Atlas Didn't Shrug...

Atlas 02 is a a cultural magazine that comes from India and is edited by the poet Sudeep Sen. The contributing editors masthead is impressive: Peter Bradshaw, Les Murray, Donald Hall, Fiona Sampson, Peter Porter, Ruth Padel, and others.

Its chief function is to publish new writing, but it also includes a variety of art and image related features. The second issue is just out, with a feature on Canadian writing (yes, I am included), with new work by (among others) Evelyn Lau, Robert Priest, Alison Pick, Margaret Atwood, John Barton and PK Page.

There's also an interview with Salman Rushdie.

It's an impressive achievement, and one of the best-designed journals of its kind I've seen. The cover is striking and persuasive, with its bold use of photographic colour and a stark black background. The interior layout has a kind of Internet browsing interface feel to it - all seems contemporary and to hand. Exactly 400 pages in length, this is a high quality international journal punching in the Paris Review category. Do seek it out.

To contribute or subscribe: atlasaarkarts at gmail dot com.

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In terms of great films about, and of, love, we have Vertigo, In The Mood for Love , and Casablanca , Doctor Zhivago , An Officer and a Gentleman , at the apex; as well as odder, more troubling versions, such as Sophie's Choice and Silence of the Lambs . I think my favourite remains Bram Stoker's Dracula , with the great immortal line "I have crossed oceans of time to find you...".

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