Sense

Kamena MagazineLeave a comment

peter page.pngPilgrims bound by empathy
Return to the mines of entropy,
Guided by the Godly wisdom
Of Corpus Christ’s stockholm syndrome.

Sunlight shines just behind
The corrupted loom of woodland,
And canopies shade the soil
From what the clarity would lend.
By the charity of bondage
They weigh every next decision.

Nearing an open clearing,
Their minds are forcefully undressed,
And visions rhyme out
As they stand in their arrest:

A mound of broken shackles,
Liberty buried beneath.
The sound of spoken silence,
Swords wielded without sheath.
A room with four walls and no door —
A room with a ceiling and no floor.

 

by Peter Page

A Brief Guide to Getting Published

Kamena MagazineLeave a comment

The hardest part of getting your work published in literary magazines is not the submission process or finding the magazines, or even finding the inspiration: it is the motivation to start, and beyond that the motivation to keep going once the rejections start to pile up in your inbox. The same inbox that you cannot bring yourself to make a special email folder for because of the thick income of template ‘unfortunately, the piece is not for us’ from editors. Continue reading →

The Little Mermaid

Kamena MagazineLeave a comment

The girl was paid to be a mermaid. Every evening she fought her way into a mermaid’s tail made of cheap nylon and sequins. The sequins scratched her bare thighs and left behind a purplish rash that wouldn’t heal. Her hair grew coarse and sticky with salt. When she got back to her apartment, usually just as the sun was rising, she curled up in a narrow bed and dreamed of far-off beaches with sand as white as diamonds, and heard the distant roar and slap of the sea. Continue reading →

Review of Tim Leach’s Smile of the Wolf

Kamena Magazine1 Comment

9781788544115“The Smile of the Wolf” tells the story of two friends; Kjaran and Gunnar and how their hunt for a ghost turns into a struggle for survival, honour and love.

Tim Leach’s book paints a painfully vivid yet entrancing image of eleventh century Iceland. It is a harsh land whose people have laws to match. Yet it is also a beautiful land, a place of solace for those wanting to escape the yoke of kings. The setting reflects the story – the contrasts of the land embrace the contrasts of the characters. Kjaran is a skald, a poet, who has never killed but shapes the world with his songs. Gunnar is a battle-hardened warrior, who is often at loss for words. The delicacy and hardness of Iceland can be found in these two men. Continue reading →