Encouraging the Arts in Fermanagh and neighbouring counties
Corncrake Magazine is an on-line-only Arts magazine published twice yearly by Fermanagh Writers. It covers writing, art, music and related matters produced in, or of interest to, Fermanagh and the surrounding area, reaching from Omagh to Cavan and from Ballyshannon to Monaghan.
We accept poetry, flash fiction (under 1000 words) reflections and reviews. Visual content and links to music or videos are also welcome.
Submissions to the next issue will open at the start of September. In the meantime, if you have any relevant news, notices or queries please send them to editor@corncrakemagazine.com and we will include them below.
The Call of the Corncrake
Why should a drab bird like the corncrake be the mascot for an Arts magazine?
Corncrakes were once abundant in Fermanagh. They started to disappear here, as elsewhere in Europe, when mechanised farming disturbed their nest sites. Now at last they are perhaps making a comeback.
The corncrake is a summer visitor that returns each year, if it can, to the same unremarkable spot, and by its presence makes that place special. Artists too, whether writers, painters, photographers or musicians, claim their own ties with this area. Some are here by accident of birth or circumstance, some by choice, and some by both. Like the corncrake, they need a safe and welcoming place to brood on their ideas until they hatch and grow, ready to take wing throughout the world.
Corncrake the ezine will help to provide that space. Here you will learn what other artists are working in the area, what inspires them, what opportunities there are available to practice and perfect your own craft.
The Corncrake has perhaps the least melodious call of all the birds. It is rasping and monotonous, and you might think it would not matter to you if it should be heard no more. Perhaps not, but it matters mightily to the corncrake. He calls because he must. And, as an old man who lived far up on the back of Cuilcagh once said, on a silent summer night he’s quare good company.
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