⚡️AMBIT 246 is out now⚡ OPEN CALL closes 30 April for Poems, Stories, Art on War x Dongola |Limited Editions
Are you in exile, a refugee, or currently experiencing the results of war? Ambit are proud to collaborate with the creators behind Dongola | Limited Editions in Beirut to publish a special September issue. We invite poets, writers and artists to tackle the tangents, multiplicity and permanence of war, creating
Reading from the new Ambit, thank you to Paul Birtill, Amy Acre, Neal Hoskins, Simon Maddrell, Jill Abram, Amelia Zhou,Liz McSkeane, Ruth Rosengarten, Moz, Meara Sharma, Emily Devane, Wendy Allen, Cleo Henry, Trissie Coleshaw, Sean McLusky, Jehane Markham and Stuart McKenzie.
Hello there – we’re delighted to invite Ambit readers and contributors to celebrate the new springtime edition, made of unsolicited submissions, Ambit 246. It’s really hard to get in. Thanks to the executive board of poets (Kate Elspeth Simpson, David Erdos, Jamika Ajalon and Rushika Wick) and fiction editor, Kate
Suffragettes Emmeline Pankhurst 1858-1928; Adela Pankhurst Walsh 1885-1961 I taught you how to walkin step,your school-bag full of fireworks, gold
Published in Ambit 246. Sora is working a Christmas party in a dim wood-paneled room above Coq d’Argent. She shoots
Are you in exile, a refugee, or currently experiencing the results of war? Ambit are proud to collaborate with the
First published in AMBIT 244, Jenny Pagdin’s Discharge Day is published in AMBIT 246. Here we share the full trio
Reading from the new Ambit, thank you to Paul Birtill, Amy Acre, Neal Hoskins, Simon Maddrell, Jill Abram, Amelia Zhou,Liz
The first half of ‘Past Desire’ is published in Ambit 246. Here we present the full 62 sestudes. Dream My
Ambit talk digital culture with Anthony Anaxagorou and we drop the name of his highly anticipated new collection on Granta
Hello there – we’re delighted to invite Ambit readers and contributors to celebrate the new springtime edition, made of unsolicited
On our podcast, San Francisco-based Lucy Gray explains the idea of these works, which ponder mental health under the grey
Find their work now in Poems, Stories, Art Poems from top prize winners: Laurie Ogden, Sarah Gibbons and E Walker.
Third prize in the the Annual Ambit Competition for Poetry 2021, judged by Kim Addonizio. It started out innocently enough:
Second prize winner of the Annual Ambit Competition 2021 for Poems, judged by Kim Addonizio. Your brain has given you
First prize, Annual Ambit Competition for Poems 2021, judged by Kim Addonizio, who said: Laurie Ogden peels back layers of
First Prize, Annual Ambit Competition 2021, with the theme of Metamorphosis. Published in Ambit 245 “When writing is good, it
Join us to celebrate the bumper Pop issue which features winners of our Annual Competition for Poems, Stories and Art where
A short story by Emilia Ong. The first time I saw him, he was wearing a red and white checked
THIS WEEKEND, we’re joining a collection of groovers at London’s Newington Green’s Mildmay Club. SPECIAL OFFERS INCLUDE: STANLEY DONWOOD PRINT
In our monthly podcast first broadcast on Soho Radio NYC + Culture, editor Kirsty Allison speaks with 2021 poetry judge,
Our deepest thanks to all of you who sent work our way and spent time considering how best to approach
In the third show from Ambit on Soho Radio, hear from editor Briony Bax bid adieu after 8 years of increasing the diaspora
Wednesday July 28. London Fields Brewery, 365-366 Warburton Road, Hackney E8 3RR POEMS & STORIES LIVE FROM: Laila Sumpton, Jack
Leontia Flynn, Slim New Book (The Lifeboat Press, 2020) and Dawn Watson, The Stack of Owls is Getting Higher (The
Two new collections from Nine Arches Press: Cynthia Miller’s striking Honorifics and the strident Ultimatum Orangutan by Khairani Barokka. Whether
Ambit old school discuss design culture with Stephen Barrett, & Michael Salu. Michael Foreman – the art director of Ambit
Send us your best POEMS, STORIES & ART for publication in the second Ambit Pop, and there’s prize money. We
Phoebe Clarke reviews Oliver Reed (Montez Press, 2020) by Hannah Regel. You may remember Oliver Reed as the English actor
by Suhrab Sirat (translated by Aviva Dautch) We’re sharing this translation for Refugee Week 2021, where the UN approximate at
CLICK ON THE ANCHOR LINK TO SUBSCRIBE! Also available on Apple, and most other platforms. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Lias Saoudi of
An essay by Yvonne Reddick There were waves on the desert horizon, where no waves should be. In fifty-degree heat,
For the past six months, we’ve been plotting on how to move Ambit forward. This is it. We are here.
