The Poor Print

One Year On [1/4]

by Leo Gillard Annie woke up to the sound of an emergency alert on her phone – the screen lit up, the ever familiar sound of an alarm played. The proximity of the strike was three miles, enough to justify hurrying everyone into the shelter at five in the morning. Normally those things were accurate, […]

Poetry

The River Margaret

by Caitlin Ross Riding down the river brown, With feathers in my head, Wearing sunshine like a crown, Fish dart through the riverbed. With feathers in my head, With the wind against my back, Fish dart through the riverbed, We advance down this new track. With the wind against my back, Our paddles flush to […]

Artwork, Photography

Penumbral Eclipse

by Domenic Peake These images show the earth’s shadow cast on the moon during the penumbral eclipse on the 10th of January, which occurs when the earth blocks some of the light from the sun shining on the moon. It was not very obvious on the night but if you really squinted you could just […]

Artwork, Photography

Full Bloom

by Samanwita Sen

College

Anniversary

by The Poor Print Team The blooms at the start of spring may be met with an eclipsing moon, or midnight rolling into view. They are reminders of significant times, both good and bad. For us at The Poor Print, Anniversary marks the 50th issue of our humble corner of Oriel life. Along with the […]

Artwork, Photography

New Beginnings

by Samanwita Sen

Poetry, Prose

Midnight

by Monim Wains Midnight pulled their cloak over their head. Smooth black fur slid on slow, draped over shoulders. A resting weight hugged them down whole. They floated on the grass, wispy tendrils stroked the ground beneath their toes. The grass swooned in slumber at the touch, eyes drooping at Midnight’s caress. Eyes dreamed, staring […]

Print issues

Issue #50 – Anniversary

A PDF of the print version of Issue #50 – Anniversary – can be downloaded here.

Prose

A Not So Fresh Perspective

by Monim Wains Just last year, I sent in my first nervous attempt at writing for The Poor Print. I wrote about ‘A Fresh Perspective’, a reflection on freshers’ week of first year. Now, as an old and aging second year, I tap away in the library. My age is no longer ‘-teen’, my college […]

Print issues

Issue #49 – Perspective

A PDF of the print version of Issue #49 – Perspective – can be downloaded here.

Prose

Alive [4/4]

by Leo Gillard Arin realised, now, that things were going to be okay in the end. Maybe they would have always been fine. Maybe Kieran was always going to pull through and come out the other side. Maybe it only seemed like that now, when he had a different perspective. It did seem sort of […]

Poetry

Square knows no infinities

by Odessa Ng I don’t want to talk a lifetimeI don’t want to contemplate a futureHe wants a future with herThey want a future with herBut what does she want A future with whomOr a future at allAn existenceA past. Point Is there anyTo start all overShe has nothingTo complain, a lifeWith ups and downs […]

Comment, Prose

Pondering Plentiful Perspectives

by Martin Yip History is written by the victors, they say. I spent much of the past summer in two interesting locations – Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Both countries share a history of communist rule which are, interestingly enough, depicted from […]

Poetry

Reflected Eyes

by Gregory Davidson I can only see the worldFrom eyes so surely mine,So locked insideOne head,One space,That the way the world appears to me,Is made so by my eyes. And yet myself,I only seeFrom eyes that aren’t quite rightNot the eyes of othersAnd certainly not mine,But the eyes in the mirrorLooking back in self-reflection,Eyes that […]

Poetry

Nostalgia

by Caitlin Ross a fuchsia holds a different meaning to you than it does to memy hands shrink down to a child’s hands and i laughdo you remember who you were before the world took its toll on you?and do you know where that person lives on?do they linger by the old green pond teeming […]

Creative Writing, Prose

Assist [3/4]

by Leo Gillard Kieran was perfectly aware that his life had… not exactly gone as planned. That he was stuck in something he couldn’t quite see the end of, couldn’t reach the bottom of to push himself back up again. He’d gone down the wrong path, somewhere along the line, and he’d sunk somewhere without […]

Print issues

Issue #48 – Overcome

A PDF of the print version of Issue #48 – Overcome – can be downloaded here.

Humour, Prose

University Survival Guide

by Ruida Ding Time Management Strive to study in a systematic manner, for example by following a schedule to work a fixed amount of time each day. With sufficient advance planning, one can avoid working late into the night and circumvent all-nighters. Career Make use of Michaelmas term to converse with firms which interest you. […]

Poetry

Midnight Musing II

by David K Asamoah We are as planets in the starry domeMoving in unique orbits through the void,Though the same sky, in different heavens we roamAs different hells for us have been employedOften in the late hours of day one findsTheir focus lost in twilight’s bold displayAnd endless thought puts one in many mindsFor many […]

Poetry

Overcoming Goodbye

by Gregory Davison Nothing gets my tears to start flowingLike people saying goodbye,In film, on TV, in the books that I read,No matter how often, how cheesily it’s done.There’s something about separationA distance, not easily overcome,But with time, and with memoryI think it can be done. I once made a joke with a friendThat I […]

