Welcome to the Lapidus Magazine

At its heart, this issue is an invitation – to celebrate and reflect on our relationship with ourselves, with one another, and with the words we use to make sense of both.

The word relationship itself holds dynamism rather than a fixed bond. It is an ongoing act of relating, a MeWe, as Dan Siegel calls it, that lives in the space between. To be in relationship is to move, to respond, to be altered. It is a verb disguised as a noun.

Our contributors explore many textures of that verb: between partners and friends, parents and children, writers and readers, practitioners and participants; between the self and memory, the self and the body, the self and the page. We encounter relationship as attachment and rupture, as dialogue and silence, as care, conflict, repair, and reimagining. Again and again, writing, voice, and mark-making appear not only as ways of describing relationship but as relationship in itself: a living exchange between inner and outer worlds, through which we come to know ourselves and each other more fully.

We are moved by the breadth and generosity of what has been shared in these pages. Submissions have arrived from across continents, representing the quiet labour that sustains this field: workshops held in community centres and prisons, research undertaken in universities, poems written in the margins of difficult days. Editing, too, is a form of relationship – shaping without imposing, clarifying without erasing voice, holding a frame so others’ words can stand.

We hope this issue invites you into your own reflections on relationship: where it sustains you, where it asks something of you, where it might yet be rewritten. And where your voice doesn’t yet appear in these pages, may it find its way here.

Edited by Alison Cable and Kate Poll.

This issue turns to writing as a companion through grief, honouring loss in its many forms with voices that speak of courage, sorrow, and connection. You’ll also find striking cover art by Sophia Lengle and a moving poem by her mother, award-winning author and associate professor, Reinekke Lengelle, with whom we were In Conversation With.

What’s Inside?

From a meditation on when a poem doesn’t need to be good to reflections on the right words for letting go, our contributors explore how writing can hold, release, and re-shape grief. Alongside these, Readers’ Poems and Shorts continues to showcase the many voices in our community and beyond.

What Else to Expect?

Find inspiration in the Latest Lapidus News—from the Plumblines anthology Flight to insights on sharing your own research with LIRIC Journal.

The newest issue of Lapidus Magazine is here! This edition features stunning cover art by Jamie Lake and a moving poem by Fiona Hamilton which celebrates their joint project ‘Fractures’, exploring poetry/art/landscape/buildings.

What’s New?
We’re introducing Readers’ Poems and Shorts, showcasing the many voices in our community and the wider world of writing for wellbeing.

Plus, we’re launching In Conversation With, our brand-new interview series with leading voices in the field. Episode One features an insightful discussion with Dr. Jeannie Wright, available in both audio and video.

What Else to Expect?
Stay up to date with Latest Lapidus News, including Flo Reynolds’ report on the Membership Survey, and find inspiration in Spotlight on Scotland.

We are thrilled to announce that Issue Four of our magazine is here, brimming with inspiring, empowering, and supportive content. This edition celebrates the diverse voices within our community and the broader creative writing for wellbeing field.

Inside you’ll find contributions covering self-disclosure, Australian Story Fragments, social prescribing, decolonisation, ekphrasis and much more!

With thanks to the contributors: Annie Barrett, Alison Cable, Miriam Dawson-Reilly, Roz Doe, Emma Drew, Poppy Drew, Sarah Featherstone, Victoria Field, Carolyn Grisold, Sabrin Hasbun, Poonam Madar, Leigh Manley, Sophie Poll-Hulshoff, Steve Richards, Denise Saul, Jonathan Totman, and Val Watson. And thank you to editors Alison Cable and Kate Poll.

We hope this issue will inspire you and encourage you to contribute to our upcoming Issue Five. Submissions are open until 15th November 2024. Find out more and submit your work.

Issue Three of the Lapidus Magazine is now here!

Find below the long-awaited third issue of the Lapidus Magazine – by the writing for wellbeing community for the writing for wellbeing community.

This issue has been curated by co-editors Barbara Bloomfield in Bristol, UK and Catrice Greer in the USA, with sub-editing by Helen iles. Design and formatting by Richard Axtell.

Thank you to all our contributors for this issue: Toni Hurford, Dr Phil Isherwood, Mary Lunnen, Lina Mookerjee, Amanda Pitt, Monica Suswin, Claire Williamson and Dr Jeannie Wright.

Read all of this in the online flipbook below (best read in full-screen mode):

Issue Two of the Lapidus Magazine is now here!

We are happy to announce the publication of the second issue of our Lapidus Magazine – by the writing for wellbeing community for the writing for wellbeing community.

This issue has been curated by co-editors Barbara Bloomfield in Bristol, UK and Catrice Greer in the USA, with sub-editing by Roger Livingston.

Thank you to all our contributors for this issue: Lina Mookerjee, Melinda Schwakhofer, Eva Roshan, Susanna Suchak, Stephanie Dale and Mary Lunnen.

Read all of this in the online flipbook below (best read in full-screen mode):

Presenting – the first issue of our brand new Lapidus Magazine!

This re-vamped version of the old Lapidus journal is a cornucopia of voices from our community, beautifully put together by editor, Helen Foster, aided by Richard Axtell and Kerry Coburn. The new magazine collects lively news and views about practice issues, personalities, reflective space, therapeutic arts and writing and developing your writing for wellbeing practice.

Alongside full colour photos, you can enjoy work by the following contributors:

Gillian Gilman Culff, Kate Pawsey, Toni Hurford, Patricia Peacock, Hilary Wilce, Eva Melissa Roshan, Chiara Santin, Poonam Madar, Kerry Coburn, Jan Kaneen, Dr Elizabeth Sarkany and Barbara Bloomfield. The lead article is Gillian Culff’s moving exploration of the time she spent mentoring Afghan women writers.

Read all of this in the online flipbook below (best read in full screen mode):