Sunday, July 3, 2022

UNDEFINED BOUNDARY - THE JOURNAL OF PSYCHICK ALBION VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 1



TITLE - UNDEFINED BOUNDARY | THE JOURNAL OF PSYCHICK ALBION VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 1 

EDITED BY - CORMAC PENTECOST 

GENRE - BRITISH FOLKLORE/LIMINALITY/HAUNTOLOGY

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM 

A5/114 PAGES/COLOUR/PERFECT-BOUND

PRICE - £10.00 + SHIPPING FROM TEMPORAL BOUNDARY PRESS


A welcome consequence of the current zine-boom is the prevalence of creators pushing the limits of the format. Like an academic journal, “Undefined Boundary” consists of deeper content than is usual in a zine with long-ish essays on subjects ranging from British television shows to the novels of Susan Cooper; the ancient archetype of the lady on a white horse to surrealist art. A diverse line-up of contributors deliver varied articles that are all part of TBP's mission to explore the "psychedelic and numinous underbelly of British culture with a view to keeping the sacred flame alive". 

It is isn't hugely surprising to find a piece on an episode (“The Dark Streets of Kimballs Green”) from ‘70s anthology TV kids’ series “Shadows”, infamous for its nightmare-inducing opening title sequence, in a zine such as this, but it is excellent and offers a slightly different take. In the article, Paul Bareham discusses the concept of liminality creating links to the past, and that peculiarly British pastime of romanticising our country’s past as if it is somehow preferable to its present. Continuing the theme of '70s British television, Mark Fisher’s concept of “capitalist realism” (see also "Lost Futures") is invoked in Duncan Barford’s excellent piece on the TV drama “Penda’s Fen", which now seems incredibly prescient in its suggestion of an anti-materialistic society. Art and literature is covered by Rebecca Lambert’s vivid exploration of the surrealist megalith paintings of Paul Nash, echoes of which she finds in the Brutalist architecture of London; and in Karen F. Pierce's piece on the significance of the Solstice in Susan Cooper’s perennially popular “The Dark Is Rising” series. 

For a deeper dive into the magickal worlds, Patrick Weir’s hugely enjoyable and provocative piece “The Sick Rose” argues that magic/k has become the preserve of pompous middle-class berks. Weir bursts the elitist bubble of Dion Fortune, amongst others, in an iconoclastic essay which also challenges the mission of "Psychick Albion" itself. Meanwhile, Helen Billinghurst & Phil Smith's piece takes the reader on an other-worldly journey to discover and document the demons of the landscape, and even ‘70s television, illustrated with original art and photographs. It’s vivid, profound and actually slightly scary. Mark Valentine takes us on a personal tour through the haunted places of his childhood, the “remote county” of Northamptonshire, while in what may well be the world’s first “Liminal Discography”, Stephen Canner presents a list of the works of occult legend Alex Sanders. But unlike an ordinary discography, it includes not only his official works but also the ephemera generated by his influence and legacy.

This is a thick, tightly-bound zine (you may have to crack the spine a bit to actually open it!), merely the first issue of the first volume of the Journal, promising further instalments. A branded bookmark is included and there's a full list of contributors at the back of the zine. All contributions are intelligent and well-written, and well-chosen, too, by editor Cormac Pentecost, who has already shown his zine skills in his previous titles for TBP on the band Coil and the TV show Detectorists. "Undefined Boundary” offers a deep, rich read with many surprises to be found within its pages by those with an open mind. 

The main theme of “Psychick Albion”, indeed a recurring theme of many zines in this genre at the moment, is the desire to recover the “lost futures” dreamed of in the past. Over time, we have lost our grip on our own history, maybe even let it go deliberately in the headlong rush towards a techno utopia. There is a telling quote from Julian Cope at the start of Andrew Hedgecock’s article on Andrew Sinclair’s “Gog” novels where the singer claims, probably correctly, that the British people have been brought up to undervalue and belittle their own history. It seems everything that TBP have done so far has been leading up to this Journal, and I have no doubt that it will build into a comprehensive chronicle of the battle for Albion’s future past.

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