Poetry

Trick or Treat?

by Horatio Saunders – Brasenose Chess Club (Board 2) ‘Trick or treat?’ they said,‘Trick’ you replied, so sure that all the same the treatwould be there, left by mum and dad,In the pumpkin,By the porch. ‘School or sleep?’ they said,‘Sleep’ you cried,Because the school calendar kept ticking by for whatseemed like a forever of unremarkable […]

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Poetry

The Mosaic

by Siddiq Islam I A bricklayer pleases his wife by inlayingA pattern of bricks in one wall of her store.The heavenly mural shows bright songbirds playingIn flowery fields by a soft honey shore. The King sees this gardenscape paradisaicAnd covets the beauteous brickwork mosaicSo calls for five thousand strong men to createA queue from the […]

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Humour, Prose

Living with Mathematics

by Siddiq Islam Mathematics is a rare but serious condition that not many know about, and yet, it may be quietly affecting many of your friends at university. It is often caused by a degree in mathematics, and it gives rise to many symptoms, ranging from minor to debilitating. The condition is characterised by a […]

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Culture, Prose

AULT: Reflecting on the Future of Architecture

by David Akanji Welcome to AULT, the arts and culture column of The Poor Print, written by David Akanji (me). AULT exists to refocus our minds, re-engaging ourselves with art and cultural understandings. I’ll be focusing on current opinions/events/issues in the art world, but more importantly how we as students, citizens, and humans fit into […]

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Editorial

A Word from the Editors: Century

by Siddiq Islam Now that one hundred Poor Prints have come and gone, what better a time for us editors to reflect on our time with this wonderful student publication. The Poor Print for me represents not only a physical newspaper, but the courage and talent with which Oriel students share their writing and art […]

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Creative Writing, Prose, Puzzle

Century Puzzle

by Siddiq Islam In wishing The Poor Print a happy one-hundredth issue, I submit a puzzle of unwarranted length (sorry). The aim of the puzzle is to highlight the ambiguity of relationships and the conclusions to which we jump. As you read, check the assumptions you make along the way, remember the information you receive […]

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Prose

A Century of Wave–Particle Duality

by Andrew Boothroyd What makes a good PhD thesis? One hundred years ago, Louis-Victor de Broglie completed a 70-page doctoral thesis in which he proposed that electrons, and by extension all matter, have an associated wave. Within a year or two, de Broglie’s conjecture was to become one of the central ideas of quantum theory, […]

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Comment, Prose

SENECA LVCILIO SVO SALVTEM

by Vittorio P. Cuneo-Flood If I had a hundred mouths and a
hundred tongues, I would not even be able to begin to speak of the evils of take-away coffee. Shall I first say how this habit enslaves man, or how a man is a liar if he practises it? Ah, in the same way that […]

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Humour, Poetry

Nocowley Road

by Siddiq Islam I wander down to Cowley Road
To see where all the cows are stowed,
But when I find no cows are there,
They tell me I should look elsewhere. ‘How rubbishly they named’, I muse,
‘A cow-named road where no cow moos,’
But on I trudge to find the cattle,
My own, determined, bovine battle. I think to […]

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Comment, Prose

The Peculiar World of a Scientist

by Maria Kyriazi Imagine yourself. It’s past 9pm on a
Friday night, and you’re sitting in a room full of microscopes, dim light, almost completely dark, listening to the gurgling noises of the computer and the microscope. The building seems empty, but you know that there are still about ten or fifteen more people hiding behind […]

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Poetry

Between Winter and Spring

by Anonymous That moment – the suspension of breath – as green veins release and begin to wash the grey in gold. The sky arches, still aching with a lingering chill as winter seeps back under the ground and spring thinks of unfurling.

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Poetry

Ephemeral

by Lily Baughman You remain in the skin at my fingertips, neck Stained blue from your hair dye, Skin faded black Like your memory, edges blunted and Vignette When that one hangnail I pluck With my nylon teeth Grows back, it will do so Without knowing you, What it’s like to be Devoured, fissured, into […]

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Culture, Fashion, Prose

AULT: Voyage in Our Vertical Space

by David Akanji Welcome to AULT, the arts and culture column of The Poor Print, written by David Akanji (me). AULT exists to refocus our minds, re-engaging ourselves with art and cultural understandings. I’ll be focusing on current opinions/events/issues in the art world, but more importantly how we as students, citizens, and humans fit into […]

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Playlist

Apologies Playlist

Think of all the times you’ve ever had to apologise – the times you meant it, the times you didn’t.
Do you think your words reached them?
Touched that tiny part of their soul that needed
to hear you say the words ‘I’m sorry’? How much more deeply would your apology resonate
if it was accompanied with a little […]

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Poetry

Reflection on Contemporary Reckoning

by Melita Monemvasioti Waste not your breath in sighs Nor time in guilt Make haste! Anoint daughters with their parents tears Shroud women in their wedding suit And bury mothers in their children’s tomb. You’ve built a palace of sorrow and of gloom Armies of pestilence and doom, and now you cry? Make haste! I […]

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Playlist

Consciousness Playlist

A compilation of various tracks of popular and classical music inspired by the theme of this issue, with some text explaining that you need to scan the code using the Spotify app on your mobile device. Now, how many of you actually listen to the playlist? Each one was carefully curated by one of our […]

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Comment, Prose

Evolution, Eugenics and Euthanasia

by Vittorio P. Cuneo-Flood I will begin with the premise. Then, with painstaking care, I will draw out some conclusions. I hope that you disagree with the conclusions; I’m sure you’ll be shocked by some. But then, why? Is it because the premise is wrong, or because the argumentation is flawed? At what point?  You […]

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Poetry

Mind Palace

by TMRH In this, I lock the time I spentGazing at your neck(From behind.)In this, I store the touch of your handRevealing your thoughts(Held in mine.)In this, I preserve an image of youDancing with your shoes untied(Yet not falling.)And in this, I keep a fleeting hueOf your scentWhen you bent(Over to me)Wish me goodnightAnd smile.

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Poetry, Translation

Silence / 无言

by Yu Yan Years to come Cast foggy vagueness In the trembling heart. Tears Perch on the empty mind, Pushing forth burning memories. Hands Clutch the restrained passion, Robbed of the parting words. Dismissed as a shallow footstep Leading to predestined eventualities, The present Shines in the soul’s entirety. 将至之年在颤栗的心头倒映雾杳的朦胧 泪水在搁浅的思绪里栖居荡漾出炽热的回忆 双手紧扣矜持的眷恋难寻离别之语 无非是奔赴命定光阴的轻浅足印今朝闪熠在灵魂的每个角落

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Playlist

Habits Playlist

OK, you probably already know what to expect here. A compilation of various tracks of popular music inspired by the theme of this issue, with some text explaining that you need to scan the code using the Spotify app on your mobile device. Now, how many of you actually listen to the playlist? Each one […]

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Puzzle

Cryptic Crossword [6]

by Siddiq Islam Editor’s note: The solutions to this puzzle are available here. Across 1 Rest on back wheel (6) 4 Beginner with no pen eraser (6) 9 Era of mindless rage (3) 10 Last of cacti in Sahara ill (5) 11 To hang but with no initial laughing allowed (3) 12 Hilly Tour d’England […]

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