Magma 59: Breaks

Magma poetry magazine's summer 2014 issue, Magma 59, is on the theme of breaks. Editors Roberta James and Alex Price have selected over 65 new poems that reach in to bring a new look on a familiar scene, take us to places we have not been before, or show us new ways to be in our sometimes broken but beautiful world. After poems of great delicacy and eggshells came others of metal and grind. Poems which could make us stride forward, unshakeable and unbreakable are contrasted with those that take us to intimate moments with broken loved ones, to worlds with brittle justice and breaking hearts. New poems by Penelope Shuttle, Colette Bryce, Mimi Khalvati, Jo Bell, Christopher James, Wendy Klein, Martin Figura, Isobel Dixon, Fiona Moore, Di Slaney, Andrew McMillan, and many more. Magma is known for its articles about poetry: Andrew Nielson's article explores poetry on e-readers; Deryn Rees-Jones article deals unflinchingly with the role of writing and terminal illness; Lorraine Mariner considers contemporary poems which chart the journeys of our broken hearts and break-up blues; John Humphrys draws on his time as a war reporter to revisit a poem from the First World War in this year of centenary commemoration. Break open the issue to see what is inside. About Magma Magma is distinct from other poetry magazines because each issue has a different editor. The editorship circulates among the group that runs the magazine, with an occasional guest editor. Each editor brings with his or her particular interests to bear, resulting in poems and emphases that no-one else in the group could have predicted. The group is united by its commitment to the best in contemporary poetry, whether from new or little-known poets or the more established. We look for poems which gave a direct sense of what it is to live today - honest about our feelings, alert about the world, sometimes funny, always well-crafted. Magma includes reviews of current publications and thought-provoking prose. The views expressed are those of the individual authors. Magma seeks to be a forum for debate, not to present a single Magma view. Magma publishes three times a year in spring, summer and winter, with a selection of poems and articles on the Magma website.