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 sc…
Editors' Note
Issue 38: Playground
Odd Bookers: Celebrating the African Child: Author and Social Entrepreneur Kopano Kalvyn More Leading the Change.
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 insig…
Issue 38: Playground
Odd Bookers: A tree, a bud and a flower
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 ca…
Issue 38: Playground
Odd Bookers: Books You Have to Read Before You Grow Up
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 menta…
Issue 38: Playground
Playground
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…
Issue 38: Playground
Orphan with The Red Trunk
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…
Issue 38: Playground
Where the Sky is Blue
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. W…
Issue 38: Playground
Playground Poetry Pack
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, To…
Issue 38: Playground
The Playground
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 t…
Issue 38: Playground
Pavement
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…
Issue 38: Playground
Mixtape: Odd Playground
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 also …
Featured
Tell Me 3 Things About Yourself
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…
Interviews
Odd Magazine Music Feature: BlaQ-Slim
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 words…
Interviews
Odd Interview: Fireboy DML
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 creative…
Interviews
Odd Magazine Music Feature: George Kalukusha
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…
Interviews
Ten Favourite Childhood Movies
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,…
Issue 38: Playground
Let Them Play
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…
Issue 38: Playground
Toys
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…
Interviews
DHS Days of Change
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…
Issue 38: Playground
An Odd Journey: The Playground
A Short Story Series By Amir Bagheri Part II The Playground Ramana The apartment was an old one; perhaps thirty or forty years old, if not older. It looked a lot better in reality than it appeared in…
Issue 38: Playground
Open Mouth
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 …
Art
Odd Artist of the Month: Gabriela Houston
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
Issue 38: Playground
Pandemic Playground Photo Series: Jade King and Eleanor Fatharly
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…
Issue 38: Playground
Photo Series: KC Bailey
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 …
