‘nawr’ for the Now: A Celebration of Contemporary Welsh Writing
By Cathy Symes
Edited by Annabel Wearring-Smith
Martha O’Brien, the chosen author of our upcoming letter, is also the co-editor, along with Anna Bland of nawr. nawr is an online, soon to be in print magazine, publishing contemporary Welsh Art, Literature & Philosophy and is designed by Anja Quinn Design.
Martha’s letter emerges from the landscape of South Wales, so it is not surprising that the philosophy behind the journal she co-founded is to explore how creativity can be uplifted through national identity. Its name nawr, (Cymraeg for ‘now’) reflects a celebration of the contemporary, its contributors joyfully explore what it is to be Welsh today. Each edition is themed. Aptly, the theme for its 10th edition, its last online, was that of ‘growing up.’
Martha tells us that the journal came from a desire to share work from and within Wales, without needing to adhere to any prescriptivist ideas of Welshness. Its content, spanning different artistic platforms, has a vibrancy which takes you from the present to the past, through the personal and to the collective.
nawr is a diverse and outward looking journal, filled with dynamic conversations, from new and established Welsh artists and writers: including those who have found home in Wales and those who have moved away. At a time when national identity can be used as a point of exclusion, there is much to be learnt in an approach which joyfully invites a contemporary reimagining of what it means to be Welsh and places this firmly in a wider international landscape.
In reflection of the magazine and zine scene in Wales they have decided to move to print and whilst previous editions will be available online new editions will only be available to buy on limited edition runs (for the time being).
As you may be able to tell we loved this journal and discovered it through our publishing of Martha’s fabulous letter (remember, submit us a letter if you want to read it!). nawr is a gift we would like to share with you. So, join us in the queue for to snap up their in-print runs, and follow them along at @nawrmag on all social media platforms to find out what they’re up to!
The Letters Page team are back in the office, and ready to read your real letters again. We publish stories, essays, poems, memoir, reportage, criticism, recipes, travelogue, and any hybrid forms, so long as they come to us in the form of a letter. We are looking for writers of all nationalities and ages, both established and emerging.
Your letter must be sent in the post, to :
The Letters Page, School of English, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
See our submissions page for more information.
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