We’re no longer accepting submissions for Bakwa 08
“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
C.S. Lewis
Writing about pain, some have said, is an easy way to get published. Topics surrounding pain seem to draw empathy or sympathy. But how easy is it to articulate pain? Pain is one of the few emotions no one wants to experience twice. It’s easy to think of physical pain, whereas emotional, mental and psychological pain are usually overlooked.
Bakwa Magazine, in its first issue for 2018, is looking for stories around pain. That pain is restricted many times to the individual makes us forget that whole communities, countries, and families can also experience pain, be it in the form of war, genocide or different forms of atrocities. There is no restriction to the number of times we should talk about pain. Why does it even exist? Can one ignore it? Where does it come from? Heartbreak, menstrual pain, is there a singular way pain feels?
Related: A Brief History of Bakwa Magazine
Sometimes pain is like a web, it traps us. Do we really heal from it? Bakwa Magazine seeks fiction, nonfiction, photography and poetry that explore this theme beyond the ordinary perception of pain. Why must pain insist on being attended to? Do we easily recollect painful moments than happy moments? In societies that train men not to show pain, and in the 21st century where men are encouraged to allow their vulnerability to be unmasked, how does this affect how they process pain?
We want experimental writing that pushes the boundary of writing as we know it. We want thought pieces, deep and questioning, that challenge ‘pain as a megaphone to rouse a deaf world.’
Our submission guidelines can be found here.
Email submissions to info@bakwa.org
Deadline: April 15