COVID: Lockdown Stories (2020-2021)
A Study in Solitude
by Ersi Zevgoli, an autobiographical piece “See you in two weeks!” I remember my flatmate telling me as she gave me a big hug and a bright smile, certain that this was only a passing thing. My smile was a little more tense. “You won’t,” I wanted to reply, but nobody likes a pessimist. Or… continue reading »
Read MoreInvisible London (2017-2019)
Saudades, by Marta Guerreiro
I I didn’t go to kindergarten until I was four. I was an innocent child, growing up in my nanny’s arms. She had dry skin, proving that she was old enough to tell me about life, but not perfect enough to believe in heaven. Discipline was what her eyes were always screaming, kind discipline. My… continue reading »
Read MoreStories Against Loneliness (2016)
Hope, for John Roden
From the life of John Roden By Samuel Hardy — Hope: a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. : John’s granddaughter’s name. *** The East End. The sixties. A small boy can walk around his street in Shoreditch and be assured that his neighbors will watch out for him, that… continue reading »
Read MoreEastLife (2014-2015)
Dragons Destroy Stratford, by Erica Masserano
There is an ash cloud in the sky, says the paper. The man hands it to me in Stratford Station. It informs me in letters taking up the best part of the front page: VOLCANIC ASH FROM ICELAND SHUTS ALL AIRPORTS LEAVING ONE MILLION AFFECTED. Beside it is a picture of the Eyjafjallajökull, or maybe… continue reading »
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