Folding Rock #4
170 x 245 mm, 176 pages
Barry, Wales
Triannual
Editors-in-chief: Kathryn Tann and Robert Harries
Art director: Matt Needle
Cover design: Abby Poulson
‘New writing from Wales and beyond’
‘England, Scotland and Ireland have Granta, Gutter and The Stinging Fly... Wales now has Folding Rock.’ So do editors Kathryn Tann and Robert Harries boldly announce their new literary title, which aims to put contemporary Anglo-Welsh writing firmly on the map through fiction, creative non-fiction and literary criticism.
The ambitious Welsh literary journal returns with its fourth edition, ‘Telling Tales’, focusing on all things folklore and taking a non-Mabinogion-centric approach—though the infamous collection of prose does rear its familiar head—instead exploring a wide variety of literature and its impact on our collective worldview.
Inside, readers can expect a selection of prose, essays, and personal accounts, bringing together both emerging and established writers. Highlights include a personal essay from Charlie Trino exploring the inevitable rebirth of folklore and its cautionary tales, Jade E. Bradford tells a tale of small-town social media gossip in her short story ‘Falling Down’, and atmospheric artwork inspired by Merlin’s Oak from guest artist Abby Poulson appears throughout.
On the Journal
Robert Harries sheds light on the name: ‘While ‘Folding Rock’ was initially intended as a reference to Wales’s rich geographical association with, and reliance upon, rocks and minerals, particularly the country’s layered Orcovician formations, I must confess my mind leapt to the oxymoronic unfeasibility—even futility—evoked by the phrase... to attempt to actually fold a rock—or, say, run a literary magazine—would at first appear to be a fool’s errand.’
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