Ali and I arrived in Löttorp at the same time, during the early days of spring. Him by boat, I by choice.No one was waiting for me, but Sophie took me in, nonetheless. She didn’t really care where I was from or what had brought me to her hometown. All she said was that she could use my pen. In
There is so much that wishes to go about unseen.Lilac diffusion beyond the dilating window.Everyone driving home in traffic eating privately.Someone holds a sandwich after falling apart. Pauses.Turns it. Turns it again. Yesterday’s grief was adjacentto oak. Witnessed from above and chewing the trunk.This morning the sun rose in my secret sheets shouting now, now!There’s no time, now! I felt
Lucent Dreaming signs Andrew Ogun’s debut poetry collection ‘Slingshot’
Marina flicks through her lonely planet guide to Spain. She is confronted by a photo of a man in a garish orange costume leaping over a group of babies on the floor beneath him. “Salto de Colacho, the Baby-Jumping Celebration, is a practice of exorcism, not dissimilar to baptism. However, as a blend of Catholic and pagan rituals, it is
Due to limited control of our formatting on posts, the formatting of the following poem is different from the print version. I want to invent a type of suffering my mother hasn’t had a chance to get to know.Write something my mother wouldn’t like or understand. One past day haunts mestill, but a future day haunts me better. I have
an ayah in the qur’an says Allah has promised gardens ofbliss to all believers. tired, i light a brokencandlestick. its flame, a miniature sun, spreads todouse the darkness in my room. tonight,everyone i’ve lost returns to me in memory. ifollow their faces, trailing each into theglazed edges of my thoughts. thinking of what couldhappen next in the city, i grow
In July 1518, a woman whose name was given as Frau (Mrs.)Troffea (or Trauffea) stepped into the street and began dancing –Britannica I forgot the broom(do I mourn thesesplit yellow hairs)forgot the child whocannot tell persimmonfrom breast forgotthe husband (what wasa husband) I followedthe sound of my fattwo feet (oh earthfamiliars) I followedmy blood’s wind sillydown to the city streetswollen
The Bookseller have announced their winners for regional and country finalists for The British Book Awards Small Press of the Year 2024. Lucent Dreaming have been highly commended in their category amongst many deserving publishers. Receiving this recognition as a small press at the beginning of our book publishing journey means the world. We look forward to our growth from
This week we’re putting the spotlight on debut poet and Children’s Laureate Wales Connor Allen. Isabelle Copland interviews our author about his new children’s collection Miracles. “Every child and every person on this planet is a miracle…” What inspired you first to pick up a pen and start writing? Reading Harry Potter as a child and escaping to Hogwarts was
Born betwixt times — head in the old year, feet in the new — Nyathera’s tiny fists punched the air like she wanted to fight the world.“Love her well, mumewangu,” implored her mother, but the words died even before the umbilical was cut, leaving her bitter father to raise Nyathera on goat’s milk, cassava and shame.The meagre diet didn’t stunt
