Cork teens launch new literary ‘zine’ aimed at young people

She may only be 18, but Sarah Thompson, from Knocknaheeny, is launching a literary zine with her writer friend, Lavie Olupona, at Myo Cafe tomorrow, February 1.

Sarah, who is a first-year student of English at UCC, has a book of poetry written which she is trying to get published.

She also has a podcast entitled The Lost Library, in which she interviews indie writers and focuses on authors that are not usually well known.

Sarah faces challenges every day because of disability. She was born with a form of scoliosis that affects the neck. She also has a dislocated hip and uses a walking stick.

While disability does not define this creative young woman, it has been a source of difficulty.

In her writing, she focuses a lot on mental health, explaining: “It’s kind of hard for young people to speak up about it and I think it’s under-represented in poetry.

“For me, poetry is a great outlet for all these emotions you feel. That’s what is great about the arts. You can use it to express yourself.”

A past pupil of Terence MacSwiney Community College in Hollyhill, where creativity is encouraged, says Sarah, she has always loved English.

“I started writing poetry when I was about 13. I’ve always been a reader. I wanted to explore the avenue of writing and I’d like to get my poetry book out there.

“The school I went to is very supportive of creative projects. They’ve done collaborations with the Kabin Crew such as workshops.”

While Sarah is dedicated to writing, she says she may do a post-graduate course in teaching. “It would be practical. It’s very hard to get poetry published. If I was teaching, I could pursue writing on the side.”

Sarah and Lavie only decided to put together the zine, called Bláithí, in November.

Lavie, who is 19, is an activist and poet, studying social science at UCC. She performed her poem, Let Our Voices Be Heard in the Dáil on International Women’s Day in 2022, invited by Holly Cairns, now leader of the Social Democrats. Lavie also won an Edna O’Brien Young Writer’s award at the Museum of Literature Ireland.

Bláithí will have about 20 pages for its first issue.

“We couldn’t do a launch without Myo Cafe,” said Sarah. “They’re giving us the use of their facilities.

“We’ll have a couple of guests at it including people from Good Day Cork (a platform that celebrates positive stories.)”

The zine, whose title means ‘little flowers’, had a relatively small number of submissions for its first issue, but Sarah believes there is an opening for a publication that amplifies the voices of young people.

It will feature a variety of genres such as poetry, prose, essays and art work, centred around specific themes.

For the inaugural edition, the theme is ‘new beginnings’.

“The theme is open to interpretation,” explains Sarah. “It could mean a new day. Art is what we make it.”

Literature is something that Sarah is passionate about. As a child, she was reading “a bit ahead of my age,” adding: “I was reading Jacqueline Wilson when I was very young and a lot of David Walliams.

“I recently read a poetry book by Isabella Dorta who performs spoken word poetry.

“I’ve read Margaret Atwood. At college, we’ve just read Sir Orfeo (a Middle English poem). We have just finished Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf. It’s not to my taste.

“I read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recently. It’s really good.”

Asked what she likes to write about, Sarah says she would like to make social commentary on issues such as children on long waiting lists for scoliosis operations. (Sarah had private treatment, but feels strongly about access to health care.)

“My poetry so far is very much focused on mental health, but I’m hoping to branch out and to touch on social issues,” she said.

“People are very aware of mental health issues, but it’s a question of how do we encourage them to talk about it? There is so much stigma around it.

“I would have struggled dealing with my disability. Everyone has their own struggles. When I was doing the Leaving Cert, I was trying to cope with the amount of pain I was in.

“Some days, I can be fine; other days I can have a lot of pain.”

The pervasiveness of social media in young people’s lives is another theme that Sarah is interested in exploring.

“It’s all in your face. You can be mindlessly scrolling on TikTok. You’re seeing people with seemingly perfect lives in big houses. Of course that’s going to affect young people.

“Everyone has access to social media. I would be heavily involved with it because of my podcast. It has pros and cons.”

For her podcast, Sarah’s interviewees have included Kalynn Bayron, a writer of young adult fiction who is a New York Times bestseller.

“I interviewed her on Zoom; she was lovely. I focus on authors that maybe people wouldn’t know.

“I’ve had opportunities to connect with lesser-known writers. I get ARCs (advanced reader copies) of books so I read them before they get published.”

There was more poetry than short stories submitted to Bláithí. The cover is a reproduction of an artwork by artist Susie Lopez.

“We’ve had a good few students submitting work to us,” said Sarah, “They’re really talented. I think there’s a lot of talent around Cork; it’s just not represented enough.”

Sarah and Lavie are on a mission to change that.

To submit work, go to Bláithí on Instagram. It’s expected that the zine will be published quarterly. It costs €5.