During Covid Times, contributors, subscribers and fans of Ambit joined together on Zoom on February 1, 2021. We celebrated the
AMBIT are now intending to broadcast more regularly again, partnering with Soho Radio NYC & Soho Radio Culture for a
Inspired by J.G. Ballard’s years as Ambit’s fiction editor we are delighted to offer this rare, exclusive signed & numbered
Exclusive to Ambit, we’re running this short story by Benjamin Myers as an online only addition to our debut guest
April 30 sees the publication of the debut AMBIT POP, our 243 edition. This new strand sees maverick artists invited
A poem by Fred Voss In a machine shop a machinist will laughwhenever he canno matter how dirty or tired
A poem by Fred Voss When I stepped into that steel mill I feltlike a criminalmurdering everything I had been
A short story by Regi Claire I walked out on a clear rust-gold afternoon, no goodbyes, no nothing. I shut
My Body Can House Two Hearts is published by Burning Eye Books (2019)Aubade After A French Movie is published by
Commended poems from our annual poetry competition on the theme of ‘Cataclysm’ judged by Fred D’Aguiar. The theme was chosen well
A look into the melange of language ‘Yo no se que vas a hacer but you need to get your
Show – Off mobilises sculptures, paintings, drawings and performances. A procession of art works arrive sequentially in front of a seated
In August 2020, Ambit interviewed artist Kara Joslyn for an online exclusive. The questions were asked by Ambit Art Editor,
In July 2020, Ambit interviewed artist Loie Hollowell for an online exclusive. The questions were asked by Ambit Art Editor,
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ambit postponed the release of Ambit 241 from July to October 2020. Ambit’s then Art
Mireille Fauchon is Ambit’s Illustration Editor, she began with us an an intern. Here she explains her practice, in our
(Mixed Tapes is an introductory series to Art Fictions recorded in lockdown with variations in audio quality.) Ambit are delighted
Part of our 2020 REIMAGINING Series, when different artists re-worked classic AMBITs. In May 2020, Ambit Illustration Editor Mireille Fauchon commissioned Nina Carter to
Part of our summer 2020 REIMAGINING Series, when different artists re-worked classic AMBITs. In May 2020, Ambit Illustration Editor Mireille Fauchon commissioned Gareth
Part of our summer 2020 REIMAGINING Series, when different artists re-worked classic AMBITs. In May 2020, Ambit Illustration Editor, Mireille Fauchon commissioned Juliana
A look at futurist poetry We don’t just use technology; we live with it. Much more deeply than ever before,
Piece published by If P Then Q (2020) Stephen Emmerson’s impressive corpus of work includes books and object poems that
Letters Home 回家’ published by Nine Arches Press (2020) Jennifer Wong’s new book of poems is the “small dream of
A short story by Rue Baldry My dearest William, You are right. I was saving those plums for breakfast. I’m
A short story by SP Hannaway A ticking hour, he’s stood here. Is it? Longer? The door hasn’t budged. Jib’s
A short story by Giovanna Iozzi At night when I can’t sleep, his voice is in my head, cloaking each
A short story by Sayantan Ghosh When Karno was fourteen, his parents mutually decided that they should separate. But they
The Coming-Down Time published by Shoestring Press (2020) RS Thomas once told The Guardian that there wasn’t much great poetry from young
Loretta Collins Klobah and Maria Grau Perejoan translated and edited The Sea Needs No Ornament / El Mar No Necesita
Guillotine is published by Graywolf (2020) Eduardo C. Corral has always been a poet of heartbreak, but in Guillotine the personal is
Heredity/Astynome is published by Broken Sleep Books (2020) Naush Sabah arrives in – I’m not sure of the correct term
Heat Wave is published by Salt (2020) Is there such a thing as sinister whimsy? An early poem in Julian
1919 is published by Haymarket (2019)Poor is published by Penguin (2020)Surge is published by Chatto (2019) Sitting behind Eve Ewing’s 1919 and
Hotel is published by Verve Poetry Press (2020) If you allow Ali Lewis’ debut pamphlet, Hotel, to open on its own, it’s
Belladonna is published by Broken Sleep Books/Legitimate Snack (2020) This debut micro-pamphlet heralds an ecstatic voice from the Midlands. Suna
How to Wash a Heart published by Liverpool University Press (2020) How to Wash a Heart, Bhanu Kapil’s illuminating new
