A closer look at FUTURES – part 1
"shangri la" by Amlanjyoti Goswami
"shangri la was behind the bus stop. the last line, after which no one asked what or where."
“shangri la” is a poem about the idea that joy and happiness is always a possibility, always just hiding around the corner. It’s a hopeful poem for a future filled with beauty.
This poem is the first thing you’ll read in Futures. It’s the perfect opening that invites you into a new world with anticipation and surprise.
Amlanjyoti Goswami‘s recent collection of poems River Wedding (Poetrywala) has been widely reviewed. His poetry has been published in journals and anthologies around the world. Publications include The Poetry Review, Penguin Random House, Acumen, Shearsman, Southword, IQ: The Indian Quarterly, Temz Review, Amsterdam Quarterly and The Lumiere Review among others. A Best of the Net nominee, his poems have also appeared on street walls in Christchurch, exhibitions in Johannesburg, an e-gallery in Brighton and buses in Philadelphia. He has read in various places, including New York, Delhi and Boston. He grew up in Guwahati, Assam and lives in Delhi
"The Ash in the Sea" by Madi Whaley
"Each flutter of the heart a discovery, every missed kiss a deep loss. She spent the night tracing words onto May's back and shoulders, writing a story of the future. One with fire and laughter and bees and humming and oceans that met shores with an undying fondness and a girl from the sea who kept coming to the rocks."
A love story of a witch and a selkie that is set against the backdrop of a world ravaged by wildfires. “The Ash in the Sea” is a global warming cautionary tale told with beauty and feeling, with characters you root for from the start and yearn that they will find happiness. Despite the relentless emergencies, it’s also a setting where people endure, love, and find the capacity to create. Madi Whaley creates an immersive world in the span of just 25 pages.
2021 Pushcart Prize nominee
Madi Whaley is an organic farmer and as of fall 2021, will be pursuing their master’s in Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and residing on Ho-Chunk lands. Originally from Sacramento, California on Miwok lands, they are inspired by the ecologies they grew up with and the ones they’re coming to know. They enjoy lake swimming, big bunches of herbs, petting dogs, and feeding their loved ones. They are a strong believer in the power of fantasies and folktales to give us wisdom for our current realities and open doors to better futures.
"Tantalus, a Shade" by Meg Sipos
"I do not breathe when I take in the tantalizing memories of a life once lived. Fading like the shades fade into the abyss."
A poem about yearning and the struggle for a life just out of grasp. “Tantalus, a Shade” takes inspiration from the Tantalus myth.
Tantus, the king of Sipylus, was punished for attempting to serve his own son at a feast with the gods. His fate was to stand in a pool of water, almost within reach of a fruit tree, but forever to go hungry and thirsty.
Meg Sipos holds both a BFA and MFA in creative writing. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in MoonPark Review, Lammergeier Magazine, The Ghost Story, Quantum Shorts, Bath Flash Fiction, Liminality: A Magazine of Speculative Poetry, 21st Century Ghost Stories: Vol. II, and Dark Hearts: Tales of Twisted Love. She recently co-founded The Other Folk, a blog about the many faces of horror in film, art, music, and literature. You can follow her on Twitter @meg_sipos.
"Dandelion Wishes" by JJ Borkowski
"A dandelion flourishes in untilled areas and wastelands. The globe of parachute seeds is called a "clock" like it's only a matter of time."
“Dandelion Wishes” is a short nonfiction piece that tells of a childhood memory of a wish and a hope, amid the harsh cruelty found at home. The speaker sends a balloon off into the sky and attaches their address, with the foolhardy dream that a reply will come back from afar. But will they receive a response?
JJ Borkowski is a graduate student in nonfiction creative writing at University of New Orleans and has a small smattering of publications. She resides in New Orleans with her two chihuahuas.
"More Than a Sanctuary" by Max Turner
"It wasn't that he didn't want to help people, but helping others meant less for yourself, or in his case, less for your kids. It meant being vulnerable, and that was something he was never going to be again."
A post-apocalyptic story about a trangender man and his two children who seek out a rumoured sanctuary in a destroyed world. Will they find it and who will they encounter along the way?
“More Than a Sanctuary” is full of heavy emotion but still leaves you with a deep breath of hope. It is a meaningful portrait of a family who have struggled together and who yearn for something more: a future where they can be safe and no longer have to hide.
Max Turner is a gay transgender man based in the United Kingdom. He is also a parent, nerd, intersectional feminist and coffee addict. Max writes speculative and science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, gothic horror and LGBTQ+ romance, and more often than not, combinations thereof.
Read these stories and more in Futures:
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Futures
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