#fourthissue

In Focus
Retreat by Marcin Sendecki

Sendecki’s poem is a plot of image and meaning with a characteristically dramatic aura, its microscenes simultaneously intriguing and disturbing.

Fiction
Visit by László Sepsi

In the criminal underworld of László Sepsi’s upcoming novel Territorium, talk never really was an option and violence comes with the territory.

In Focus
pictures from an exhibition * by Peter Šulej

A poem with a unique strategy of internal, authorial intertextuality, not merely literary play, but a means of perceiving the world.

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.

Fiction
Fatherlessland by Michael Stein

American expat in Prague, Michael Stein recalls the various opportunities the haunted historic city confronted him with his Jewish heritage.

Poetry
The Home for Crazy Girls by Márta Júlia Nagy

In Márta Júlia Nagy’s poem, a home for beautiful crazy girls lies rotting as if from a modern nightmare or a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.

Fiction
Superposition by László András

In this short story by András László, a nameless narrator recounts the grim tale of Károly Kósa Jr., Károly Kósa Sr. and the bloody axe.

Poetry
Osmosis by János Marno

The Hungarian poet János Marno considers the bright optimism of the ageing Jorge Luis Borges in the face of death, and a new life in Buenos Aires.