Paris: A Poem published by Faber & Faber (2020) First published by the Hogarth Press in 1920, Hope Mirrlees’s Paris saw a
A poem by Mary Ruefle Literature is steep,changeable, and solitary –like this day, there isa tomb, a debt, a crumb,and
A poem by Leontia Flynn The swallowsin the courtyard.The moonlightover the outbuildings. The footprint trailin the terracotta tilesleft by a
Our former poetry editor speaks with the Forward, Griffin International, TS Eliot Prize winner David Harsent has published thirteen volumes
Winners of our annual poetry competition on the theme of ‘Cataclysm’ judged by Fred D’Aguiar. The theme was chosen well before
Return by Minor Road is published by Bloodaxe (2020) Beautifully crafted and understated, yet deeply moving, Return by Minor Road — Heidi
Milly Peck’s sculptures, installations and paintings are often cropped scenes of everyday narratives and familiar objects. There is a theatrical
Swing song takes its title from a double translation (English-Dutch-English) of Samuel Beckett’s 1980 dramatic work Rockaby. Beckett’s script contains two main
A brief delve into the French poet and playwright I first stumbled across the work of Guillaume Apollinaire as a
Poetry and Place: Where We Are This year, the Arts Council funded Places of Poetry, a project curated by Paul Farley
Deaf Republic published by Faber & Faber (2019) Forgive me for what I’m telling you;Quietly, quietly read it back to
Kismet published by ignitionpress (2019) The corridors of memory are labyrinthine, leading to rooms of revelry and lament by turns.
Significant Other published by Carcanet (2019) Isabel Galleymore’s debut collection for Carcanet, Significant Other, also visits the Amazon, although not the
Milk Tooth published by Rough Trade Editions (2019) Martha Sprackland’s pamphlet Milk Tooth opens with a tremor of uncertainty. “What do I
Six published by Faber & Faber (2019) “The English are not very spiritual people,” George Bernard Shaw supposedly once said,
A short story by Regi Claire Behind the hedge a bird shrieked, then fell silent again. Small shadows skittered to
A short story by Steven Heighton We shoulder the coffin of my friend Warren Reed down the front steps of
A short story by Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones The woman was not a sister. A sister is any butterfly in the genus Adelpha.
Judged by Liz Berry Ambit has always loved wild things: bold, challenging, joyful, feral, utterly ungovernable – that’s the kind of
A poem by Polina Barskova, translated from Russian by Valzhyna Mort I don’t know where these words will find you,
Interesting Times is a portentous reading of Britain’s current relationship with the European Union in the form of an ongoing series
The short story, ‘Fireman’s Carry‘ by Steven Heighton was illustrated by Emily Evans. Ambit asked Emily about illustrating the story: “I
Mark Jackson lives and works in London. Recent projects include: Units of Impression, a collaboration with writer Sarah Thacker on residency
Thanks to everyone who entered our competition, judged by Malika Booker on the theme of ‘Home’. We had a record
For Real published by Clinic (2018)Savage published by Clinic (2018) Clinic, a poetry and arts platform founded in 2009, prints
Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance published by Milkweed (2018) The German poet Gottfried Benn (1886 – 1956) once practiced
Emerald published by Chatto & Windus (2018) If Ruth Padel is one our national treasures – and she most certainly
Calling A Wolf A Wolf published by Penguin (2018) “So much of being alive is breaking”, writes Iranian-American poet, Kaveh
Us published by Faber & Faber (2018) Zaffar Kunial’s debut Us opens with ‘Fielder’, and finds the narrator “just past
One Lark, One Horse published by Faber and Faber (2018) It has been twenty years since Michael Hofmann’s last book
Support, Support published by Offord Road Books (2018) Astute without being esoteric, Helen Charman’s gift in her debut pamphlet Support, support is
Vagabond Sun: Selected Poems – translated by Rimas Uzgiris, published by Shearsman (2018) Reading Vagabond Sun: Selected Poems (Shearsman) by Judita Vaičiūnaitė
The Built Environment published by Pavilion Press (2018) There is something fitting about this review coming almost exactly a year
Nights on Prose Mountain: The Fiction of bpNichol – edited by Derek Beaulieu, published by Coach House Press (2018) Barrie
