Orbis 211, Spring 2025

Front cover artwork: ‘Plein Air’ by Jerry LoFaro:
www.jerrylofarodesigns.com/

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Orbis 200:  What a beautiful looking edition ! Must get this. 
Congratulations on the magazine’s longevity and high standards

  (Anna Saunders, Director at Cheltenham Poetry Festival)

Orbis 200: ‘All the best to you, and to Orbis!’
(Glyn Maxwell; shortlisted for Best Collection in the Forward Prize)


‘Best wishes for the journal –
and congratulations on such a successful magazine over the years’
(Joy Harjo, United States Poet Laureate)

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Single issue: £6.00 (Overseas: £12/€14/$16);
Subs: £20/4 pa (Overseas: £45/€55/$60)

Associate Editor (Book Reviews): Maria Isakova-Bennett

Reviews by:
Philip Dunkerley, David Harmer, Jenny Hockey,
D.A.Prince, Theresa Sowerby, Pam Thompson

Please note with new collections, press release in first instance
to the Book Reviews Editor – not review copies.

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At long last, a wee bit of sunshine – but don’t get too carried away.
After all, as Simon Maddrell points out, we’re all alone, thinking,
maybe even wondering what happened to Pat Marum and The Disappeared?
But if you’re ready for A Sound Decision with Jim C. Wilson, Abrahm Beezley
will put it to The Test, allowing for Compressed Time (Diana Pinto),
or for S. C. Flynn to come to the Rescue. Can you maybe solve
Angela Martinot’s quandary: What is that elephant doing in my dream
while Steven Taylor will tell you about another strange Encounter,
like Blaithin Allain and The Sea Bride, or Fran Bourassa, on The Land.
And what’s the difference between John Gilham’s Flâneur
and Rob McClure’s Flâneuse?
Orbis has the answers….

Featured Writer

Julie Burke

The cry of the horseman
Goldilocks: a reflection on a life of crime
A bookish sort of woman
Embraced

Hidden in plain sight

Poets include Blaithin Allain (The Sea Bride); S. C. Flynn (Children of the ice);
Michael Foley (The old man and the wind); Natalie Fry (The Land Turtle);
Rob McClure (The Relativity of Simultaneity); Angela Martinot
(What is that elephant doing in my dream?); Diana Pinto (Compressed Time)

Prose from Gary Duehr (Who’s Afraid Of Bob?);
Ayelet McKenzie (The member of the singing group);
Harry Waight (Man is born on fire)

Translation:
Ma Yongbo and Helen Pletts: 山中醉酒 (Getting Drunk in the Mountains)

Past Master: Pat Farrington on Anne Bradstreet  

Orbis 211 Contributors also include
Aidan Baker; Arthur Broomfield; David Callin; Fíona Donaghey;
Pablo Dubois; Michael Foley; Eve Jackson; Alex Josephy; Ben Keatinge;
Janet Laugharne; Linda King; Robert Leach; Jane McLaughlin;
S Kimbrough McLendon; Sara McNeil; Michael Milburn; Sari Pauloma;
Jean Prior; Purbasha Roy; David Thompson; Natalie Wolf  

Show:  Dear Evan Hansen

Location: Chester Storyhouse

On tour until July 5

Date: Tuesday, 18th March – Saturday, 22nd March

Time: 7.30

Running Time: 150 minutes

Age Rating: 12+

Book: Steven Levenson

Music & Lyrics: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
Director:
Adam Penford

Set, Costume & Co-Video Designer: Morgan Large

Musical Director: Michael Bradley
Choreographer: Carrie-Anne Ingrouille
Sound Designer: Tom Marshall
Lighting Designer: Matt Daw

What a tangled web we weave, but ultimately it can be ourselves we deceive, even though we imagine we are doing something with the best of intentions. And once it starts to unravel, impossible to escape the consequences. In this instance, Evan has followed his therapist’s suggestion to write himself a letter to help with self-affirmation, but when it’s stolen by so-called villain, Connor, and tragedy ensues, the former ends up almost an honorary son in the latter’s family.

