Sex Crimes Focus of Lit Mag Edition

Out of Print, published from Bengaluru, curates writing that provides nuanced perspectives neglected by the news channels

QUEEN'S ROAD:  An online literary journal based in Bengaluru tackles sexual and gender violence through short fiction and reportage.

Founded in 2010 and edited by Indira Chandrashekhar, Out of Print magazine has also guest editors such as Samhita Arni and Meena Kandasamy for its latest edition.

“It examines sexual and gender violence from multiple spaces: impact on the individual, its use as a weapon in war and sectarian violence, and how a child or a relative of a perpetrator views it,” says Indira.

Samhita Arni, author of  best-selling books such as Sita’s Ramayana, The Mahabharata-A Child’s View and The Missing Queen, feels more spaces for such conversations need to be created.

“For various reasons, I’ve been thinking about how writers and feminists can engage with the problem constructively and proactively. My friend Meena Kandasamy writes extensively about rape, and we decided to put this anthology together, and Indira was generous and let us use Out of Print for this,” says Samhita.

The issue is a collection of stories, reportage, testimonies, fiction and non-fiction on the theme of sexual and gender violence.

Everyday stories

For instance, there’s Kuzhali Manickavel’s story about a woman who deals with daily violation in a bus.

Or Subimal Misra, translated from the Bengali by V Ramaswamy, who writes on the sex workers of Sonagachi, Asia’s largest red-light district. In Vasudhendra’s Bed Bug, translated from Kannada by Rashmi Terdal, the protagonist undergoes the experience of being transgender and an outcast in rural Karnataka, where feudal ideas of masculinity hold sway.

Indira feels fiction can create a space for empathy. “The format allows the controlled examination of the incident, and the emotional and psychological impact on the characters. Sensational news reportage has the positive of eliciting shock, and perhaps, outrage and action. But it also deadens our ability to act and we accept this brutality as a constant background in our lives,” she says.

Out of Print was born when Indira had just begun to foray into the world of short fiction. “Most of my work was getting accepted in literary journals abroad. But some gave me the impression that they were looking for that ‘exotic’ element that is certainly not part of my writing. It raises the question of readership: who is one writing for?” she says. Such questions motivated her to start the journal.

The online journal curates writing every quarter, and works with authors to edit and refine their stories to be even stronger.

“We look for integrity of voice, which cuts through shaky craft and bad grammar. We work with a writer to refine the work if we believe in it. Of course, well-crafted, well-structured stories have an undoubted appeal,” says Indira.

www.outofprintmagazine.co.in

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