Starling

Starling An online literary journal showcasing the best new poetry and prose from New Zealand writers under 25

"Writing about rage and revenge came out of the story and the characters, but that’s my angle as an artist always. I am ...
23/12/2024

"Writing about rage and revenge came out of the story and the characters, but that’s my angle as an artist always. I am always returning to anger and its uses. I just finished reading Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (loved it) and towards the end one character tells another ‘you can put a saddle on anger’. Anger can be a friend. It can motivate you and spur you onto new things. It can be a gift."

From 'Anger and Its Uses: A conversation with Saraid de Silva', available in Issue 18 of Starling: https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-18/saraid-de-silva

“maenads on the dance floor writhe sinuous as grapevinesthe air glitters, shimmerslike heat waves off asphaltresinous wa...
20/12/2024

“maenads on the dance floor writhe sinuous as grapevines
the air glitters, shimmers
like heat waves off asphalt
resinous walls milk-glisten
smell of fennel and honey
feel the bass tympanic-thrumming
the growing into each other
and the god—
hear the god whisper with his hands full of snakes”

- Ronan Ira, ‘Bakkhai at the Gay Bar’
https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-18/ronan-ira

"I am in the studio today sculpting a small army of clay frogs. I carefully mold the little bodies, running slippery fin...
18/12/2024

"I am in the studio today sculpting a small army of clay frogs.
I carefully mold the little bodies, running slippery fingers
over the creases framing their faces and
methodically roll out sets of long spindly legs.
To finish off, I smooth out the folds of their skin with a damp sponge.
Each frog occupies a square of newspaper
all lined up along the table’s edge."

- Aroha Witinitara, 'The Production'
https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-18/aroha-witinitara

"ambiguously referring to him as ‘the boy’ whichreally means he’s the love of my life. his friendstell me how much he mi...
13/12/2024

"ambiguously referring to him as ‘the boy’ which
really means he’s the love of my life. his friends
tell me how much he misses me, as in he’s so
in love with me he holds it in his closed fists
until it suffocates. he doesn’t tell me. burning the
candle at both ends, throwing up in the shower,
counting the breadcrumbs left behind like a trail
to happiness."

- Sascha Letica, 'The Boy 'His&Hers''
https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-18/sascha-letica

"You are a perfect use of a word A found poem, a boy rolling over into manI want to hover by you a bee b...
10/12/2024

"You are a perfect use of a word
A found poem, a boy rolling over into man
I want to hover by you a bee buzzing
by the runner beans on the lattice
dancing and sending for my sisters
to come, come this way"

- Nadezhda Macey, 'Syntax'
https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-18/nadezhda-macey

"In the hot pink night I am a runaway bride hitchingup many skirts to knock on your door ...
07/12/2024

"In the hot pink night I am a runaway bride hitching
up many skirts to knock on your door

The sky is only bats no stars
and the compasses have all been polarised"

- Loretta Riach, 'Nocturne with Stranger'
https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-18/loretta-riach

"The kea, Nestor notabilis, is our endangered mountain parrot native to the glaciers and moraines of New Zealand’s South...
03/12/2024

"The kea, Nestor notabilis, is our endangered mountain parrot native to the glaciers and moraines of New Zealand’s South Island. They are too clever for their own good, and find mischief in their dealings with humans. When Pākehā arrived to tame the high-country foothills of the Southern Alps, a plague of kea descended from the skies exploring destructively with their hooked black beaks. When swathes of their habitat were cleared for farming they turned to the paddocks, attacking and killing whole flocks of sheep. Thirty thousand kea were killed by settlers in eight years. There are less than five thousand left."

- Emma Ravens, 'Dancing on her Mountain' (excerpt)
Read the full piece here: https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-18/emma-ravens

30/11/2024

Watch Mary Kelly read her poem 'Last Night I Dreamt I Quit My Job' from Issue 18:

"and I found myself at a makeshift vegetable stall buying tomatoes from a womanakin to a seagull who told me to place on...
29/11/2024

"and I found myself at a makeshift vegetable stall buying tomatoes from a woman
akin to a seagull who told me to place one of the fruits, the size of a quarter, beneath
my tongue. And I did so because I trusted the grey plume of her hair. Above us,
birds flocked like a Rorschach test and I saw many things: A plane flown by a bull.
A woman with the body of a cactus."