So often, children feel lost, yet their parents do not necessarily know where to go either. Or what to do. Heidi Hansen (a passionate turn in every respect by Alice Fearn) is preoccupied with her job and her studies, trying to make life better for her son, and doesn’t give him the time and attention he needs, Conversely, the Murphys have plenty of money, while Cynthia (Helen Anker), another seemingly strong woman, Is a stay at home wife and mother but still they are largely a family of strangers headed by Richard Hurst whose Larry is a decent man completely at a loss.

A further complication, having heard about this show, but knowing nothing about it, it’s difficult to decide exactly what to describe so that watching it will have the same impact on others as it did on me. At one reveal for example, there came an audible ‘Uh-oh’ from a member of the audience. Not only that, with all the raw emotion on display, your heart sinks over and over again particularly because Evan Hansen is such a nervous wreck as you watch him stumble through life. Ryan Kopel portrays him so brilliantly that the man taking a bow seems like a totally different person. In fact, it’s quite astounding the way the entire audience as so riveted when it could be as difficult to engage with several of the other characters: needy Alana, obsessed as much with social media as with being popular (Vivian Panka) and the infuriating sex-mad computer genius, Evan’s cousin, Jared (Tom Dickerson). Then we have the bad boy, Connor, whom Killian Thomas Lefevre brings to life in a stunning performance, which is…well, using outlandish to illustrate his hilarious clowning around may be a bit unfair, but his antics are in keeping with that exotic name. By contrast, the endearing heroine Zoe is courtesy of Lauren Conroy, who somehow manages to make her relationship with Evan almost believable; much as he grows stronger and more resilient – braver, throughout the musical, he is still basically a nerd.

And beautifully staged, from real-life domestic interiors of kitchens and bedrooms (even Evan’s bed looks horribly uncomfortable) to school halls, and outdoor, to the use of technology to evoke today’s world of blogs and Instagram etc –  isn’t viral perhaps one of the most loaded adjectives you can have?  Other effects include illuminating lighting and the constantly sliding glass screens which heighten the sense of isolation which affects everybody at some point: feeling alone even in a crowd.

It’s an extraordinary, exceptional show – call it maybe the best musical ever and I won’t argue, dealing with everyday subjects (family and friendship), plus, even more original in tackling the unbelievably difficult issues which make us all vulnerable such as grief and mental health; so much easier to sympathize with Evan’s visibly broken arm than his social anxiety. And all the more amazing due to the remarkable songs and music, off to a splendid start with the whimsical ‘Anybody Have a Map?’, then from the humour of ‘Sincerely, Me’ to the poignance of ‘For Forever’, ‘Words Fail’ and ‘So Big/So Small’, all from equally remarkable musicians and singers. Heartbreaking and heartwarming, the result was a full-hearted reception from an enraptured audience.

9/10

Fish Publishing Short Memoir Prize

Word Limit: 4,000

Closes: 31 January 2025

Results: 1 April 2025; Anthology published: July 2025

Entry Fees: €20; €14 subsequent entries
(Optional Critique €56)

Prizes:
1st: €1000
 2nd & 3rd: Writing Course (online) + € 300;
Best 10 memoirs published in the FISH ANTHOLOGY 2025
Judge: Ted Simon
Online writing courses in short story, flash fiction, poetry and memoir;

and full range of editorial services for writers, see www.fishpublishing.com

Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition 2025

Judge: Kit Fan
40 lines maximum per poem
Open to anyone aged 16 or over, from anywhere in the world
Deadline 31 Jan 2025
Seven Prizes from £1000 to £50 plus publication in annual ‘Folio’ anthology
Entry £5 per poem; 3 or more poems £4 each
Details atwww.kentandsussexpoetry.com

Limnisa Short Story Competition

Don’t just dream about it—write your way to paradise

The annual Limnisa Short Story Competition is open for submissions

*Maximum. 1500 words

Deadline: February 2nd, 2025

*Stories in English

*Theme: ‘August Blue’

*Contribution: Free. But please share the competition and follow us on social media

Win a writing holiday with your sort story.

