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Oxblood
Tom Benn
‘Some nights he hurt her which made her glad; she never let him know because the pain was brief and rare and felt like penance.’
An extract from Oxblood by Tom Benn.
Two Poems
Eva Salzman
‘I might as well have not said or done what I said I said or did.’
Poetry by Eva Salzman.
Nothing Special
Nicole Flattery
‘There was very little I could do in life except get dressed, smoke the correct cigarettes.’
An extract from Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery.
On Washing Up and Hoverflies
Beatrice Searle
‘It may be the satisfaction of full hands that brings forth the full feeling essential for words.’
Beatrice Searle on stonemasonry.
Blue Hunger
Viola Di Grado
‘All I wanted was to look at Xu and be looked at by Xu. Be touched by Xu. Be commanded by Xu.’
An extract from Blue Hunger by Viola Di Grado, translated by Jamie Richards.
On Beyoncé
Okechukwu Nzelu
‘Renaissance gives back, by reminding Black queer people what it’s like to be in our most sacred spaces.’
Okechukwu Nzelu on Beyoncé.
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
Maddie Mortimer
‘This one – it’s a bit of a beast, he said.’
An extract from Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer. Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2022.
Eclogue of the ‘Big Garden’
John Kinsella
‘I will go elsewhere / and remember, recall where / I came from’
A poem by John Kinsella.
Reproducing Paul
Des Fitzgerald
‘Having a child, I came to see, was more a kind of haunting.’
An essay by Des Fitzgerald.
For the Love of Losing
Marina Benjamin
‘Winning, it turns out, was the cracking whip that meant gamblers had to stay where they were until they lost their money all over again.’
Marina Benjamin on losing.
Hôtel Casanova
Annie Ernaux
‘I never asked myself if I loved P. But nothing could have kept me from going to make love with him at the Hôtel Casanova.’
Memoir by Annie Ernaux, translated by Alison L. Strayer.