Dark Horizons 52

In spring 2008 the 52nd issue of Dark Horizons appeared, again edited by Jan Edwards and me. We began the issue with a reprint of the traditional poem, “Twa Corbies”. Here’s the first stanza:

As I was walking all alane,

I heard twa corbies makin a mane;

The tane unto t’other say,

‘Whar sall we gang and dine the-day?’

The magazine’s front cover was specially commissioned to illustrate this poem, of war and death throughout the ages. Dan Skinner (aka Cerberus), the artist, did a fine job representing this theme.

Besides the “Twa Corbies”, Dark Horizons contained:

The Gentleman Assassin – Richard Hudson +

A Dinner Party – Marion Pitman (v)

Star-Changer – Rebecca Lusher

Roots of the Writer: Charles de Lint – Jan Edwards *

Road to my Soul – Laura Willis (v)

Behind the Curtain – Joel Lane

Withered – Meaghan Hope

Flies – Jim Steel

Pain in Every Measure – Jo Fletcher (v)

The Bequest – David Riley

Walt Whitman did it for Me, and Continues to do It – Robert Holdstock (v)

Keep Off the Grass – Sally Quilford

(v) = verse, * = non-fiction, and + was subtitled “Being a Gothick Phantasy”.

Internal artwork and photos came from Chris Bell (“More Tea?”), MaryAnn Harris and Peter Coleborn.

DH52 was to be our last issue as editors, despite our original intention to be in post for a long run. This is because I found myself chairing the 2009 FantasyCon, and I decided that I couldn’t both edit DH and run a convention without adversely affecting either activity. Nevertheless, I popped back into the DH seat after it, New Horizons and Prism had been merged into the BFS Journal. More on this in a later post.

I mustn't forget to thank Joel Lane for selecting and editing the poems for my three issues of DH.

Meanwhile, the 2008 FantasyCon was held on 19-21 September, once again in the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham. The Guests of Honour were James Barclay, Christopher Golden and Dave McKean, with Christopher Fowler in the role of Master of Ceremonies.