Rabbit published by Boiler House Press (2018) Sophie Robinson’s Rabbit is a beautifully designed book. Small, white, and compact, it wears a
By William Davie Elizabeth Southerden (née Thompson), Lady Butler, was remarkable for two reasons. First, her technical abilities as a painter
A short story by Rosalind Brown He has been delivered here and smashedinto the grass. His ears are full ofunderground
A short story by Nina Ellis I taught Khayrah: how to book return tickets to Cambridge online using a debit
A poem by Fady Joudah It’s a year in the future we’ll catch up to.In some location we call homeor
Judge by Malika Booker on the theme of ‘Home’. The top three poems were published in Ambit 234 and the
Anna Reading (b. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 1987) lives and works in London. A graduate of BA Hons Fine Art
Lauren Clay uses enlarged marble patterns to create wallpaper installations in order to distort and manipulate space. As well as
In this feature, Ambit wanted to reveal the references and working studies which go into each of Gareth Cadwallader’s intricate
Stranger, Baby published by Faber & Faber (2017) “All I want is the answer to my blood, without fribbling intervention
Alice Neel, Uptown at Victoria Miro Gallery, London Exhibition: Alice Neel, Uptown Gallery: Victoria Miro, 16 Wharf Road, London N1 7RW
Night Sky with Exit Wounds published by Jonathan Cape (2017)Kumukanda published by Chatto & Windus (2017) Lost in many of
Exhibition: Alice Neel, Uptown Gallery: Victoria Miro, 16 Wharf Road, London N1 7RW Dates: 18 May – 29 July 2017 Website
A short story by Erin Frances Fisher I’d just come off a shift bolting roof screens at Diavik Mine when
A short story by Jonathan Chamberlain Bet 1: There were six races on the card, but running late I gave the
A short story by Andrew Hook Erotomania (Noun) – a type of delusion in which the affected person believes that
A short story by John Mee We are Oonagh’s treasure, her doubloons and pieces of eight. She likes to count
A short story by James Woolf Imagine it’s the mid 1970s, and that you’re flying high above the earth –
Jee Leong Koh, New York City, March 20, 2017 his is how you create people who get away with murder
Judge George Szirtes reveals the 1st, 2nd, 3rd & runners up In Ambit’s fourth Annual Poetry Competition, first prize goes
A poem by David Harsent I How would it be to live without whisky, without wine –an even tread in
“I paint dogs, but these are not dog paintings per se; I see them more as a way to explore
In this feature, Ambit took a particular interest in Joshua Miller’s ‘Index Paintings’: an exercise in portraying different objects in
To celebrate the retrospective exhibition of Ambit’s former art editor, Eduardo Paolozzi, at the Whitechapel Gallery, London (16 February –
Becky Kolsrud (b. 1984, Los Angeles, USA) lives and works in Los Angeles. She studied at New York University, New
The Catch published by Chatto & Windus (2016) Fiona Sampson’s The Catch (Chatto & Windus) opens with ‘Wake’, an arresting,
Ambit chews the fat with the Hungarian-born poet Born in Budapest in 1948, George Szirtes moved with his family to
The Color Of James Brown’s Scream – taken from New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set published by Tatu (2016)
Blood Work published by CB editions (2015) Much of the reception of Matthew Siegel’s debut collection Blood Work (CB editions)
Peace Talks published by Faber & Faber (2015) In Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Most of It’, the backwoodsman desires not
The Story of No published by Penned in the Margins (2015) Emma Hammond’s eye on contemporary society is acute, both
The Divers published by Hurst Street Press (2016) The poems of The Divers (Hurst Street Press), Arabella Currie’s debut pamphlet, put gentle
A short story by Ariel Dawn That morning we fought over leaves, dirt, crumbs and sugar. He sped off and
A short story by Maria Sabaye Moghaddam At the south end of Rastegan, a small town at the foothills of
A short story by Chris Campanioni When Brandon Walsh says ‘Get in the car, Steve’ you listen. Pulled into the
Short story by Una Mannion, Ambit Fiction Competition 2016 First Prize Winner My father gives me his eye and his
A poem by Mary Jean Chan My mother lays the table with chopsticks & ceramic spoons, expects you to fail at
A poem by Nisha Ramayya In losing halves, the materiality of the reading experience mediates the sincerity of your voice.
