Amid the darkness of the pandemic, a sense of meaning can often seem elusive. Many of us have spent – and are still spending – hours and hours searching for it in online spaces. But for Seán Flynn and Molly O’Connor, the editors of forthcoming literary journal Bealtaine, this was just the impetus they needed.
Speaking with The University Times, the editors started from the very beginning: “Our inspiration to establish Bealtaine was born out of our lockdown anxiety in spring 2020 [when] we were working from home and feeling hopeless, as everyone did and still does now.”
While hopelessness threatened to taint any and all sparks of creativity they had, Flynn and O’Connor decided to “channel [their] energy into something positive during such a time of despair”. With new limitations placed on many familiar artistic opportunities, the duo felt it was the ideal time to create a platform that merged the literary and visual world.
As for the kind of work that Bealtaine will feature, Flynn says that submissions have flooded in from a range of “different backgrounds”. She goes on to explain that the magazine will feature visual art alongside literature, which is something the two editors are particularly looking forward to. They both mention how, often by chance, two independent works will gel together wonderfully, despite the two artists in question having no connection. “I love finding that confluence of ideas”, says Flynn, “and being the one to select them to be placed side by side in the magazine”.
Speaking on the subject of themes, the editors assert that their main goal is to showcase a broad range of Irish work that deals with intersectionality, inclusivity, environmentalism, and empowerment. With the first issue at least, O’Connor tells us, their objective is “to keep the theme itself quite diverse, featuring subject matter which has inspired an artist or is reflective of an element of their own life and their experience as a creative in modern Ireland”.
The first issue being a “free-for-all of ideas” according to Flynn, begs the question of whether or not the editors will have the same liberal approach to issue two, if indeed there will be a second issue at all. Flynn sheds some light on this, saying that “the hope is that with issue one all set and our website looking good for launch, we’ll be at an advantage to release issue two within the year”. The editors have even bigger plans for the future of the magazine, with ambitions of running competitions with cash prizes and hosting guest judges to pick the winners.
The first issue of Bealtaine will be launched online on April 16th, with a PDF version also being made available to their readers. Both Flynn and O’Connor hope that, with the help of funding, they will be able to release a print version of the first issue soon after. As for issue two, the pair have no plans regarding its format just yet: “We don’t know yet if issue two will be available in print, but it’s always something we’re considering, once we find the right printers and marketplace for it.”
With hopes of receiving advice from other independently established magazines in Ireland and finding stable funding, the future sees little to stop the editors of Bealtaine from cultivating a successful and widely loved magazine.
Though submissions for issue one are closed, O’Connor says that they are still eager to receive any work for future issues from “artists of all backgrounds and levels of experience”.
Further information about Bealtaine can be found on their Instagram page.