Read the rules: www.limnisa.com

November 25

Bradt Travel Guides & The Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards

Unpublished writers

Three finalists invited to attend the prize-giving:
the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards Presented by Viking in London in early 2025

1st prize: 4-night break to Pas-de-Calais in northern France, with a tailormade itinerary taking in the region’s towns, coastal villages, countryside and cultural sites.

Winner also commissioned to write an article about their trip,
to be published on the Bradt website, as well as in Traveller magazine.
2 runners-ups: three Bradt guides of their choice.

All shortlisted pieces published on the Bradt website.

Judges: Hilary Bradt, founder of Bradt Guides; Adrian Phillips, MD of Bradt Guides;

Hugh Brune, Commercial Director of Bradt Guides; Amy Sohanpaul, editor of Traveller Magazine; Jonathan Lorie, travel-writing trainer and author of The Travel Writer’s Way.

Theme: ‘A Hasty Exit’

NB, do not use as title but original piece of writing, 600 and 800 words
which focuses on this topic. Not compulsory to include the phrase
but must very clearly adhere to this theme: true story,
based on the writer’s personal experience, written as a first-hand account,
in the first person and in English.
Travel Writing Competition, Bradt Guides, 31A High Street, Chesham, Bucks HP5 1BW

www.bradtguides.com/new-travel-writer-of-the-year-2025/

The 39th Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition

Judge: Kim Moore

Deadline: 30 November 2024

Submission: A collection of 20 pages of poetry
Prize: The two winners will receive expert close editing and support in extending their entry
if they wish to up to 28 pages for pamphlet publication
under our award-winning imprint Smith|Doorstop Books.
They also receive £500 each, publication in The North magazine,
and readings at The Wordsworth Trust and online.
Four runners-up receive publication in a feature in The North magazine,
an online reading and an honorarium of £100 each.
Cost: Full-price entry is £29.
Subscribers to The North, Friends of the Poetry Business, and members of the Poetry Society
are eligible for the discounted fee of £27.
All entrants receive a 10% code that can be used to purchase Poetry Book Society membership.
More details:
https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/competitions/the-international-book-pamphlet-competition/

The 2024 National Poetry Competition

Run annually by The Poetry Society since 1978,
one of the most prestigious poetry competitions for a single unpublished poem

Open to all poets worldwide aged 18 or over

1st prize: £5000
2nd: £2000; 3rd: £1000; commendations: £500 each.
Top three winners published in The Poetry Society’s journal The Poetry Review

Notified by the end of February 2025; awards event, Spring 2025

Judges: Romalyn Ante, John McAuliffe, Stephen Sexton
Fee: £8, then £5 each.
Poetry Society members (including those joining at time of submission): one additional poem free.

Length: 40 lines

Enter online by midnight on October 31

www.poetrysociety.org.uk/npc

The Bedford Competition

International Short Story & Poetry Awards
Over 17s
Deadline: 31 October 2024

Short Story Competition – up to 3000 words Poetry Competition – up to 40 lines

TBC is a nonprofit group, with donations made to literary causes

Short Story judge: Liv Maidment; Poetry Judge: Jessica Mookherjee

Prizes: £1500, £300 and £200

Cygnature Prizes, sponsored by the University of Bedfordshire, for writers aged 17-25
Also, prizes for local Bedford residents

Entry fees: £8.50 or 3 for £17. Students, £6 or 3 for £12

Details: www.bedfordwritingcompetition.co.uk

Sonnet or Not 2024

Cannon Poets invite you to submit poems of 14 lines –

which may or may not keep close to the sonnet form – (or not at all!)

First Prize: £500

Judge: Deborah Alma

www.cannonpoets.org.uk

or Hon. Sec. Cannon Poets, 22, Margaret Grove, Birmingham, B17 9JH

Closing date 31st October

Ironbridge Festival Poetry Competition
Closing Date: October 20
Open to poets from across the globe, and poems on any and every subject are welcome
1st prize: £300
2nd prize of £125; 3 x 3d prizes of £25 each. Local prize: £50
Maximum length: 35 lines Fee: £4.00; £10.00/3
Judge: Paul Francis
https://pandemonialists.co.uk/ironbridge-poetry-competition-2024/

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