3 words, 8 letters

Dearest readers, I hope you read my poem and felt something. I love taking emotions and breathing life into them. Too often, we see emotions separate from the human spirit when in fact the human brain and body work together, synthesising the world we live in. Take a breath – you’re safe now. ~ Rhea Saxenas

Rhea Saxena is a writer and journalist whose work spans poetry, articles, and interviews. Formerly with the South China Morning Post, she now channels her experiences into evocative poetry exploring the complexities of growing up. With ninety poems and a book in the works for 2025, Rhea’s writing offers a diverse and engaging exploration of the human condition. Connect with her instagram @rheasaxenas and explore her work at https://linktr.ee/Rheasaxena

Edited by Isabella Valencia Zapata

I Thought You Were The Trees When You Were The Forest

By Vincent Canfora

I Thought You Were The Trees When You Were The Forest was a piece written after an abrupt boredom settled with writing according to the journal format. The piece spawns from the forcing away from prose, rather than the honing of poetry. The title came first.

Vincent Canfora is a Brazilian-British student in the Media, Communications and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths. He is a self-described “quirky books” enthusiast and publishes foraging findings on his Instagram, @countzerosum. Aside from studying, he writes in occasion and works in the hospitality industry. The working environment of hospitality and alcohol and those who populate it inform his writing, alongside authors such as Nick Cave, Paul B. Preciado and Nate Lippens. Vincent takes an interest in class, masculinity, and artistry.

Instagram - @countzerosum

Editor’s Note

Vincent’s poem summons power and an intimate look into a sort of conversation between two people. I like his use of second person, making the poem feel as if the reader is being spoken to.

Edited by Izzy Judd

All Children

By Darcy Berger

Darcy is a writer from East London studying MA Scriptwriting at Goldsmiths. His work explores the fleeting nature of time, memory, and human experience. When he’s not writing, he’s probably in a pub—though more often than not, he’s doing both.

Editor’s Note

Darcy’s fun and playful take on Disney’s classic Peter Pan was a joy to read. It brought back memories from my childhood of watching the film, and feeling panicked by Captain Hook and Peter Pan’s everlasting conflict. The form used benefits and accentuates the aim to display a notion of timelessness, and fleeting nature of childhood.

Edited by Izzy Judd

My Experience with Autistic Womanhood

By Keisha Hubbard

This piece is personal like most of my work is, it was written after a bad social interaction that left me wanting to be ‘neurotypical’. I have always craved for normality and craved a normal experience of girlhood and womanhood, but I have recently come into realisation that I can no longer reject and feel a hatred for my brain for functioning in a way that is always has done. I have started to analyse my frustrations realising that I no longer want to ‘mask’ and put on a face, but I still become conflicted by the actions and reactions of others. 

20-year-old writer currently second year at goldsmiths studying media and Commnications, specialising in creative writing. Keisha enjoys prose writing and poetry and finds both reading and writing it deeply healing. Inspired by poetic cinema and literature from artists such as Shunji Iwai, Mati Diop, Haruki Murakami and Mieko Kawakami. Instagram is @keihubbardd. 

Edited by Louis Chapman

Global Encounters/Globale Begegnungen

By Sara Riyad Karim

Sara recently completed her MA in Literary Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is an avid reader of world literature, eco-fiction and science fiction. In June 2022, she performed a poetry reading of one of her poems at the Heidelberg Literature Festival. Her literary interests include the works of James Joyce, Clarice Lispector, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Rabindranath Tagore.

Editors Notes

Sara’s poetry is beautifully crafted and could resonate in some way with any reader. The choice to write in both German and English is a triumphant use of language, reaching to more than just an English reader. I think her words are comforting to read in the cold winter that we are facing, which is why we have chosen to upload it to our Autumn Edition.

By Izzy Judd

Home

By Audrey Bennett

I wrote this poem after returning home to Brighton after a period of particularly bad mental health. It is about the feeling of returning to the familiarity of home and the peace and warmth of being with your family again.

Audrey Bennett is a second year Media and Communications student at Goldsmiths. Outside of her course, she enjoys illustration and sometimes writing. She also runs a small zine club for young creatives called Tiger Zines.

Instagram - @tigerzines

Editors comments- Isabel Judd and Louis Chapman

Audrey’s poem is a beautiful piece connecting to the notion of ‘home’ whilst being at university. She captures the uneasy atmosphere that many students feel when they come back to their childhood home. This piece connects to ideas of womanhood, body image and growing up, which gently provokes the reader to reflect on their own experiences of what home means to them when they move to university.

We really enjoyed reading this poem, feeling a strong connection to the notion of growing up, and the distance that puts between you and your younger self.

Not in Service

By James Robertson

James Robertson is a writer from Melbourne, Australia. They foundered the Plain English Theatre Company where they produced numerous plays. Their work has been staged in Australia, Ukraine, Hungary and the UK.

Instagram - @james_robertson42

Edited by Louis Chapman

Getting lost/ Getting found

by Anna B.

This is a lighthearted piece on mental health. I think it’s good to at times make light of things that are innately dire, in a way that’s not insensitive. I personally love reading about other people’s experiences and thoughts on their own struggles and views on mental health, amongst other things. This is one of mine.

Anna has always had an interest in words, stories and all the different forms stories come in. Although she considers herself someone who’s still learning to write, she does try from time to time. Mostly short stories or a few lines she tries to rhyme. This is one of those times.

from the Editor

This is a very cute and lovely piece of poetry about connections with our brain, I relate to it a lot! It also speaks to me about the nervousness on the lack of knowledge on how brain works, and despite that I love that the poem ends in a positive note.