- Mary Kelly, 'Last Night I Dreamt I Quit My Job'
Read: https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-18/mary-kelly
Watch: https://youtu.be/xvEqKJh8SrM?si=G0F1xeV3-O6g1sEZ

“My great-grandmother, Luise. The family history reads: ‘The farm was hit by 2 bombs, which were supposed to hit the tra...
15/11/2024

“My great-grandmother, Luise. The family history reads: ‘The farm was hit by 2 bombs, which were supposed to hit the tracks of the train station. Luckily Luise was in the garden and at the chicken coops.’ It is March 13, 1945”

- Helena Leon Mayer, ‘Gathering’ (after ‘Ka mua, ka muri’ by Kiri Piahana Wong)
Read: https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-18/helena-leon-mayer

14/11/2024

Watch Maia Armistead read her Issue 18 poem 'Riverstone, watercress':

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the Starling LitCrawl event on Saturday - especial thanks to Verb for havi...
11/11/2024

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the Starling LitCrawl event on Saturday - especial thanks to Verb for having us, Bicycle Junction for hosting us, and most of all to our incredible readers: Eva Mae Davis, Cameron McCausland-Taylor, Matthew Whiteman, Liberty Beck, Joshua Toumu’a, Zia Ravenscroft, Aruna Bhakta and Cadence Chung!

See you tonight!!! We’ll be live from 7:15 at Bicycle Junction, as a part of the incredible Verb LitCrawl lineup:
09/11/2024

See you tonight!!! We’ll be live from 7:15 at Bicycle Junction, as a part of the incredible Verb LitCrawl lineup:

STARLING: SHAPES IN THE SILENCE - We’re very excited to be back at Verb LitCrawl this year, presenting eight readers fro...
09/11/2024

STARLING: SHAPES IN THE SILENCE - We’re very excited to be back at Verb LitCrawl this year, presenting eight readers from the pages of Starling’s most recent issues - including the great Cadence Chung!

Cadence Chung is a poet, composer, and singer currently studying at the New Zealand School of Music. Her nationally-bestselling chapbook anomalia was released in 2022 with Tender Press, and her anthology of young artists, Mythos, was released in 2024 with Wai-te-ata Press. She also performs as a classical soloist, presents on RNZ Concert, and co-edits Symposia Magazine, a literary magazine for young New Zealanders.

Hear Cadence read at Bicycle Junction from 7:15pm on Saturday 9 November alongside Eva Mae Davis, Liberty Beck, Joshua Toumu’a, Zia Ravenscroft, Matthew Whiteman, Aruna Bhakta and Cameron McCausland-Taylor!

"The night is sullen. My portraitwanes against its golden frame.It’s funny actually ‒ do you remember ‒you might not ‒ t...
08/11/2024

"The night is sullen. My portrait
wanes against its golden frame.
It’s funny actually ‒ do you remember ‒
you might not ‒ the time I tried

to lick turpentine from the art teacher’s
brush? It was as clear as water, cutting
through the mud of an eye, the wet
brown outline of a cheek."

- Cadence Chung, 'Borderline Sonata'
https://www.starlingmag.com/issue-16/cadence-chung

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Videos

Mary Kelly - Last Night I Dreamt I Quite My Job
Mary Kelly - Last Night I Dreamt I Quite My Job

Watch Mary Kelly read her poem 'Last Night I Dreamt I Quit My Job' from Issue 18:

Maia Armistead - Risverstone, watercress
Maia Armistead - Risverstone, watercress

Watch Maia Armistead read her Issue 18 poem 'Riverstone, watercress':

Ava Rose - Dora Maar
Ava Rose - Dora Maar

Watch Ava Rose read their Issue 18 poem 'Dora Maar':

Eva Mae Davis - 02/06/09
Eva Mae Davis - 02/06/09

Watch Eva Mae Davis read her Issue 18 poem '02/06/09':

Jackson McCarthy - Still Life at Sunset
Jackson McCarthy - Still Life at Sunset

Watch Jackson McCarthy read 'Still Life at Sunset' at our Wellington Issue 18 Launch Party:

Jackson McCarthy - Still Life at Sunset
Jackson McCarthy - Still Life at Sunset

Watch Jackson McCarthy read his Issue 18 poem 'Still Life at Sunset':

Submissions for the next issue of Starling close in one week! New Zealand writers under 25, send us your new work by 10 October 2024 - full submission guidelines can be found at starlingmag.com/submissions.

There are two weeks left to submit for the summer issue of Starling! If you’re an NZ writer under 25, send us your best poetry, prose, and anything in-between by midnight on 10 October 2024 - full submission guidelines are at starlingmag.com/submissions.

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