The fiction in issue 11 of “Front and Centre” is well written, and generally rooted in more working class or less affluent lives. In “World’s Greatest” by Hannah Holborn, the central character, Jason, is alienated from his disabled father, a man who had his head bashed in years before. We never do find out the reason for this attack, but the story seems to suggest that Jason is following in his father’s footsteps in some way. His relations with women are not good, and there’s the implication that he might have been violent towards at least one partner. This is a story without reconciliation or a happy ending.

Another alienated and altogether more dangerous son is the central figure in “More than an Angel” by Daithidh MacEochaidh. This time the familial dynamic is mother-son. The son is on his way to see his prostitute mother in Newcastle to get some money off her. He’s been in prison, and it transpires that he attacked an old woman, a neighbour of his mother’s. It’s possible this attack was sexual, because he briefly forces himself on his own mother. This is one of the darkest stories in the issue, and it’s difficult to engage with any of the characters.

“A Day in June” by Len Gasparini has a different atmosphere to the first two. Following an elderly man over the course of a day, there’s an episodic quality to the events, and yet the writing and the central character pull everything together successfully. This is one of the best stories in the issue, with a more rounded character at its centre. “The Parade” by Bilbo Poynter describes a Labour Day parade, threading in the undermining of workers’ rights and the changing society. This piece bears a closer resemblance to memoir or non-fiction, but is a rewarding read nevertheless.

“One Summer She Was Beautiful” by Philip Quinn is set mostly at a boarding house which appears to be a kind of halfway home for former psychiatric patients. Some way into the story, a new resident arrives, an elderly lady, a former actress, who spends hours in the bathroom every day, enraging the narrator, who gets a visit from the police. But she is evicted in the end. The woman is never seen, except in an old photograph from the nineteen twenties the narrator keeps. Feeling guilty that he might have had a hand in her eviction, he passes her off in the photograph as a great aunt who once acted in silent films. The first two pages of this story are not as strong as the rest, but the unseen old lady haunts the piece, a mysterious and poignant individual with a history the reader can only guess at.

The last story, “Grangran Warmfeather’s Sitting on a Hot Bingo” by Cathleen Kirkwood follows the plight of Native American Canadians in a welfare dependent community, where drink and drugs have taken their toll. Grangran’s grandson, Michael, is meanwhile in the city, selling his body, and sniffing from spray canisters. The poverty-stricken background of the characters is well described, and so too is their emotional connection. What makes this story work is that there is greater emotional engagement with the characters. It’s easier to care about them. Although the story deals with serious issues, it grounds them in real people and the real world. The ending also offers hope, at least on a personal level. The community portrayed though continues on in poverty. There’s one particularly ironic moment where Michael is sniffing from a canister while an American programme is announced on TV: “Katie and Matt, Al and Anne… America’s first family…” In fact the first people of the Americas are left with government dentists, welfare cheques, clothes allowances, drink and drugs, and low life expectancy.

In issue 11 of “Front and Centre” there’s fine mix of excellent writing. The magazine’s only weakness is that this issue is dominated by male central characters. Otherwise, it’s one of the better literary magazines in this series of small press reviews and certainly offers some of the strongest prose.

Kara Kellar Bell is a film and media graduate from the West of Scotland, with a passion for European novels, French films, silent cinema, and Brazilian music (everything from Daniela Mercury and other pop stars through to bossa nova). As a writer, she likes to have room to move around creatively, so she’s not located in one genre. She writes realism and also stories of a more fantastic nature, usually grounded to some extent in the real world. She also takes delight in writing across the sexual spectrum, and as a bisexual, considers it important to remind people that things are not always black and white, either/or, in sexuality or in gender. For a selection of Kara’s writing on the Showcase section of this site, click here