken together, the poetry, layout and artwork make for a unique periodical with distinctive, unshowy aesthetic.
I've just had work published in the new issue, sight-lines, which is devoted to monostiches and concentrates on the horizon and shore line. My piece is a sequence of monostiches entitled "Sketchbook of a Trip to the Hebrides". The other poets are Jane Hirshfield, Cralan Kelder, Bob Arnold, Robin Fulton, Matt Martin and Jonathan Greene; the issue's artwork is by Pat Law.

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