é-zine // hunger // editorial

 

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Welcome to the 16th edition of the époque press é-zine on the theme, Hunger. What a delectable banquet of artistic treats we have for you to savour!

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Hunger is about the body's need for food and sustenance, the agonizing and gnawing feeling when food is denied or the extreme impact experienced when starvation sets in. It is about what is consumed, how things are consumed and whether the sense of satisfaction derived from satiating hunger can give way to addiction and greed.

Hunger is also about a sense of yearning, a strong wish or desire to achieve or want something. It can be a positive feeling, something that is praised and valued in an individual, but it is also something that can become all consuming, a hunger which takes precedence over everything else.

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The pieces featured in this edition all touch on these themes in some way. In terms of short stories we have Forbidden Fruit by Pete Maguire which evokes the pain and confusion of how destructive eating disorders can be, but also how logical they can be to the sufferer in their internal world. Golden Delicious by Charlotte Newman shows two people, hungering for different things and how they respond to desire in different ways. In Eulogy, by David Lynch, the narrator attends random funerals of strangers, attempting to satiate a hunger for meaning and explanation. Karina Patfield, in the big, bad wolf, looks at the impact of social injustice, how a hunger for security confronts malicious intent. Social injustice is also at the forefront of Civilization (Flight Path) by Susann Cokal, exploring our relationships to food and how we hunger for connections. Leftovers, by Warren Benadetto, looks at how food is often the one common thread that binds immigrants together, as  a very unconventional recipe provides sustenance. In Moderation, by Clare Reddaway, we are plunged into a future world where every element of our lives is monitored and controlled, including the food we consume.

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We are honoured to feature Eaten or rotten; I am all mouth, the poetry of Brighton University époque press prize winner, Georgia McPherson, Through metaphorical cannibalism, these confessional poems use flesh as a site of horror, transgression and nausea to portray themes of mental illness, love, sex and religion, through the endless act of eating and being eaten. The poem Unfinished Exit by Claudia Wysocky looks at the insatiable hunger for closure and understanding, as well as the hunger to be seen and remembered amidst the turmoil of grief. The three video poems, The Garden, Lament and The Dream, by Anna Battersby, deal with the hunger to reconnected with a loved one after their passing. Natasha Jane Kennedy, in the poem Morsel, looks at the hunger for language and the visceral experience of trying to say something but not quite managing it. The poetry of Sean Sutherland is focused on hungering for home, the longing for it, its confusions, its pain, its loneliness and also its joy. This is a theme also explored in the prose poem, and photographs, by Micaela Brinsley in As the minutes tick to a distance, motivated by a compulsion to photograph doors and windows during afternoon walks in Buenos Aires. We are also delighted to once more feature the work of Alice JL Pierre, through a photo-poem called 3 APRICOTS TO BULIMIA, in which hunger is associated with toxic relationships, emotional hunger and eating disorders.

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Finally, we are delighted to introduce you to the ethereal and captivating voice of Delphine Vega through the song, For Her (featuring Grace Lightman and Katie Lafond). This song is a love letter to the self and the move away from defining your body through the eyes of others.

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So sit back and tuck in to this feast we have laid out for you, and if each course does entice your tastebuds then please consider giving us a small caffeine treat to help keep us going with our future editions via our ‘Buy us a Coffee’ button, next to the social links top of page.

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Thank you, Sean & Adam.