[have] [have doubts] [harbour doubts] and Paratext and poetic turns in <i>Magma 69</i>: the Deaf Issue and The Equality Act (2010)’s ‘Protected Characteristics'

The experimental translation in [harbour doubts] and accompanying film poem (which was included in-part to highlight the publication of film- poems within Magma 69) sits within a wider field of experimental translation, and encourages readers to question whether language can act as a remedy for loneliness. The poems interrogate moral questions that surround writing in, and about, a language spoken by a community I am on the periphery of.

The tri-part structure of the collection considers how multiple and renewed attempts at forming a stronger connection to society can be made, as an individual consciously writing through an experience amid a growing list of barriers such as the COVID-19 pandemic.<br><br>The critical component examines Magma 69: The Deaf Issue (2017) in the wider context of Magma’s publication history as a poetry magazine, and in the context of the ‘protected characteristics’ as defined by The Equality Act (2010).

In the wake of expanding platforms for the dissemination and publication of work by d/Deaf poets, such as an increasing number of poetry anthologies inviting contributions from d/Deaf poets, Magma 69 is studied for its earlier, and ambitious, opportunity to provide a publication space for d/Deaf poets to publish work alongside each other in the poetry magazine form. The introduction contextualises Magma 69: The Deaf Issue within the magazine’s publication history and examines the magazine’s commitment to culturally construct inclusivity through the publication of poetry.

To ground the study, the terms ‘protected characteristics’ and ‘d/Deafness’ are defined. The first chapter provides a critical reading of paratextual elements to the poems including the call for submissions and editorial, authored by Lisa Kelly and Raymond Antrobus, and the issue’s cover artwork. The second chapter offers an analysis of deaf poet Rodney Wood’s work alongside a reading of the formal and thematic approaches that hearing and d/Deaf writers have used to represent d/Deafness within the publication of Magma 69.

I draw connections between the work published in Magma 69 through the formal and thematic approaches taken by the issue’s poets including: the haiku, film-poems, and technical innovation and the body. Finally, a comparison is made between Magma 69 and the paratext and publication strategies of three other issues of Magma also themed upon another of the ‘protected characteristics, questioning the issue’s legacy. These issues include: Magma 27: Poetry on Same-Sex Relationships, Magma 76: Resistencia and Magma 82: Obsidian.<br><br><i>Thesis embargoed until 31st December 2030</i><br>