Artwork

Challenge Accepted

by Monim Wains

Poetry

Mulberry Boy

by Caitlin Ross mulberry boy,it was a balmy summer day wheni first saw youi was walking on thewarm pavementwhen yougreeted medangling, swayingfrom the bowed branch ofyour tree. your branch was justin my reach,you looked plumpand juicy and sweetyour deep, lustrous exterioryour mellow, purple scententicing meto takea bite. you were just assweet as i imaginedsucculent and […]

Creative Writing, Prose

Snow

by Iona Cowley The snow came over the night, as we thought it would. Slowly white piled up as duplicate of all, inching its way upward, cruel and faded shadow’s opposition. The sky was unusually light, no doubt the work of the millions of tiny crystals that were diffusing the neon street lamps as they […]

Culture, Prose, Reviews

Spring Awakening: A Review

by Raghav Arora and Samanwita Sen Spring Awakening is a bold take on teenage sexuality. It follows the experiences of various adolescents,’ sexuality coming to full bloom, with a major focus on Wendla Bergmann as she forays into the unfamiliar territory of lustful passion in her relationship with Melchior Gabor. The play strikes a fine […]

Print issues

Issue #47 – Sacrifice

A PDF of the print version of Issue #47 – Sacrifice – can be downloaded here.

Comment, Prose

No Sacrifice Too Small

by Martin Yip On 1 October 2019, the People’s Republic of China celebrated its 70th anniversary. In Beijing, the largest ever military parade was staged. Fifteen thousand troops marched across Tiananmen Square with armaments that were all made in China. ‘Patriotism and pride swelled among the Chinese as they celebrated the country’s seven decades of […]

Prose

Anxiety [2/4]

by Leo Gillard Laila could see that he was on the edge of something; something she didn’t want to see come to pass. Actually, they could all see it. Kieran was standing on the edge he’d been standing on for years now. Yet it… it almost wasn’t him she worried for. Everyone knew that Kieran […]

Prose

To My Parents

by Samanwita Sen Dear dreamer, It must have been a treacherous sail across the world. I can imagine it – how years before my formless thoughts could fathom the existence of time and a world beyond you and this beautiful thing called growing up, you must’ve arched your back, reaching for the specks of stardust […]

Prose

‘Of songs that die not’: A Quiet Hero of the Somme

by Grace Khuri 2019 marks the hundredth anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles (signed 28 June 1919), which officially ended the First World War. At this time of year, and not least during this twilight of the centenary commemorations, we reflect on the subject of sacrifice and its meanings. There are many types of sacrifice, […]

Prose

Killing Sacrifice

by Monim Wains Those who are selfless, who give to others, in some way or another, are worthy of respect, or so we think. The epitome of such people is those who sacrifice their whole lives to protect something worthwhile. We admire and respect their courage, celebrate their spirit with great monuments and ceremonies. What […]

Artwork

Liberty

by Pedram Bassirian

Print issues

Issue #46 – Hope

A PDF of the print version of Issue #46 – Hope – can be downloaded here.

College

Hope Within Oriel

by Oriel College Supporters Hope is a powerful thing, but it can sometimes be hard to come by, especially in a university where there is so much going on so much of the time. In the midst of it all, when you need a break and a chat, the college’s Peer Supporters are here to […]

Creative Writing, Poetry, Prose

Pandora

by Monim Wains You stood at the bottom of the waterfall, pelted by the deluge, punches of weight pounding down on your bones, thumping a tonne on your shoulders. You had been brought to the forest some time ago; not out of your own volition, but by those who decreed that you should exist. Like […]

Poetry

On Hope

by David Asamoah The youngest of the last remaining three,Junior to Faith that moves the sun and starsAnd second ranked to Love that endures scarsSo that others may know its riches freeBut if not for Hope’s love which heart would seeBeyond the bleak heavens which Faith moved so?If not with Hope how much would small […]

Poetry

The Personification of Hope

by Dania Kamal Aryf Hope is a ray of sunlight that slips through the windows of a fourteen-hour flight, Hope packaged in a luggage bag, not more than thirty kilograms, because they expect a lot from you but you can never be too much, yet you should never be not enough; Hope is the faintest flicker […]

Creative Writing, Prose

Apart [1/4]

by Leo Gillard He’d never dared think about something like hope. Hope was for fools, for those reaching out in the dark, expecting nothing but still seeing everything, somehow. He didn’t have the luxury to entertain something so trivial, so baseless, so- Orion hoped for many things. He knew the hope was futile. He hated […]

Prose

Killing the Dragon

by Michael Angerer The world we live in certainly appears to be a dangerous place these days: a single glance at the news is enough to distract us from our petty worries about busy Oxford terms or a slightly less busy year abroad. Every headline promises another debacle, from Brexit to Syria to whatever President […]

Comment, Prose

The Ghosts of Protests Past

by ZX and Martin Yip ‘Nostalgia’ has two meanings. Originally, it meant ‘homesickness’. Today, it means ‘longing for the past’. For Hongkongers living in the UK, both meanings are apt. On Sunday 9th June, huge crowds filled the streets of Hong Kong to protest against a proposed law that would allow anyone in Hong Kong […]

Poetry

A View Across the Bridge at Me

by Tom Saer ‘Can you give me a cautious “yes”?’floats up to me from the past, one of my first auditions. Time is a flat circle for me for five small portal minutes.Out of my pint glass body, staring at the stage, the wormhole made when I think about what things look like from the […]