Origins

pallina
noun /pa’lːina/

  1. a) a town between New Mirpur City (Azad Kashmir) and Kallar Syedan (Punajb).

    b) a meeting point halfway between two locations.

  2. a) the psychic mid-point between two minds.

    b) a middle ground.

  3. the Midlands.

History


In April 2019, Suna Afshan and Naush Sabah came together to collaborate on projects rooted in their love for poetry and a desire to contribute to the literary culture of their city. Together they co-founded Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal, then a quarterly magazine of contemporary poetry. The Journal is known for its distinctive design inspired by the cultural heritage of the region, and for its bold and thorough editorial approach.

The monthly poetry workshop night, ‘Words @ the Warehouse’, run by VerseFirst, and hosted by poet and producer Adrian B. Earle, provides a regular setting for PBLJ issue launches at the Warehouse Café in Birmingham’s Digbeth. The night has played host to a diverse and eclectic mix of poets, including those who were previously unpublished and new to the mic, alongside those who present radio segments and whose selected works are published.

Poetry Birmingham was shortlisted in the Best Magazine category of the 2020 Saboteur Awards. Since November 2020, the journal is published twice a year and includes new work in poetry, translation and criticism.

Pallina Press


In February 2020, Suna and Naush co-founded Pallina Press to continue publishing and developing PBLJ and introduce a new Pallina Pamphlets Series. The Journal is edited by Naush, while Pallina is led by Suna, and she works exclusively with poets who live and work in Britain and the Republic of Ireland, in order to develop a close, careful, and collaborative editorial relationships. The Press is committed to the craft of poetry and to producing beautifully designed, high-quality books for readers to enjoy and for poets to be proud of.

The first set of Pallina Pamphlets are soon to be announced.