June 30, 2022
Hello, and welcome to issue 13 of Feral. I am delighted to be the inaugural guest editor, working with this issue’s theme of ‘hunger’.
Hunger: a craving or urgent need for food or a specific nutrient
www.merriam-webster.com
The call out attracted a diverse, and at times intense response, from poets and artists. The selected pieces interpret the consuming desire of need unfulfilled – hunger that spans addiction, love, mental health, poverty, grief, and unwitting inheritance. These universal themes, and the want for connection, are shown apparent in the human, and natural world.
Issue 13 contains work from 48 contributors – from the United Kingdom, Australia, Philippines, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, the United States and elsewhere. In fulfilling one of Feral’s missions of publishing underrepresented voices, you are encouraged to read the contributor’s bios. There are 10 returning contributors, and 10 who previously missed out on selection.
Due to the theme, there is material in the issue that for some readers may be difficult to read for any number of reasons. A warning for triggers within the contents includes: death or dying/aging, mental illness, eating disorders, war and addiction.
The team received hundreds of submissions; thank you to all who submitted, and trusted us with their words, images and energy. My thanks also go to Amanda McLoed and Narmadhaa Sivaraja for their close readings. Amanda, once again, paired the art and written contributions with fantastic insight.
I’ve known the Animal Heart Press family since I was first published in their From the Ashes: An International Anthology of Womxn’s Poetry back in 2019. Since then, I have seen them grow with the birth of Femme Salve Books, and of course Feral: A Journal of Poetry and Art, with interest and affection. It has been a privilege to be, once again, a small part of this fierce, gracious press.
Welcome all to the Feral community.
Marcelle Newbold
Guest Editor
‘Hunger’ issue of Feral
About Marcelle Newbold
Marcelle’s poetry explores place and inheritance. Pushcart Prize nominated, and winner of the Poetry in the Arcades competition in 2020, her poems have been published in print and online most recently by Ink Sweat & Tears, Iamb poet, Black Bough Poetry, Icefloe Press, and Indigo Dreams. She is managing editor of Nightingale & Sparrow. Marcelle lives in Cardiff, Wales where she trained as an architect. Twitter: @marcellenewbold