issue 1: NOSTALGIA
Welcome to the first issue of opia!
When I graduated last summer with the intention of taking a gap year, starting a lit mag was not on my to-do list. Yet even in its seedling stages, it became the highlight of a very long and difficult year.
Issue 1 was first released in print a couple of months ago, and back then, wintry days were still upon us (at least they were where I live!). Now, with spring ushering in change, growth, and new possibilities, I couldn’t be happier to finally share the work of these incredible writers and artists with you all.
So before we move forward into warmer days and future issues, let’s take a dive into the past. I hope reading this issue brings you some solace and summons memories of happier times – or not, because as we all know, nostalgia can be a bittersweet thing. Below, a delicious dessert, paper cranes and airplanes, lonely hearts, carefree children, sprawling flora, and every shade of longing you can imagine await you.
Enjoy!
—Olga Białasik
Because of the format of some of the works, this issue is best viewed on a desktop device.
If on a mobile or tablet, please rotate screen to landscape mode.
If need be, please check content warnings here before reading.
begin now inside, by BEE LB
Big Red by Sarah Cavar
Remembrance of Laughing with Animals by Miriam Miriam
Holidays with Ma by Zahirra Dayal
Bilingual Poet by Mandira Pattnaik
Racing the Moon to Mayrhofen by Olive F.
Memory by Naoise Gale
The Ascent by the Storybook System
At the back of the chapel, standing by Jessica Chan
Second-Date Deadname Swap by Nora Hikari
A green light, and then it fades. by Jack Hartley
to Gehenna by Shon Mapp
Hot Summer Nights by Veronica Niero
too old for this by Allison Stein
I Dreamt About by Khanh Tran
Art of Remembering by S. Rupsha Mitra
These Arms by Briony Collins
ode to ma by Olaitan Humble
Taking up space in small pools by Lucy Holme
boulevard masséna by Calum O’Connell
Suckle by Sophia Liu
We Walked Bridges Just to Burn Them by Sanjana Rajagopal
Playdate by Saloni Kshirsagar
The Boys in the Lineup by Ally Chua
The Yesterday People by Peter J. Coles
Hunger Pains by Crystal Sidell
The Hollow Shell by Malina Douglas
Underground Valley by Zebib K. A.
Halcyon by Sher Ting
The Terroir of the Countryside by K.Blair
