Ogunlesi’s works call on life, Yoruba adages, faith, the mundane, the trivial, and past experiences, to explore themes such as humanity, romance, kindness and hope.
Of Life and Animosities: Paul Oyetunde Ogunlesi
Magpies
I am a filmmaker, illustrator, graphic designer and copy editor.
Sleepy John Estes
Sleepy John Estes is a poet of the ordinary: though the subject is quotidian, it is beautifully observed, and his language is resonant, his voice is plaintive, and the music is perfect.
Cinematic Paradise: Jean Vigo
Vigo has been called one of the early advocates of poetic realism. And it’s true that his films are a delightful combination of near-documentary prosody with beautiful flights of fancy and dream-like forays into characters’ imaginations. But he shows imagination and poetry as an essential part of reality, not a departure from it.
February Issue, 2023
A collection of all the articles we’ve published over the past month, for those who like to savor their Magpies’ tidings as an issue.
Letter From the Editor, February ’23: Kindling Spirits
“…but in the sense of someone or something from years or decades or centuries past that seems to speak to you, personally; some act of creation that sparks a glowing connection of admiration, or a recognition of perfect mutual strangeness. A “kindling” spirit”
Flummery!
“I love making almond flummery by candlelight in the early morning hours, as the household still sleeps. The kitchen is quiet and dark. The scent of rosewater, almonds, and apricot kernels rising from the mortar and pestle transform the kitchen countertop to a magic carpet that carries me off to 18th century England.”
Jacques Tati: Magpie Collector of Foibles
Tati is a sort of magpie of human (and canine) foibles; a collector of gestures and moments of absurdity.
Pinhole Photography as an Emotion: Gianfranco Lunardo
“People live and mark their existence in the silent voice of their remains.”
Magpies Mix Tape: Songs about Justice
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Martin Luther King
Expat Questionnaire: Peter Atkinson
I graduated and worked for a few years before deciding, in August 1980, to chuck it all in and travel around the world.