Ingrid (Squiddy)

Woman in a Hurry

by Sue Young

Woman in a Hurry  came into being from my own sense of being a ‘late starter’ and always in a hurry to ‘catch up’.

Sue works as a freelance careers consultant/coach but she has always been interested, since a very young child, in books, in reading, in poems and fascinated by words generally. She did a degree in English at Goldsmiths followed by an MA in Applied Linguistics and then, some years later, Sue came back to Goldsmiths for an evening class in Creative Writing. Among the writers Sue enjoys reading, she loves the writing styles of of Sylvia Plath, William Blake and Emily Dickinson.

edited by Maria Riga

& here i'd like eternity to start

by Paula Stäbler

Paula Stäbler is a third-year Goldsmiths student studying English and Creative Writing. She was born in Germany and lived there for 18 years before moving to London. When she is not reading, she is probably on her nth rewatch of Grey’s Anatomy. Her poetry reflects her interest in Pop Culture, mental health and politics.

edited by Lou Cody

In_motion

by Sachi Gamage

With a passion for film and philosophy (not really philosophy but is a part of Slavoj Zizek shi*posting groups on Facebook), Sachi is an actor, musician and writer. A hopeless romantic with a love for Sy-ca-delics—Sachi hails from a tiny island called Sri Lanka and misses the ocean, fresh seafood and chasing the sun.

edited by Anna Bokan

blank ending

sensitive content: rape

by Paula Stäbler

Paula Stäbler is a third-year Goldsmiths student studying English and Creative Writing. She was born in Germany and lived there for 18 years before moving to London. When she is not reading, she is probably on her nth rewatch of Grey’s Anatomy. Her poetry reflects her interest in Pop Culture, mental health and politics.

edited by Lou Cody

august <\3

sensitive content: religious trauma

by Ray Rajwani

August is a poem about a girl but not really. It’s a confessional, cathartic stream of consciousness that explores the pain of coming of age and navigating what it means to Become. It exists as a way to conceptualize the spaces in between and the way identity is sometimes like a fighting an internal battle with yourself. August investigates liminal of who you are who you might become and the uncertainty that comes with it.

Ray Rajwani is a first year Media & Communication student. They enjoy queer literature, Bollywood, queer Bollywood and angsty poetry. Most of their writing is done on public transport after events that upend their life.

You can find them on Instagram at @ray.rajwani.

edited by Anna Bokan

'IF', BUT IT'S NOT RUDYARD KIPLING.

by Sachi Gamage

With a passion for film and philosophy (not really philosophy but is a part of Slavoj Zizek shi*posting groups on Facebook), Sachi is an actor, musician and writer. A hopeless romantic with a love for Sy-ca-delics—Sachi hails from a tiny island called Sri Lanka and misses the ocean, fresh seafood and chasing the sun. 

edited by Anna Bokan

it is political (my body)

by Paula Stäbler

Paula Stäbler is a third-year Goldsmiths student studying English and Creative Writing. She was born in Germany and lived there for 18 years before moving to London. When she is not reading, she is probably on her nth rewatch of Grey’s Anatomy. Her poetry reflects her interest in Pop Culture, mental health and politics.

edited by Lou Cody

Thirst for Learning

by Anya Bomber

Anya can be found on Instagram at @xanya__x, and her poetry can be found at @anyas.poetry.

edited by Ingrid (Squiddy).

The Spider Who Loved Jazz

by Seb Duncan

Seb Duncan is a student on the Creative Writing and Education MA.
He holds a PGCert in Teaching Creative Writing from The University of Cambridge. His novella Headcase: A Post-truth ghost story is a gothic detective story that examines the intersection between fake news and myths (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Headcase-Post-truth-ghost-Seb-Duncan-ebook/dp/B093TJBP3R). He is the owner of The Red Ink (www.theredink.co.uk), an English language coaching company. He is currently working on a full-length novel, The Book of Thunder and Lightning.

!!!untitled!!!

by Fabian Bubla

This work attempts to be lightness. A visit from a child. A glimpse that you can still feel that way.

Fabian Bubla loves words and narrative. He studies the ma digital media. Find his writings on icarusrescue.com, and his games on arbitraryarbitrary.itch.io.

The Breathing Garden

by Heather Woodhouse

This piece is about the physical realities of cancer, which I have recently watched someone very important to me be faced with. I have infinite respect for both the physical and emotional strength of those fighting the disease and endless sympathy for their loved ones who weather the collateral. Stay strong.

Heather Woodhouse is a third-year Drama and English student at Goldsmiths. She enjoys reading, writing, performing, a healthy dose of partying, and thinks snails are under-appreciated in terms of cuteness. She dislikes writing bios for herself because it makes her feel like a bit of a t*t. She is also enjoying the fact that the sun is finally coming out! Woohoo summer.

I Envy Your Skin!

by Heather Woodhouse

‘‘I Envy Your Skin!’ was prompted by that uncanny feeling as a portrait’s eyes seem to follow you across a room. What do these painted people want? Their suspended frustration is eerie. Are they silently screaming in their immobility? Maybe art doesn’t want to imitate life, but to BE it.’ 

Heather Woodhouse is a third-year Drama and English student at Goldsmiths. Her poetry is predominantly written on public transport, usually in the dark and often in the rain (thanks, England). When she’s not staring tragically out of the window, you’ll find her partying, reading Don DeLillo novels, performing, running late for everything, and also partying…