
When we first came up with the idea of releasing a joy-themed issue for this January, we were concerned that it might be seen as trivial, blinkered, or insensitive. The world seems like a dark place lately.
But the more we read and thought about joy, the more we came to see it as an essential, and even radical, emotion. As Rebecca Solnit explains in her brilliant Hope in the Dark, ‘Joy doesn’t betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a fine act of insurrection’. To feel joy is therefore not to deny the darkness, but to challenge it.
We loved the range and depth of joy that flooded our inbox following our call for submissions, spanning life-changing events and tiny moments of pure happiness (sometimes within the same poem – see Elizabeth Osmond’s wonderful simultaneous celebration of toast and new life in ‘The world begins with’). None of the poems that we received talked of finding joy in material wealth or power. To the contrary, the joy that we encountered spoke of relationships (with friends, family, and nature); a conscious appreciation of the small things; fresh starts; and the comfort of memories. There’s loss and trauma here too, but also hope. Always hope.
It was these experiences of joy that we felt were so beautifully captured in Emma Haworth’s painting ‘Sunrise in the park’, with its bright, wintry morning scene, and its hopeful, everyday togetherness.
In this issue, you will encounter the bliss of fish and chips, cheese, and hot coffee, as well as the happiness sparked by bedtime stories, birdsong, and birthdays. We hope that you find joy here, and that joy finds you.
Catherine and Tara
The Dust Editors
The world begins with by Elizabeth Osmond
Just alight, rippling by Laura Hemmington
All praise for the count of two by Lesley Curwen
The Happiest 'Happy Birthday' Ever by Paul Stephenson
Izakaya by Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana
What Larks by Matt Gilbert
A Floating Tree House by Doryn Herbst
Flying Ant Day by Tim Relf
Fade by Amy L King
The first trees by Laurence Levy-Atkinson
Swing song by Claire Urquhart
Morning News by Nina Parmenter
Cheese in a budget hotel room by Holly Magill
The First Day by Luigi Coppola
So many amoebas by Hannah McCann
Nostos by Alice Stainer
My Granada students want to know why I moved to Spain by Becky May
Birdsong by Tim Stobierski
Homemade Treat by Ronnie Sirmans
Love Begins Off the Record by Meredith Macleod Davidson
Sometimes, there is happiness by Elizabeth M Castillo
Apricity by Barry Hollow
Drinking My Coffee in Winter by Erich von Hungen
Portrait of my mother at the kitchen sink by Jeanette Burton
You are more of a poet at five than I will ever be by Victoria Spires
The Difference Between Swallows & Swifts by Julian Bishop
Bedtime Stories by Jane Bloomfield
Poem of Respite Written with Ultraviolet Light by Adam Gianforcaro
At the Service Station by Carolyn Oulton
Laundry Day by Paul Short
stop gifting me bookmarks by Eugenia Pozas
Rare Day in Edinburgh by Martin Potter
In our bed by Nancy Huggett
When We Come Back As Horses by Mary Ford Neal
Sashaying Away by Aidan Coyle
One Perfect Rose Head by Aidan Coyle
A note on reading: If you are reading this issue on a phone you may find that switching to desktop view restores the intended structure and line breaks of the broader poems.
Emma Haworth
Represented by Rebecca Hossack Gallery, Haworth’s paintings are inspired by poems, fairy tales, stories or biblical tales that have a relationship with our contemporary society. The places she paints are magical, full of secrets and hints of stories.
A new book of Emma’s work,’ To everything there is a season’, with over 60 images, forward by Caitlin Moran and writing by Matthew Sturgis is available at all good bookshops.
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