Micro-interview with Avra Margariti

Avra Margariti, author of the poem “Homunculi of Creation” in The Future Fire #68, joined us for a lightning chat about alchemy, cosmogony and mythology.

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Art © 2024 Melkorka

TFF: What does “Homunculi of Creation” mean to you?

Avra Margariti: I have always been an avid reader of historical alchemy and its related customs. This is how I first encountered the concept of the homunculus. A homunculus is an artificial humanoid being that can be created through alchemy. So I asked myself—what if that act of creation was also a cosmogony, the birth of the universe on the largest scale?

TFF: What are you working on next?

AM: I’m trying to write more speculative stories that use characters from Greek mythology in new and surprising settings. I've also been trying to write more literary Weird, though I'm not sure yet what exactly that means to me. (so far: seahorse pregnancy stories, apparently).

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Extract:

He pulls out of His womb
A reliquary of small and inviting things:

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/01/new-issue-202468.html.

New Issue 2024.68

“I have always loved playing around with words. I didn’t know it was called poetry. I was just an innocent kid messing around with words.”

—Benjamin Zephaniah, 1958–2023

Issue 2024.68

Short stories

• ‘The Rose Sisterhood’, Susan Taitel - art by Fluffgar
• ‘Escape Choice’, Emma Burnett - art by Cécile Matthey
• ‘A Witch, a Wakening’, Laura Blackwell - art by Sarah Salcedo

Novelettes

• ‘The Ensanguined Shore’, Jennifer R. Donohue - art by Sebastian Timpe

Poetry

• ‘Bone Planet’, Petra Kuppers - art by Toeken
• ‘Homunculi of Creation’, Avra Margariti - art by Melkorka

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New Issue: 2023.64

“We need to have a movement that is willing to let everyone speak, to create space, to listen to different voices, to be challenged.”

—Talissa M. Soto

Issue 2023.64

Short stories

• ‘Purity’, Jennifer R. Donohue - art by Fluffgar
• ‘His New Body’, Simon Kewin - art by Miguel Santos
• ‘The Thousand Tongues of Sara’, Jonathan Olfert - art by Cécile Matthey
• ‘Side Effects May Vary’, Avra Margariti - art by Toeken

Poetry

• ‘Going Under’, Ujjvala Bagal Rahn
• ‘Solitary’, David Birch Ellis - art by Joyce Chng
• ‘The Later Life of Herr Samsa’s Picture’, Elizabeth R. McClellan - art by Dr T. Eratopo
• ‘Mageochory’, S. Brackett Robertson - art by Dr T. Eratopo

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Micro-interview with Avra Margariti

Welcome to Avra Margariti author of the poem “Degenerate” in The Future Fire #60:

TFF: What does “Degenerate” mean to you?

AM: Looking at the definitions for "degeneration", one is about the alleged moral corruption inherent in any queer state and person, the other about a disease that causes the cells of the body to deteriorate and lose function. When it comes to horror, I am fascinated by concepts such as atavism (the tendency to revert to the body's ancestral state; for example, growing vestigial tails), and teratomata (fully developed tumors of mixed tissue and organs in unsuitable places; for example, an amalgamation of hair, muscle, and bone all growing from the same spot). Body horror and queerness are, for me, inextricably bound as a way to achieve desired metamorphosis.

Illustration © 2022 Josep Lledó

TFF: If you could acquire the ability to speak with one type of animal or monster, which would you choose?

AM: The Lamia, which is also my current favorite creature from Greek mythology. She is a night-prowling serpentine daemon with the gift of prophesy (and the ability to remove and reinsert her eyes in their sockets at will). Originally regarded as beautiful and desirable by gods and mortals, she was later transformed into something ugly and monstrous yet is still a master of seduction (which often ends in anthropophagy).

Extract:

Vestigial wings
Atrophying pseudopodia
& motley degeneration
Of mixed metaphors

You can comment on “Degenerate” or any of the stories, poems and illustrations in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2022/01/new-issue-202260.html

New Issue: 2022.60

“I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this. I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place. I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about apartheid. For me, it is at the same level.”

—His Grace, Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu

Issue 2022.60

Flash fiction

• ‘Before We Drown’, Vanessa Fogg, art by Katharine A. Viola

Short stories

• ‘Ten Degrees of Freedom’, Sean Chua, art by Fluffgar
• ‘Mrs. Daedalus’, Marianne Connolly, art by Joyce Chng
  
• ‘I’m Fine’, P.L. Salerno, art by Sarah Salcedo
  
• ‘Every Quivering Fold of Flesh’, Jennifer R. Donohue, art by L.E. Badillo
  
• ‘Make of Me a Comet’, Kit Harding, art by Cécile Matthey
  

Poetry

• ‘Return to the Cities’, Marie Vibbert, art by Eric Asaris
  
• ‘Degenerate’, Avra Margariti, art by Josep Lledó
  

Full issue and editorial

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New Issue: 2021.57

“We all have dreams, and these dreams keep us positive about the future because if we really want to achieve the dreams that we have and the hopes that we have, that means we have to get fighting for the future. So that’s one of my biggest motivations to keep fighting.”

—Vanessa Nakate

Issue 2021.57

Short stories

• ‘Wives at the End of the World’, Avra Margariti (illustrated by Joyce Chng)
• ‘The City, My Love’, Alexandra Seidel (illustrated by Carmen Moran)
• ‘A Subtle Fire Beneath the Skin’, Hayley Stone (illustrated by Cécile Matthey)
• ‘Autonomous Dispatch’, Anna Ziegelhof (illustrated by Fluffgar)
• ‘Faulty Genes’, Hannah Soyer (illustrated by Eric Asaris)

Poetry

• ‘The Flier and the Sheltered Maid’, Ana Gardner (illustrated by Miguel Santos)
• ‘Alien Armada’, Mary Soon Lee (illustrated by Laura-Anca Adascalitei)
• ‘In Dependence’, Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe (illustrated by Jason Baltazar)
• ‘Apotheosis’, Nicole J. LeBoeuf (illustrated by Toeken)

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Full issue and editorial 

New issue: 2020.54

“It hurts me that, if global warming still continues, if global warming continues on a large scale, it’s going to affect our future only; we the children and the coming future generation is going to suffer. So I wanted to do something about that, and that’s why I sued my government.”

—Ridhima Pandey

Issue 2020.54

Flash fiction

• ‘Dragon Years’, Juliet Kemp (illustrated by Martin Hanford)

Short stories

• ‘A Stereoscopic Landscape View of Torino with Damsels and Distress’, Celia Neri (illustrated by Josep Lledó)
• ‘The Foraging’, Shelly Jones (illustrated by Joyce Chng)
• ‘Strange Engines’, Jordan Taylor (illustrated by Eric Asaris)
• ‘The Facts Are These’, M. Bennardo (illustrated by Cécile Matthey)
• ‘The Shadow Catchers’, Vanessa Fogg (illustrated by Katharine A. Viola)
• ‘Cascade’, A.J. Fitzwater (illustrated by Fluffgar)

Poetry

• ‘Demon Summoning for the Modern Femme’, Avra Margariti (illustrated by L.E. Badillo)
• ‘This Soundless Murk’, Hester J. Rook (illustrated by Miguel Santos)

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Full issue and editorial.

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