Grass #5
210 x 297 mm, 68 pages (with sticker and bag of seeds)
London, UK
Annual
Editor: Tommy Sissons
Design: Jake Buckley
This edition of Grass—a publication platforming working-class literature, art and photography from around the UK—marks five years for the magazine, which has grown both in scope and physical size. Previously petit, the now larger format works well in platforming the mix of writing and artwork inside, which covers ceramics from the Northeast, 80s skinhead culture, trade unions in Kenya and more. Each copy is also accompanied by a small bag of lawn seed.
As editor Tommy Sissons writes: ‘The working-class have never waited for permission to speak or act. Grass stands as a testament to this. ... [It's] more than just a magazine; it is a declaration that the working class will not be silenced or side-lined.’
And if you’re wondering about the title, it was this inspired by this delightful little ditty by ‘national treasure’ Philip Larkin:
I want to see them starving,
The so-called working class.
Their wages weekly halving,
Their women stewing grass.