Short Fiction & Poetry
If you’d like a glimpse at my shorter writing or if you just prefer shorter pieces in general – “I’m a slow reader myself,” -Prince George, Blackadder – this is the section for you. Below I’ve gathered a small list of my short stories and poems that have been published so far, and if they look interesting to you, links to them or places you can purchase them are provided.
Short Fiction
Album of Written Photographs (published 2020)
This is a collection of six prose poems which I wrote between 2013 and 2019. As the title suggests, they are meant to capture a scene I observed as closely as possible, conveying as many impressions as I could gather in the moment of writing – so they include things a photo cannot, such as bits of conversation, taste and smell. They are all first drafts, which have barely been altered, to conserve the fresh vision I had when writing as closely as possible. They were all written entirely at the location they are describing, spanning four countries. If you would like to go on this journey, head over to Egg Box Publishing and check out Peninsula – A Durham University Creative Writing Anthology. The Album was published in this anthology alongside some brilliant short stories and poems by my fellow postgraduates of the English Department.
Check out reviews in Durham University’s Palatinate & The Bubble.
The Music of the Meteor (published 2020)
This little piece is very special to me as it reflects the huge impact music has had on my life and my language. It was written entirely while listening to the song ‘Come Down to Us’ by Burial. I have a strange condition called synaesthesia, which means that my brain will associate sound, and especially music, with colours, textures and shapes. This is how I wrote the story. I let my visual and auditory impressions guide me into a landscape and followed the characters I met there. One of them is Tayira, who lives with lemurs. Another one is Atlas himself. Find out which ground-breaking event in the history of the Earth they both witness, and what Artemis has to do with it in Issue No. 46 of Brittle Star Magazine, which champions new voices and emerging writers.
The magazine also has a podcast called Stereoplate, in which they launched the issue and talk about many interesting topics. For the launch, they asked each contributor to record their own piece. You can listen to The Music of the Meteor here.
Poetry
Mysticète & Illuminating Whale (published 2019)
Every other year, Durham hosts the UK’s largest light festival, Lumiere. It is an incredible spectacle when the moon inhabits the castle, or whales swim up our humble Wear. The installation Mysticète by Catherine Garret made the latter possible, and it moved many people standing there. It inspired me to write two pieces reflecting both on the beauty of nature and our impact on the environment. My poem Illuminating Whale can be read here in Durham University’s Palatinate Student Newspaper, and my prose poem Mysticète can be found here in The Bubble, Durham Uni’s Online Magazine.
I Don’t Write Poetry (published 2018)
This is perhaps the first poem I wrote that I considered publishing. Poetry was never an easy way of expression for me, but from time to time, there was one that wanted to be written by me, just like this one. As noticeable in some of my other work, I enjoy parody, which is why this is one of my few poems that strictly adheres to a regular rhyme scheme and metre throughout. There is a wizard to help the Lyrical I also. Have a read in Palatinate.
Consume the Mirror (published 2018)
This poem had a bit of help from a melody that the words could follow in my head. I never wrote it down, but the words still remind me of it. I wonder if they sing to other people also. Reflection of our relationship with media, identity and technology. I really needed music to help me write this. Have a look in the mirror.
Between the Shores (published 2018)
In this poem, there are a lot of things rhyming with abyss. Mainly, it’s about transitional states in life when nothing is certain. I’m sure you can relate, this way.
The Wind (published 2018)
The motif of giving the unheard a voice has always fascinated me. Palatinate were kind enough to publish one of my takes on this. A combination of physical and emotional perceptions interlocking. Read the poem here.