Editors’ Note – April 2021
by Shameelah Khan Gremlins A very Happy Easter to everyone celebrating. I used to love the film Gremlins, but I don’t anymore. I hold the memories of the playground and everything about my primary…
by Shameelah Khan Gremlins A very Happy Easter to everyone celebrating. I used to love the film Gremlins, but I don’t anymore. I hold the memories of the playground and everything about my primary…
by Zaakirah Cassim Cachalia Encouraging African pride and empowering children through positive words and life-affirming messages Bringing to the literary scene a wealth of societal and cultural insi…
By Radiyah Manjoo Dearest reader, As it happens, you will see red clothing constantly until February comes around, and when you need something red for some trite Valentine’s day event, suddenly you …
By Kelly Ansara I realise I’m addressing this theme from a rather one-dimensional viewpoint. I know that I could’ve been more creative with the idea of playgrounds and books, and how they can be m…
A Poem By Al amin al Hassan Take me down memory lane Walk me past the playground Hold me to the sound of hands clapping And feet dancing My face bloated with delight My body b…
A Poem by Alun Robert inspiration from a photograph by Angela Catlin of refugee children fleeing in Mosul during 2017 carries the world on her back like a snail through the mire bites her lip with …
A Poem by Samantha Buck Where the sky is blue. Where rules don’t matter. Where everybody is friends. Where walking on hands is normal. Where someone is always it. Where rolie polie olies are sacred.…
A Poem by Lorelei Bacht Prickly Pears We have no interiority. We happen on playgrounds, Through violent doings. Our insides dark, unknowable – We turn catapult, projectile, …
A Poem By Wale Ope On some days, give me heaven; give me the chance to refold myself into the body of that teenage boy I was. Adulthood is a fault line that pains. On some days, put me on a replay …
A Poem By Peter Burrows Legs running, legs running to the far end Of the street, echoing stampede of feet After feet. Down again, up again, gather, Disperse. My sister comes over first. Others f…
By Amir Bagheri More often than usual, playgrounds bring with them an abundance of memories: the more leisurely days of childhood, friends, laughter, and sometimes tears. Like me, perhaps, you als…
by Shameelah Khan When a majority of people think about Cape Town, many things come to mind. The mother city, known for its increasing tourism, lush landscapes, high mountains and exquisite scenery. H…
BlaQ-Slim released his new single “Polo” earlier this month and Odd Magazine is here to give you some insider info on the artist, share the brilliant artwork used by BlaQ-Slim, and give you some w…
by Angelo de Klerk & Amir Bagheri Amir and I recently got to interview the young, talented artist, Fireboy DML. We got to discuss how the Nigerian artist’s upbringing influenced him as a creat…
George Kalukusha, the Malawian music artist, treads over multiple genres as a songwriter. Still, he holds true to the lyricism of Folk, the melodic structures of Pop and the groove of Afro music. Kalu…
by Sam Aberdeen I guess I should start this list with a disclaimer: everyone had different childhood experiences, and the movies that accompanied them. Some fondly remember films from the 70s and 80s,…
by Jacinta Chiamaka Ogiji You were there, staring deep into the hearts of everyone. You wished you could see. You wished you could see what you didn’t have. A tin can wrapped in leaves was scatt…
by Prenesa Naidoo You confused me when you asked me out to dinner. You asked me on a cold morning, when I was walking to class, dodging cars, and making my way through The Secret History, a boo…
by Sudeshan Reddy (Class of 1993) In late December 2020, four men ,in their mid-40s, met in Johannesburg for the first time in nearly three decades and took a stroll down memory lane. On that su…
A Short Story Series By Amir Bagheri — — — — — Part II — — — — — The apartment was an old one; perhaps thirty or forty years old, if not old…
by Avrina Prabala–Joslin Sometimes, all I want from a sheet of paper is for it to sit on the table. It can sit empty for hours without end but at least, there, sitting. Empty. Open like a mouth …
To my daughter by the riverside Don’t fret, baby, the rusalka won’t harm you She has her own problems now The river waters are too murky For her to see the autumn sun
Pandemic Playgrounds by Jade King This is a collection of photographs of pandemic playgrounds. It’s sad that a restriction of play was necessary for our survival, and I often think about the eff…
Haunting Happiness By KC Bailey Re-play Ground The children playgiggle, skip, hide & seek joyous facestwirling, Hula hooping crisp cotton shirts, slate grey shorts and September dresses crowns of…