'HUMAN' (Honest Ulsterman Magazine Archive Network) is intended to be an online ‘Irish Literary Magazine Archive’ using the Honest Ulsterman (HU) publication, one of the most influential small literary magazines in Ireland and the UK as the cornerstone of the archive.
We have digitized the complete collection of Honest Ulsterman back issues so that they are available to researchers and readers locally, nationally and internationally.
The rationale behind the HUMAN acronym is that it helps stress the myriad voices that helped make the Honest Ulsterman and other magazines powerful spaces to articulate new ideas and concepts that helped challenge the official narratives of the day. This was very important in a Northern Ireland context particularly where during the Troubles sometimes it was not only difficult but potentially dangerous to challenge traditional opinion. We also recognize that whilst the project is about firstly putting the HU archive online it is allowing the ‘HUMAN’ voices behind stories/poems etc. to be heard once more that make the archive such a vital part of our cultural heritage.
The website will not be however merely a static repository of past art and publication practice. We believe that archives have an active socially engaged part to play in contemporary society as both depositaries of historical evidence in the ‘post-truth’ era and in this instance as catalysts for research and creative endeavor. The archive will be curated so that it becomes a vital part of the contemporary literature environment initiating new projects and research based on held material.
We are always on the lookout for any relevant archival material so feel free to contact us at hueditor@theverbal.co or on 028 71266946.
HUMAN and The Honest Ulsterman are Verbal Projects.
HUMAN is kindly supported by The Foyle Foundation