‘We could go as far to say that it is the human condition to be grotesque, since the human animal is the one that does not fit in, the freak of nature who has no place in the natural order and is capable of re-combing nature’s products into hideous new forms.’ – Mark Fisher
The theme of this issue is ‘The Grotesque’. We intentionally chose a flexible, open-ended theme to allow our writers complete freedom to interpret it as they wish. The result is a collection of work we are delighted to share with you. All of the ways in which life can be grotesque are captured in the following pages. A playlist is provided to accompany the reading experience.
It is an enormous privilege to have John Banville as our featured writer in this issue.
His work is so fundamental to the Irish literary canon. He is a writer, we, at Hearth, greatly admire.
‘The Hanged Man’ is a previously unseen short story by the Man Booker Prize winner.
In-House Writers: Aisling McGorrian, Charlottle McCulloch, Conor Ennis, Elena Stack Martin, Eoin Farrelly, Priya Evans
Contributing Writers: Anthony Adewuyi, Eve McGann, Fay Santillo, Jonny Olden, Jules Nati, Maisie McAllister, Matthew Gadaloff, Rob Kinnear
Featured Writer: John Banville
Cover Artist: Naomi O’Dwyer
Artwork: Caroline Kendall, Charlotte McCulloch, Jessica Sharkey, Nicole Go
Photography: Elena Stack Martin, Eoin Farrelly
Hearth Mag 