Do you know our favorite urban plant magazine, Balkon & Garten? It’s an independent, small-press ‘zine here in Berlin, with art, prose and poetry contributed by readers from all over the world. Both Sara and I are regular readers and contributors. It’s been awhile since we’ve mentioned this great publication, so I’m giving you this peek at the brand new issue.
The cool thing about Balkon & Garten: each issue has a theme, which could be acolor – there have been orange, brown, and magenta issues, to name a few – a fruit, a type of weather, or just a saying or phrase. This issue’s theme was “Stadt Land Fluss.” Literally, this phrase means “city country river” but is also the German name for Categories, a simple word game that can be played with just pencil and paper but which, in the US, has been marketed commercially as Scattergories. In Germany, the first three categories are traditionally “city,” “country” and “river.”
As you’ll see if you check out the whole issue online, some photos refer to the game and some to the literal meaning of the phrase. There are photos from both Sara and myself, and many other wonderful images.
If you like what you see, consider subscribing or contributing. Most texts are in German, but contributions are welcome in other languages and there are plenty of imaged-based works to enjoy. If you’d like to contribute, the next issue’s theme is “new / neu / nouveau.” I believe non-photographic contributions are particularly welcome at the moment, as the past few issues have been a bit photo-heavy.
And if you don’t already know the eclectic and fantastic companion blog, Beton + Garten, you’re in for a double treat. Check it out.
