Non-Fiction
The Hungarian Law That Blocked Women’s Education by Hope Reese

In her horrifyingly factual essay, American journalist Hope Reese writes about the tragic fates of Hungarian women under the shadow of the 1920’s sntisemitic laws.

Non-Fiction
The Ballad of The Chelsea Hotel by Legs McNeil

Legendary US music journalist Legs McNeil recounts the sometimes dark, sometimes dazzling history of punk rock and the iconic Chelsea Hotel.

Poetry
The Personification of Nothing by János Marno

An aphoristic one-word poem by veteran Hungarian poet János Marno that captures both the black humor and the utter pessimism of noir.

Issue 05

Young & Beautiful

“Beauty is youth, youth beauty,” as John Keats almost wrote. At least in Central Europe, there is rarely a wedding, baptism, high school graduation, or even simple family gathering where words resembling these are not heard, usually from the mouths of grandmothers and great-grandmothers who are gently wiping the tears of joy and adoration from their eyes. These same grandmothers try to embolden their teenager grandchildren, who are wandering through mazes of self-doubt and beset with anxieties over their looks, with a hasty dismissal: “nonsense! Young people are all beautiful!”

Poetry
A Decade-Long Road by Yuliya Musakovska

A poem that seems to be caught in the wind by the roadside, glancing both ways: back to a dreamlike childhood and with hungry eyes to the future.


Poetry
Summer’s End by Yuliya Musakovska

This poem asks us to remember and savour our summer of good friends and bad poems as, with a hopeful heart, we press on into the rain and grey mist.

Poetry
For My Good by Csenger Kertai

Storm, flood and overflowing river: Csenger Kertai talks about love in his poem with strong, impressionistic images.

Poetry
Maypole by Csenger Kertai

In this impressionistic love poem by Csenger Kertai, the confession of a lover intermingles with the image of the Maypole.