October 2018 By Sarah Leck Spring – four years ago We had 2 picnic blankets spread under the few cherry blossom trees behind your apartment building. They held an assortment of chips and snacks, poker cards scattered from playing King’s Cup, our friends lolling around in laughter and easy conversation. We were all drunk on […]
Editors’ Note
Editor’s Note: September 2018
September 2018 By Juwayriya Bemath For a while now, I’ve been asking myself where I fit in. The sense of belonging has always felt ephemeral if not altogether elusive. The constant brick-laying and demolition of identity and personality often does this to us — it leaves us wondering where our parts fit a little more […]
The Cities
A Narrative Essay By Chariklia Martalas I can hear Johannesburg breathe at night. The hum of the cars travelling in her veins while her heart beats, an exhalation of moving stillness. Lights flickering so we know she is dreaming. What does it mean to find a home in the living breathing entity of a city? What […]
Editor’s Note: August 2018
August 2018 By Amir Bagheri I have a brother who is seven years younger than me. The age gap between the two of us might not be that large, but the differences in our thinking, worldview, and ways of dealing with life, differs vividly enough for me to accept and understand that he is of […]
Editor’s Note: July 2018
July 2018 Statement of Birth By Shameelah Khan (Transcribed from a short interview over coffee with my mother) Name: Shameelah Khan (almost not though) Age: one week (according to my mother) Weight: 2.5 kgs (again- but my father slightly confirmed this) Race: X (my mother said that in 1992 it didn’t matter to have a […]
Editor’s Note: June 2018
June 2018 By Amir Bagheri I was sitting right in front of her, at one of my favourite family restaurants in the heart of Johannesburg. A few days prior to that day, I had found out about her infidelity and had confronted her about it. I did not mean to hurt her by informing her about […]
Editor’s Note: May 2018
May 2018 By Shameelah Khan In this Issue of Odd Magazine, the theme Nostalgia was selected. This editor’s note was not an easy one, so I had asked a friend for advice on how best to approach a topic like this. As always, her advice had soothed me, “Just write nostalgia- as you have your […]
Editor’s Note: April 2018
April 2018 By Corey Joseph At sixteen, my physics teacher wrote in my leavers book: “You grew on me like some sort of infectious virus.” It was a sweet thing to say considering just how persistently annoying I had been as a student. I was mischievous, abuzz with energy, and untrained in the art of […]
Odd Editor’s Note: March 2018
March 2018 By Amir Bagheri (i) A letter to my mom Salaam Maamaan, About a month ago, I was given the task to write an editor’s note about “women”. I have been thinking about it for weeks now. You have been at the centre of my thoughts because almost everything I know about women has […]
Odd Editor’s Note: February 2018
February 2018 By Shameelah Khan This issue is dedicated to the memory of Hugh Masekela and Professor Kgositsile. May their blessed souls rest in peace. Where there is death, there is also life. This issue marks the 2nd birthday of Odd Magazine. We would thus like to say a very happy birthday to Odd […]