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Sex Sonnet by Zeina Hashem Beck
Wasafiri is pleased to share 'Sex Sonnet' by Zeina Hashem Beck, a poem specially commissioned to mark the publication of Wasafiri 119: Futurisms, our 40th Anniversary Issue. Wasafiri 119: Futurisms is available to order now, or you can purchase the Wasafiri anniversary bundle, giving you deep insight into the history and trajectory of the magazine and literary landscape across four decades.
Poetry
On This Earth We Have No Abiding Home by Laura Jane Lee
Wasafiri is proud to publish the 2023 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize shortlisted pieces. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by promising new writers from all over the globe. This shortlisted poem by Laura Jane Lee depicts the complicated emotions of leaving home.
New Writing PrizePoetry
Sing Up The Ruins by Jess Thayil
This poem by Jess Thayil explores one’s personal relationship to places — physical or metaphorical.
PoetryNew Writing Prize
Sylheti for Beginners, as Explained by Your White Girlfriend by Erin Brady
This poem by Erin Brady explores the complexities of identity, language, and family dynamics through poignant vignettes.
New Writing PrizePoetry
Ariel (Little Mami Wata) by Princess Arinola Adegbite
In this poem, Princess Arinola Adegbite uses aquatic imagery to dip into questions of dual identity and the struggle for authenticity.
PoetryNew Writing Prize
Shorelines Poets Showcase
Explore these shifting, evocative poems from three poets featured in Wasafiri 116: Shorelines: Southeast Asia and the Littoral.
Poetry
SILVO by Laurie Bolger
Wasafiri is pleased to publish the pieces shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. The poems, essays, and short stories in this series showcase the best new writing from the best new writers across the globe – in all their diversity and complexity. In this poem, Laurie Bolger draws on the work of Jamaica Kincaid to produce a moving and personal insight disguised within a set of simple instructions.
Poetry
At the Allama Iqbal International Airport by Hera Naguib
Wasafiri is pleased to publish the pieces shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. The poems, essays, and short stories in this series showcase the best new writing from the best new writers across the globe – in all their diversity and complexity.
Poetry
Two Poems by Rakhshan Rizwan
In these two poems from Rakhshan Rizwan's debut collection Europe, Love Me Back (The Emma Press), the poet probes ideas of systemic racism in academia and unbelonging with an unerringly sharp eye for language and imagery.
Poetry
There Was Never Enough Salt in the Kitchen by Juleus Ghunta
Wasafiri is pleased to publish the pieces shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. The poems, essays, and short stories in this series showcase the best new writing from the best new writers across the globe – in all their diversity and complexity.
Poetry
On Not Getting a Caird Research Fellowship... by Naomi Foyle
In this sharp, rhythmic poem from Naomi Foyle, a catalogue of items serves to dissect a long legacy of colonialism and racism, and challenges the inherent violence in the ways we archive and perpetuate the British Empire.
Poetry
They Wanted To Write So I Told Them To Dance by Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa
In this passionate and joyful article – accompanied by an exclusive poem from her debut collection Cane, Corn & Gully – poet, dancer, and choreographer Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa explores her experience teaching writing through movement…
ArticlesPoetry
My mother tells her sister you have your husband and I have my flowers by Vasiliki Albedo
In this quietly devastating poem, Vasiliki Albedo effortlessly crafts a narrative of domestic tension, inspired and informed by one of van Gogh's paintings. Together, Albedo blurs memory and art to deliver a striking, painful portrait of childhood.
Poetry
Two Poems by Reem Abbas
In these two bilingual poems, Reem Abbas probes notions of language, family, and voice. Elegant and rhythmic, Abbas makes use of the gaps between words and worlds, raising questions of home and remembrance. Wasafiri 111:
Poetry
A Reading of 'Canefield' by Shivanee Ramlochan
In this powerful video, Shivanee Ramlochan reads her poem 'Canefield'. First published in Wasafiri 110: Afterlives of Indenture, the poem is a sorrowful exploration of pain and legacy, and a tribute to those whose stories remain untold. Wasafiri 110:
PoetryVideo
almost-shahrazad by Shereen Leanne
Wasafiri is proud to publish the shortlisted works of the 2021 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by skilled new writers from all over the globe.
New Writing PrizePoetry
Ghost Talker Poem by Dorsía Smith Silva
Wasafiri is proud to publish the shortlisted works of the 2021 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by skilled new writers from all over the globe.
New Writing PrizePoetry
If you read this backwards blood becomes wine by Jordan Hamel
Wasafiri is proud to publish the shortlisted works of the 2021 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by skilled new writers from all over the globe.
New Writing PrizePoetry
Two Poems from Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe
In these two poems from Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe’s Dylan Thomas P rize -shortlisted collection Auguries of a Minor God , the poet explores her own writing process , and the complex construction of her verse.
Poetry
ramadan's greeting by Sanah Ahsan
In celebration of Ramadan, read Sanah Ahsan's evocative and rhythmic poem 'ramadan's greeting', and listen to an exclusive reading by the poet. we pluck the new moon / out of mecca’s sky … a lottery ball / make a guessing / of gods … plan / first fast will be Thursday / chuss me!
Poetry
autopsy by Asmaa Jama
Wasafiri is proud to publish the shortlisted works of the 2021 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by skilled emerging writers from all over the globe.
New Writing PrizePoetry
In the Name of the Joto, Mariposa, y Maricón by Andrés N Ordorica
Andrés N Ordorica delivers an electric reading of 'In the Name of the Joto, Mariposa, y Maricón' — a joyful prayer and blessing to queer Latinx identity, freedom, and culture.
Poetry
Two Poems by Alison Glenny
[caption id="attachment_22623" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Gulls Flee Sheerwater[/caption] FOREST   … He claimed to have invented the night. This was not Romanticism, which was mainly a question … of translation. Yet she was often mute during their carriage rides.
Poetry
Litany of the Shoreline by Naush Sabah
over        head     billowing …      headscarf       white as surf …                        like    a hug  … billowing like a curtain  …                   or a flag    hanging    like  …             a noose        a mask    like  …        a blanket     a sheet …                   billowing …      …
Poetry
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