From the Archive: Far Off Places. October 2014
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Who are the editors and contributors of Far Off Places?
We prowl the jukebox jungle, eyes reflective as a moon-chromed hubcap, two-tone roundels for our ears.
You're listening to a Scottish Poetry Library podcast.
Hello, my name is Jennifer Williams and I'm the program manager at the Scottish Poetry Library. I have a special treat for you today because rather than me conducting this podcast interview, I have a guest interviewer here with me. who is my friend Jessica Johannesson Gaetan, my colleague at the library and a wonderful writer herself, also expert in translation, the art of translation, and has been helping me out here at the library by putting together one of our events in the autumn program. And it's a very special event. And I think actually I'm going to let her tell you all about it and tell you why we've got these marvelous people here with us today.
Thank you, Jennifer. My name is Jessica, as Jennifer said, and welcome to the SPL podcast. Today, we've got the magazine Far Off Places with us. This is an Edinburgh-based magazine, you could say, but it's also very international, and I think we'll hear just how come in the coming few minutes. We've got editors Keris Astin and Annie Rutherford with us. Hi, Carys. Hi, Addie. Hi. And we've also got one of the magazine's contributors, or many contributors with us, Niall Foley.
Hi.
Hi, Niall. So, I believe Niall has actually had both prose and poetry published in the magazine, is that correct?
I have indeed, yeah.
But you've got a few poems with you today to read for us.
I have indeed, yeah. Would you like me to begin with one? That would be wonderful.
I think we should start with a poem.
Yeah, this is going to be a short snappy way to begin. It's one of a series of poems about moments in an airport. And this one's called The Airport, part one. Why again am I sweating in an airport? Shaking shit from my rough arse, bloated guts, sore head and lost soul. Swearing I will never drink again.
That is a wonderful way of starting a podcast.
Well, listen, the thing is, it can only improve from here on in.
Which brings us into maybe talking a little bit about what kind of magazine is this? I remember first coming across the magazine and it was presented as the magazine of written whimsy. So, whimsical. What is whimsical about far-off places?
Oh, that's a good question. I should probably say at this point we're sort of We're vaguely rebranding because Keris made a very good point that we are whimsical, but we're more than that. But I think originally what we wanted to do and what we still very much want to do is have something which is a very beautiful object and something which you don't look at it and think, oh my goodness, it's a giant poetry book. And I think that poetry and literature can be quite scary in a way. A lot of people are put off by it and we wanted to have something that was lighthearted and drew people in And I suppose what's whimsical about us really is actually not necessarily the magazine itself, but sort of everything around it.
The emails that we send to contributors, our social media, we work really hard to have a particular... very light-hearted touch and we have lovely bizarre relationships with contributors as a result of that. I think also to begin with we thought that the magazine would be more whimsical sort of a space for the poems that didn't necessarily fit in in other places or that sort of had a particular life of their own weren't too staid or serious. Which is definitely still the case and we've always we have a spot right at the For our first issue, we got an email from a young writer that we know, just before the deadline, saying, I've been trying to do something for this, and I couldn't come up with anything for the theme, which was Fairy Tales Retold, and I've come up with this, but it's not very good, and you don't have to take it, and it's fine.
And we read it, and it was Ugly Sister Lonely Heart by Leah Sanders. Ugly sister would like to meet handsome prince who still believes in the magic of romance. Must be willing to engage in dancing and general gallantry.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
Who are the editors and contributors of Far Off Places?
0:01–6:19
2
What makes Far Off Places a unique literary magazine?
6:19–16:35
3
How do the editors select submissions for the magazine?
16:35–23:41
4
What themes do the contributors explore in their works?
23:41–34:41
5
How does the magazine balance poetry and prose?
34:41–35:14