http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag bl(og) + (m)ag(azine) - on line literature and arts magazine Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:55:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en To my imaginary reader by Derec Jones I confess. I have never read Jane Eyre. I have tried - honestly, well a bit. The only thing I know about the book is that the final chapter starts with the words “Reader, I married him.”, and I had to click over to Google ... http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/fuck-you-my-imaginary-reader/ This is the first in a series of cartoon strips featuring The Blaggers. Click here to read more about them, and click here to read about the artist Gabrielle Nowicki. (click on the image for a better view) http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/the-blaggers-1/ Who are The Blaggers? Here they are: (Click on the Blaggers for a larger image)   Created by Derec Jones and Gabrielle Nowicki - Illustrated by Gabrielle Nowicki The Blaggers haven’t got a busy bone between them. They are all always on the make, avoiding any form of effort except when they think they ... http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/meet-the-blaggers/ Haiku Competition Occasionally the Blag will set a competition. For this special launch issue your mission is to write a Haiku. You can define Haiku the way you want to, but for the purposes of this competition the type of Haiku that will stand the best chance of winning will be: A ... http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/haiku-competition/ by Kate Bousfield Here on the cliff I am surrounded by the coconut warmth of the gorse, the freshly cut grass from the fields behind and the salty tang from a sea that next hits land in America. A digital camera could capture the scene but it could not give the ... http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/a-sense-of-place/ by Barbara Smith The real poetry I’ve discovered over the last while is mostly due to a confluence of influences – the blog and the internet. God bless high speed internet access. There are some real gems if you’re prepared to spend time cruising from one link to another. I ... http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/begin-the-beguine-with-blogging/ The Many Worlds of Oxford Exploring the city’s literary and imaginative heritage By Nicky Schmidt Think of Oxford and you think of dons in billowing academic gowns, boat races and gentle punting on the Thames, students hurrying to lectures and hallowed halls of learning grouped around tranquil green quadrangles. Yet Oxford, the City ... http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/the-many-worlds-of-oxford/ Gabrielle Nowicki is a Canadian artist, illustrator and cartoonist whose work ranges from delightfully humorous to strangely fascinating. She is a shrewd observer of the little quirks that make us human and has the talent, skill, intelligence and dedication that will ensure her work will be appreciated by an ever-widening ... http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/the-artist-gabrielle-nowicki/ South Asian Fiction Turns Eleanor Rigby by Suzan Abrams This article reflects my radical view as a past lover of South Asian literature. If it is ever possible to dissolve a relationship with a certain category of books, I am now contemplating plunging down that ravine while staying intent on a literary ... http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/south-asian-fiction-turns-eleanor-rigby/ Blogs are evolving; more accurately, new forms of online content are emerging from the mangle that has become known as the Blogosphere. This Blag is one of those new forms. Most of the contributors are or have been bloggers, but as recent debates have highlighted, serious bloggers are self-analytical and ... http://openingchapter.co.uk/blag/2007/09/26/editorial-and-introduction/