'At Peace In Time' by Edward Lee

Issue Three is here and it feels like it’s been a long time coming. We are always grateful for the patience of our contributors and our readers as we navigate running a literary magazine amidst Life (with a capital L). But there have been a few changes behind the scenes which we’re excited to finally see come to fruition!

Poetry has always had a strong connection with faith as a beautiful way to explore the minutiae of what faith means to humans.. We are delighted to publish our first selection of poetry in this issue which wouldn’t have been possible without new additions to the Overtly Lit team, our wonderful poetry editors Sagirah Shahid and Kara Dunford.

Amongst the poetry in this issue, you will find heartfelt words filled with grief such as in A Reaper in Beirut by Ahmad Addam. You’ll encounter bodily endurance and meditations on both physical and emotional pain, put together in the beautiful pieces by Monica Prince’s Ode to the Uterus and Emma McCoy’s God of Sarah.

The styles in poetry are so varied and the places they come from, the avenues of faith they explore are all so unique; there is sure to be a poem that will speak to every reader.

We are also excited to introduce new prose editors who have joined the team, Sara Hassan and Sadia Akhtar, who have helped polish each piece to its best. As ever, we have an assortment of prose pieces that are emotive, striking, gentle and thought-provoking. 

The simplicity of Judy Lunsford’s Walnuts imbues power in its hopeful message and is a piece that explores how the hardest times can often bring out the strongest in our reliance on faith.

Details to Follow by Sarah Jasat is a different flavour of story altogether, offering a frank look at a very real problem, with a skilful edge of wit. Moses by Chris Cottom is a delightfully humorous piece that took us by surprise.

We’re proud of every piece and we are always honoured by the level of talent contributors share with us. We are also incredibly grateful for the continued support of our first readers as well as new readers that have found us along the way. 

We hope our third issue will give you something to connect with, reflect on or be swept away by.