Edition One
Introduction
Some entries in this edition have audio available
Welcome to the first issue of Pomegranate, a new zine with the specific aim of celebrating, promoting and encouraging young poets. We’ve noticed that at the moment, it’s very difficult for young writers to get their work recognised in the world of poetry – there are several competitions for children and teenagers, but when a poet reaches the age of 18 they can often find themselves suddenly alone, and competing for places in magazines and readings with experienced writers, often 20 or 30 years their senior. In addition, not many parents are thrilled to hear that their child has set their heart on one of the least lucrative careers in the working world; poets are not the most obvious pillars of society.
So there is very little encouragement for young writers, and in fact the advice given to most is to “do an English degree and see if you change your mind.” Thankfully, for our first issue we’ve found some of the most talented and determined young poets around, many of whom have already had their work published in magazines as prestigious as Magma, Agenda and Avocado, while others have excelled in the field of performance poetry. We’ve also included some work and blogs from the Pomegranate team, who are all dedicated to amplifying the voices of young poets.
We’re really excited to bring you what we think is a stunning collection of poetry from some of the best writers of our generation. We’ve named this first issue “Fruit” after the quotation from Will Rogers: “You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes, because that’s where the fruit is.”
Artwork Credit
1. Rosie Alexander is the artist of this issue’s cover painting, “Pomegranate”, an acrylic painting. Rosie is seventeen, she lives in Ipswich and is soon going to have a painting exhibited in a barn. She’s studying for A levels, and hopes to start a foundation degree in art next year before going on to study for an undergraduate degree in fine art or painting. She likes Caravaggio, Egon Schiele and Cardcaptors. She has an online portfolio here.
2. Alice Howlett took the lovely photograph of oranges that’s at the top of this page. Alice has a biography on the about us page.