The Seaside Stories

 children catching crabs that don't belong to them a dog with one leg sometimes I can't hear my own thoughts if you put a seashell against your ear,      will you?

  Eeva Maria al-Khazaali's second publication, Että Näkisin Siitä Unia ( That I Would Dream About It), is a unique collection of gripping poems. Stylistically alternating, That I Would Dream About It ranges from concise and witty epigrams & haiku of female experience to more gushing & anaphoric verses, such as Uni ( Dream) . The alternating styles of writing keeps the reader on their toes, and each piece of work makes the reader stop, think, re-read and think again.  Image source: Isabel Andersson @isabelsson Eeva Maria al-Khazaali Instagram @iameevamaria Buy your copy of  That I Would Dream About It  here . Eeva Maria al-Khazaali is a writer based in Northern Finland - in Oulu, to be precise. Alongside poetry work, al-Khazaali has written for a variety of magazines in both Finnish and English, hence That I Would Dream About It has been published in those two languages, making Finnish art available to readers who haven't tackled our beautiful language jus...

Hi everyone! It's been a good while, I know... a lot has been going on during lockdown. Some good, some bad. One of the good things is that I finally launched my own art-lit magazine called Lux Lucet Zine, which gives an opportunity for artists to publish their work and reach a wider audience! You can find more information  here . I have been reading lots during lockdown, but one book in particular has stayed with me for a few weeks and I have nearly finished it (for it is 400 pages long!) and that is Dracula  (1897) by Bram Stoker. Having always wanted to read it, I finally found a copy in a second hand bookshop on Fossgate. I have to say it took me by surprise - Dracula isn't a sleazy, "oily" man after all. It's not even a love story, however many times it is depicted that way. Apparently, the closest to an accurate adaptation of the book is a 1922 silent film Nosferatu and that's all, none of the recent, more romantic, versions are. I have to a...

Hello everyone! Hope you are as well as can be during these mad times. If there is a silver lining to this, it's the fact that now it's impossible to come up with an excuse to not pick up that book that's burning in your bookcase and read it! I am (once again) juggling three books in one go (to be honest, one of them is a series of small, academic books). I just can't help it! I love alternating, although all of the works I am currently keeping near are in the factual sphere of things. You need to keep your brain active even (or especially) if you're in self-isolation! What book or creative work are you currently reading? Comment below The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan A massive yet intense yet beautiful brick of a book, covering the history of the famous Silk Roads (roads which saw the flowing of goods, religions, people, diseases etc.). The book refuses the Eurocentric view of the world history, which is taught in European s...

Hello everyone. I would love to start of jolly, wishing that everyone's had a great week so far, alas here we are... The world is full of anger and resentment, as well as confusion and fear. Other people are happy to stay in and work creatively, so the reactions to this are all different... However, Boris has finally ordered a lockdown to happen, so no one is about and it feels like it's a Sunday, everyday! (I secretly love it...) Just remember to respect the NHS staff and the elderly and the people who might be most affected by this. Be kind and be respectful. Namaste. Whilst we are looking at possibly staying inside for weeks on end (or even months, as my university sessions are online only until September!) I thought I'd fix up a little online reading recommendations list to keep you entertained, especially if you're avoiding libraries and book stores. Here are my recommended self-isolation reads, facts and fiction, accompanied by pics from our trip to London ...

Click the link below for my interview and an extract of 'The Hawtrey Curse' from last Friday's episode of BBC Upload! So grateful I got into the show, it was a great experience 🙏  The programme starts at 16 minutes in and my story about a minute later, followed by the interview. Enjoy and let me know what you think!  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p082799q Nelli x

Hello everyone! I hope you're doing well! At times when I'm down, stressed or just need something to lift me up and I struggle to focus with my current reads, I go back to my favourites. Something about going back to those familiar worlds and letting yourself completely be absorbed by characters and text you know inside out is comforting. It's like going back to one's happy place, but created by someone else than you. You just love to be in it. It might remind you of the place you first read it at or a certain part of your life - or neither of those - and all the story does is make you feel at ease. In this post I want to introduce you to five of my comfort reads (in no particular order, apart from the first two ;) )  Are any of these on your go-to list? (All photos from various tumblr sites) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde I remember when this book got assigned for me to read for our literature class in Finland when I was about 16 or 17 years old. A...

Dear readers! Hope you're having a fantastic week. Have you been reading much? If yes, what's hot for you right now? Leave a comment below! I'm always reading 2-3 books at the same time. I mean, not literally but I will keep a couple of options on my night stand and on our coffee table as for me, what I want to read depends on my mood. I'm a big on autobiographical books and memoirs because I am always super interested in lived experience: it doesn't matter who they are or what they did, I just want to know how they felt, what did they say or do with their friends or family, what is/was their intimate passion. Without further ado, let me introduce my current reads: Over the Top ,  Mao: A Very Short Introduction and  Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night Time Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness For my birthday Joe got me nearly all of the memoirs of the Queer Eye cast; I got Tan, I got Karamo. JVN was the last one missing from the collec...