Litro is an online literary magazine based in London. It publishes nonfiction and poetry along with its original focus on short fiction, with the aim of discovering new and emerging writers, giving them a platform alongside stalwarts of the literary scene.
More recently, Litro have added strings to their bow, including interviews, columns, podcasts, reviews and features on literature, arts and culture. The magazine has ventured to establish LitroTV, enabling members to see videos of favourite writers.
Each monthly edition of the magazine is devoted to a literary theme or idea. The June 2013 Polish issue features a diverse collection of texts from authors young and old, who live in both Poland and abroad, each offering a glimpse of a very different world. The selection presents intriguing new ways pursued by Polish authors in their portrayal of the vastness of human experience – both in the context of the past and, unsurprisingly, the new migrant existence.
Litro’s Poland features excerpts of the following works: Tadeusz Różewicz’s Mother Departs, A Grain of Truth by Zygmunt Miłoszewski, Saturn by Jacek Dehnel, Paweł Huelle’s Mercedes-Benz, A.M. Bakalar’s Madame Mephisto, Grażyna Plebanek’s Illegal Liasons and poems from Wioletta Grzegorzewska’s collection.
To celebrate the June issue, for one evening only, Litro is taking over St Pancras International railway station for readings, discussions and live music inspired by Polish literature. Speakers include A.M. Bakalar, Jacek Dehnel, Wioletta Grzegorzewska, Grażyna Plebanek and Adam Kammerling - the 2012 U.K. slam champion - with a musical performance from avant-garde harpist and rockabilly gypsy-jazz pioneer Lucinda Belle, and DJ Liminal Londoner.
A.M. Bakalar was born and raised in Poland and moved to the U.K. in 2004 after spending time in Germany, France, Sicily and Canada. Madame Mephisto was her first novel and was among readers' recommendations for the Guardian First Book Award. She is the first Polish woman to publish a novel in English since Poland joined the EU in 2004. She an editor at Litro and is currently working on her second book. In her editor’s letter for Litro's June issue, she writes:
When I talk about Polish books people often tell me they are depressing, and assume they are mostly about the Second World War. And there’s a grain of truth in that reaction. Poles, with their turbulent and often tragic history, have not had an easy ride. The recent presidential plane crash, in which all 96 people on board were killed, was another powerful blow. Poland’s accession to the European Union in May 2004 resulted in a mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of Poles which kicked off the 'Stay With Us' campaign back in Poland to counteract the brain drain of young and educated Poles. But Poland is a nation of proud and resilient people, of people who forge new paths with surprising ease, a land of contradictions.
Prior to the release of the June issue, the magazine also organised a writing competition for a short story with the theme “Poland,” and a particular reference to Bruno Schulz’s collection, The Street of Crocodiles. The winner of the competition is Amanda Oosthuizen - a writer, musician and woodwind teacher from Hampshire in the U.K. Her piece, The Gloves of Gdańsk, is also published in the June Litro.
The publication of the June issue is supported by the Polish Institute in London.
For a taster of the June Poland issue of litro, please see: www.litro.co.uk
Litro Live! details:
Thursday the 20th of June, 6-11 pm
St Pancras International Station
The Betjeman Arms, Unit 53
Pancras Road, London N1C 4QL
FREE
Editor: Paulina Schlosser, source: litro.co.uk, http://www.polishculture.org.uk