Lucent Dreaming, a new independent online and print magazine which specialises in beautiful, strange and surreal creative work has launched in Cardiff. Guided by a path of silver stars stuck to the walls, I climbed the stairs to coworking space Rabble Studio where I was greeted by a very excited Jannat Ahmed, editor-in-chief at Lucent Dreaming.
Soon, the room was filled with people, chatter, nerves and excitement. A guestbook sat on a table of snacks, not only for the usual well wishes but asking guests to write a dream they had achieved, a hint of the afternoon ahead.
The room fell silent as Jannat asked the audience: “Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be someone else?... Like Elon Musk. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be richer than Elon Musk?” However many laughs Jannat’s speech gained, it was noteworthy because of its genuine thoughtfulness. She reflected on the danger of dwelling upon the idea of being someone else: “We think sometimes that it’s only in our daydreams or with wealth that we could live our biggest and best life. But that’s definitely not true. Dreams and wealth are the bookends, or the hardback covers to the things we do in life, it’s the small choices we make every day that create our life stories.”
This exciting, passionate, inspiring speech from Jannat gave the audience a unique takeaway. She said: “I want you to leave this event knowing that you probably already have enough to make it to your next dream… you just need a bit of hope, a bit of courage, a bit of resilience, all the stuff you have when you wake up in the morning.” Fellow editors of the magazine took the stage. Joachim Buur and Jess Beynon spoke about their involvement with Lucent Dreaming, and what the magazine has meant for them.
They were followed by an insight into the beautifully peculiar world of Lucent Dreaming through poetry readings from Taylor Edmonds and Poppy Jennings, whose work features in its debut issue. After the readings, contributors to the magazine, some who had never seen their name in print before, signed copies for guests.
Jannat may be living her dream by publishing this magazine, however she maintains that: “it happened tentatively, one bold step after another, turning up and doing it every day.” She is currently working from Rabble Studio on a six month Ymlaen! placement as a new collaboration between Rabble Studio, Creative Cardiff and Cardiff University's Enterprise and Start-up Team. Jannat’s idea began as an online magazine, which she asked her friends Jess Beynon, Joachim Buur and Jonas David, to help her with. After her successful application to Ymlaen!, Jannat received business mentoring which allowed her to develop her idea of an online creative writing magazine to become a print magazine.
What a lush turn out for the official @LucentDreaming launch. Welcome everyone and high fives x infinity to @JannatWrites for a great event and a superb magazine! pic.twitter.com/hC9Hh629Pt
— Rabble Studio (@rabblestudio) April 28, 2018
Rabble founder Dan Spain said of Jannat’s determination: “It’s incredibly impressive from a personal point of view how far Jannat’s come since January. The development of her ideas has been incredible, she’s a real go-getter, she’s a proper do-er. The amount of effort that’s gone into this has been insane… I’m looking forward to everything she does after this. This is the beginning of something really amazing, and she’s got the support of everyone not only in the studio but evidently from her peers as well, which is great.”
One constant in Lucent Dreaming’s concept is its commitment to giving a chance to emerging authors, poets and artists worldwide. Lucent Dreaming has a unique focus on the otherworldly, filling its pages with work like no other. The magazine is an opportunity for unusual work by unknown writers to be published, as well as experienced authors. Unlike most creative writing publications, Lucent Dreaming offers feedback on works which do not succeed in being published, to allow writers to improve their work in future.
Jannat sees a glowing future for Lucent Dreaming, she said: “I really want to keep Lucent Dreaming printing future issues, but more importantly, I want it to encourage creativity and to help new and emerging writers reach publication. I'd love for Lucent Dreaming to become a springboard for bringing creative dreams to life.”
