A poet from the north-west has launched a poetry magazine which says it is composed of “literature forged from survival - poems shaped by psychosis, PTSD, cancer, addiction, injustice, and the griefs that leave lasting marks. But crisis is not our only mode. This issue also celebrates queer love, tenderness, defiance, and reinvention.”

Editor Max Wallis, whose early poems appeared on Write Out Loud, and was interviewed by Chris Dawson,  says he conceived The Aftershock Review “from bed”, after being  “disabled throughout 2024 with complex PTSD”.

Its first issue featured Hugo Williams, Pascale Petit, John McCullough, Adam Horovitz, Gwyneth Lewis, and a special tribute to the late, disabled north-west poet Jackie Hagan, “an outstanding performance poet whose voice continues to shake the world”. Its second issue, coming soon, will include poems from Sean O’Brien, George Szirtes, Ian Duhig, Fiona Larkin, Niall Campbell, and Forward prize winner Marjorie Lofti.

Max, who is also a national newspaper freelance journalist, and has returned from London to live in Manchester, saw his poetry pamphlet Modern Love shortlisted for the Polari prize in 2012. He has a new pamphlet coming out later this year, titled Well Done, You Didn’t Die, with Verve Poetry Press.