Issue number seven
Articles from our latest edition.
Beachy Head
A creative piece consisting of a compilation of poems capturing the essence of what it is like to live in the seaside town that is Brighton.
Ironside’s creative flow is captivated through her pieces Beachy Head, School Reunion, Sea View, Collective Nouns and others. We are given an insight into Ironside’s perspective of the world; in the form of day-to-day life, as well as through her interpretation of the natural beauty encompassed by the sea.
Karen Ironside
Beauty and the Beast: A Fairytale with a Twist
Critique of two film adaptations of the classic fairytale beyond the ‘Happy Ever After’ surface, exploring thematic and narrative differences.
Using Leprince de Beaumont’s 1756 text as a starting point, this essay looks at two 20th century interpretations of ‘Beauty and the Beast’: Jean Cocteau’s surrealist 1946 take, and the Walt Disney animated classic of 1991. Examining psychological notions of othering and repressed desires in the Beast’s characterization, she also delves into a feminist reading of the character of Belle.
Nina Molnar
Cinema: A reflective journal
In this reflective journal, Still comments on his artistic development and the changing nature of cinema during his time at a community placement.
Still explores notions of the cinematic as a poetic medium, and also as a means of community engagement. Looking back, he charts the ongoing process, immersing himself with local writers and documenting his experiences in a series of experimental poems.
Jason Still
Jeepers Creepers: Childhood and Psychological Terrors in Horror Fiction
A critical piece analysing the exploitation of the societal construct of childhood, in relation to psychological horror texts.
Addresses the importance of the horror genre in literature, focusing on the use of childhood in particular, focussing on three novels by William Golding, Ray Bradbury’s and Stephen King. Psychological theories from Julian Hanich and Sigmund Freud aid the study’s approach.
Honesty Hight-Warburton
Trauma and the female body: An exploration of representations of women in contemporary women’s writing
A critical piece analysing socio-political, sexual and feminist themes, touching on the effects of patriarchy on both the author and the protagonist.
This dissertation investigates how the concept of stigmatising the female body is challenged in Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, and its demeaning effect on women. It also investigates the psychological empowerment that the narrative brings to the female protagonists depicted.
Rebecca Claire March
The Travelling Philanthropist
A creative piece comprising a first chapter from a new novel by Sue Rumens, complete with critical reflection.
This first chapter encompasses elements of thriller and sci-fi genres, as the protagonist is transported to 18th century London in the search for a missing child. Rumen’s considered commentary draws influence from various theoretical approaches learnt during her Creative MA module, and details the feedback, and ongoing craftsmanship involved in writing prose fiction.
