Iain Britton, Ikhda Ayuning Maharsi" />
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Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureJune 25, 2014

Round 1: Indonesia-New Zealand

PREAMBLE

Yesterday’s Poetry World Cup game produced one of the most dramatic results of the round: Nigeria, represented by David Ishaya Osu, were out of the blocks quickly against India, taking 9 of the first 10 votes and holding their lead through most of the voting. India left it late to come back, but took the lead this morning and clung on to win by 8 votes and move into the next round, joining neighbours Pakistan.

Today, we move a few hundred miles to the East as Indonesia and New Zealand play for the right to face India in round two. Indonesia’s poet is Ikhda Ayuning Maharsi, whose debut collection was recently described as ‘fresh air on the page.’ She has previously worked as a scriptwriter on an Indonesian sitcom, and performed her poetry for the first time in 2011 at Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. She currently lives in Naples.

New Zealand are represented by Iain Britton, an Auckland-based teacher who has been called ‘one of New Zealand’s finest writers.’ In his own words, he has ‘always been fascinated by mysteries, enigmas, man’s place on earth and the interminable questions we keep asking.’ He is the author of four books of poetry, and his debut book was nominated for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection in 2008.

                             

Analogy

My son
my superlative love
I hope the cells in your body
can mingle well with all the things around you
I hope your thinking
is not limited by east, west, northwest,
southwest, south, and north…

~ Ikhda Ayuning Maharsi

Read the full poem

Trickery

    my curtains
                      smack at flies
i’ve taken to unpicking mirrors
the smiles / the grimaces
i’ve stuffed your tourist dolls
into the magician’s hat…

~ Iain Britton

Read the full poem

 

RESULT: Indonesia won by 30 votes

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One last love letter...

April 24, 2021

It has taken us some time and patience to come to this decision. TMS would not have seen the success that it did without our readers and the tireless team that ran the magazine for the better part of eight years.

But… all good things must come to an end, especially when we look at the ever-expanding art and literary landscape in Pakistan, the country of the magazine’s birth.

We are amazed and proud of what the next generation of creators are working with, the themes they are featuring, and their inclusivity in the diversity of voices they are publishing. When TMS began, this was the world we envisioned…

Though the magazine has closed and our submissions shuttered, this website will remain open for the foreseeable future as an archive of the great work we published and the astounding collection of diverse voices we were privileged to feature.

If, however, someone is interested in picking up the baton, please email Maryam Piracha, the editor, at maryamp@themissingslate.com.

Farewell, fam! It’s been quite a ride.

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