A poem by Zeina Hashem Beck I liked the idea of an impossible love. I was told a love so
Ambit: Jon, quick question: why dogs? Jon Duff: I started making dogs about a year ago when I finally accepted
Rachael Champion makes site-specific sculptures, which explore the relationship between industry, technology and nature. Champion’s most recent project New Spring Gardens at
On Giving It All That Giving It All That was installed in a decrepit flat in Folkestone. It drew on the anxiety
A short story by Sasha Saben Callaghan This is what you know . . . The realisation you have chosen
A short story by Lisa Jackson Gold satin vestments, my grace and my sail, cupped in sweat and perfume laden
A short story by Pavle Radonic 1 Oh dear! Dear Lord. Caught unaware and completely by surprise . . .
A short story by Louise Kennedy He led the way, the small boy. His feet in their bright blue wellingtons
Lee Maelzer is drawn to discarded objects and abandoned places. Her research starts with photographs, either taken or found. She
Artists invite viewers to have a closer look at the world through the production of documented imagery. Approaching art conceptually
Ambit: You were born in South Korea and started your photography studies in Seoul. From there you moved to the USA
Daisy Addison’s delicate objects are carefully modelled fragments. They command close inspection with their elaborate detail, marks and patterns. These recent
The colourful arrangements presented in Lee Marshall’s modern mixed media and digital collage paintings reflect his interest in distorting found
A short story by Navid Hamavi I am a comparative literature professor at Oxford University. I also do fortune telling
A short story by Kirsty Logan I wouldn’t exactly call it running away. The circus came and I was in
A short story by Noel O’Regan I switch on the lamp and a sudden harvest of blue eyeshine appears in
There is an interesting parallel between today’s fixation on the screen and the ‘Daguerreotypemania’ of Paris in the late 1850s.
Ambit spoke to Scott Myles in the run up to his solo exhibition at The Modern Institute in Glasgow (June
Anderson’s work explores the Western tradition of landscape representation as a means of investigating the evolving relations between actual, depicted,
Trevor Shearer died at the beginning of 2013 at the age of 54. While pursuing his own artistic career, he
Structures of wood, rubber, perspex, wire and clay hold together, forming jury rigged networks, a vernacular architecture, clunky and shot
A short story by Navid Hamzavi Bit by bit, I came to doubt everything: the post office, Kate & William,
Letters to America is published by Carcanet Press (2020) Derek Walcott’s influence on contemporary poetry has never been as pronounced
A short story by John Hartley Williams It was very dark in Gabriel’s pockets, where he kept his hands as
A poem by Mahmoud Darwish, translated from Arabic by Fady Joudah He waits for no one,he doesn’t feel a deficiency
A poem by Anne Carson Light on the brick wall and a north wind whipping the branches black.Shadow draws the
A short story by Judy Gahagan There they go! Streaming off the windy highway which cuts through the grids
A short story by JG Ballard On waking one morning, B was surprised to see that Shepperton was deserted. He
A poem by Carol Ann Duffy Six hours like this for a few francs. Belly nipple arse in the window light,he
Extracts from journals and drawings from the artists during their trip to California in the late 70’s. “In Oct. 1979
Collection of pastel drawings by 70’s Goldsmiths College graduate Eileen Cooper.
A short story by Abigail Mozley The insomniac girl sits at her dressing table with three mirrors. It is a
A short story by John Sladek ANDREWS is to write a biography of Bruggs, the famous designer of bridges. Logically,
A poem by Elizabeth Jennings It is burning the winter away.The smoke is coming like clouds over sea,It has its
A two part novel, written by Eduardo Paolozzi, about the real reasons behind the United State’s invasion of Vietnam in
A poem by BS Johnson And should she die tonight, with this three years’ difference as well between us now? Or
Collection of three line drawings by Carol Annand – a contemporary of pop artist Sir Peter Blake.
A short story by Martin Bax, the founder of Ambit Few bus travellers have had the exquisite experience of seeing
