Astra Magazine, Filth: Issue Two

by Nadja Spiegelman (Editor)

Astra Magazine  is the new literary magazine of the moment, a must-read for anyone interested in the most vital contemporary literature from around the world. 

Astra Magazine connects readers and writers from New York to Mexico City, Lagos to Berlin, Copenhagen to Singapore and beyond. Each issue contains prose, poetry, art and comics, artfully produced on silky smooth paper with luxurious French flaps. It's the most covetable accessory of the fall —  dark and playful, pretty and smart. 

The Filth issue features work by Elif Batuman, Sheila Heti, Raven Leilani, Aracelis Girmay, Samuel R. Delany, Brontez Purnell, Wayne Koestenbaum, Clarice Lispector, McKenzie Wark, Mariana Enríquez, Safiya Sinclair, Maggie Millner, and many more.

There is a moral element to filth. It is both what we have been taught to hide, and the subversive pleasure in revealing it. Many of the writers in this issue are queer or trans or otherwise outsiders. When you are taught that an intrinsic part of you is shameful, you find power in that shame. All that filth, compressed by the pressure, sparkles like diamonds when it is let it into the light. Have you ever felt the relief of telling your own secrets? There’s a reason why people revel in their own filth. It’s a place for reveling

Genres: Poetry, Short Stories

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2022

About the author

Nadja Spiegelman is the Eisner-award nominated author of the ZIG AND WIKKI graphic series for young children and LOST IN NYC: A SUBWAY ADVENTURE. Her forthcoming memoir, "I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This," will be published by Riverhead Books in August 2016. She currently divides her time between Paris and Brooklyn.

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

12/2/22: Very disappointed to learn this magazine has been discontinued.
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I guess if you're only allowed to put two issues of your publication out into the world, this is the way to do it. From the list of contributors to the content to the art direction, issue 2 picks right up where issue 1 left off with a marvelous assortment of literary and art treats. And then I find out their website has essays by some of my favorites like Sabrina Orah Mark (https://astra-mag.com/contributors/sa...)... Tell me again why we can't have nice things like this?!!

Filth has never felt so good.

[Brumchkin Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There's a reason why people revel in their own filth. It's a place for reveling."

This is the first time Ive ever read a literary zine, and I picked it out because I'm trying to be a zinepilled zinecel. This book was a mix of short stories, essays, poetry, comics, and art relating to the theme of "filth". All in all it was a great read, and I definitely will look into Astra's other issues. I liked most of the entries but my favorite was probably the fragments from Maggie Millner's "Couplets," which were a bunch of poems.


I give this 4 filthy lil guys out of 5 filthy lil guys

[Grace Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been writing a lot about shame and filth and guilt recently, which is why I think this collection cut so deep for me, but this curation of storytellers and stories is truly nothing short of impeccable. Some highlights included Elif Batuman's short essay on Pig Pen and Safiya Sinclair's poem "Self-Portrait of the Cuckoo in Her Labyrinth of Wonder" (come on, "I shimmered dizzy. Became an ocean. A city. Grew until I housed another's pearling, parting, fingers rousing some slick girl inside my one blessed cavity. In her I grew the seams of all my orange trees, wet plums and silk-root fleshed by the listening river, by what it means to be wanted." COME ON); the last short story, "Traitors", by Pamela Erens left me gutted.

Upset to hear that Astra has been discontinued, but I'm buying the first volume as soon as I get my greedy little gremlin hands on it. Thank you Emma for lending this copy to me! Filth has never felt so good, really.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the first Astra magazine and bought both but this one I have to admit didn't quite hit the same high notes. Whilst it is still similarly gorgeous in its layout (although perhaps not one for public reading as some of the images are NSFW!), unlike the first issue, there was little in the way of mesmeric writing that elevated the magazine beyond other literary mags. In fact some of the writing in parts fell into an arty, but detached solipsism that befalls a lot of modern literature.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about a lit journal and holy shit it didn’t disappoint. I mean Astra gets the authors, just a who’s who of writers I love or am interested in, plus a line up of previously-unknown-to-me writers who I’ll look forward to seeing more of. Killer artworks and comics. Just a super solid collection of filth in a multitude of glorious forms. Guess I’ll be making room on the shelves every other month for the new issue from now on.

[Olivia Spring · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love Astra and am so sad that it will stop publishing after this second issue :(. It is full of such brilliant writing and I appreciate how the theme was very present throughout the whole issue.
My highlights:
FICTION: Julie by Mariana Enriquez & Traitors by Pamela Erens
ESSAY: We Were Hungry by Chris Dennis
POETRY: Couplets by Maggie Millner & Self-Portrait of the Cuckoo in her Labyrinth of Wonder by Safiya Sinclair

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so sad this is the last issue. I fully intended on collecting every issue the way my Great Aunt collected all the National Geographics until they filled an entire room. I have this and the Ecstacy issue, the first one, and so I guess I achieved my goal but in the worst, saddest way possible. Goodbye Astra.

[Ashlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

🫠 This rating is dedicated to Southwest Airlines. 🫠

Not everything in this literature 'zine was a home run, but overall this is a great publication. I'm super sad Astra was cancelled before I even knew about it, but I'm so happy to have stumbled on this copy at a random airport in Texas I wasn't even supposed to be at.

[R1CEC4KE · Rating 5 out of 5]

This blew me away. An incredible blend of visual art, essays, short fiction, and poetry that only got better as it went on. One or two were misses, but I chalk that up to personal taste and can appreciate their literary value.

Personal favourites include the "Cowboy Henk" comic strips, "We Were Hungry" and "Traitors"

[Devon Border · Rating 5 out of 5]

I literally cried when I learned this publication got shelved. This issue is front-to-back gold, and unapologetically filthy. Endlessly creative, thoroughly visceral, and ungodly hilarious. Plus, so many good contributions from international authors I really ought to have read before. This issue serves as a great crash course of the contemporary international queer canon.

[Guillermo Pineda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This magazine is amazing. Truly a celebration of filth in so many different forms. Really scratched an itch in my brain.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting collection -- felt a bit too on the nose pertaining to the theme at times but a number of highlights, in particular, Bottlenose, Community Work, Traitors, + poetry by Hans Lodeizen

[Angela]

RIP Astra. You were fabulous.

[Alex P · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice. i found some stories difficult to get through due to boredom, nonetheless the filth issue was still an enjoyable read. sad to hear astra mag has been discontinued

[danielle]

sad disgusting overwrought varied well constructed

[cass krug · Rating 3 out of 5]

while this wasn’t my favorite theme or the most comfortable read, i will forever be sad about the loss of this publication so early on in its life