ISSUE 18

On the cover, photographer Davey Adésida captures the immeasurable energy of DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

The Book of the Season, Nella Larsen’s novel PASSING, prompts stories on race, code-switching and the whirlwind of Harlem in the 1920s. This novel about race caused a major stir in 1929, only to then be forgotten and for its author to effectively vanish. It’s now recognised as one of the greatest books of the Harlem Renaissance. Contributors include: Willy Ndatira, Awol Erizku, Morgan Jenkins, Roisin Kiberd, Gabrielle Bellot, Wayde Compton and Georgina Lawton

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PART 1

Aura

Snippets

The Interview: DIANE VON FURSTENBERG by Seb Emina — ‘I never wanted to be any woman other than myself, but I would like to be Venice’

Diane’s fave sound files

PART 2

Introduction: Beyond Binaries by Seb Emina

Diction: Adventures in telephony by Willy Ndatira — Why I no longer use white voice

Arrangements: Artworks by Awol Erizku

Milleu: Racial identity as a jury trial by Morgan Jenkins — The shocking true story that inspired Nella Larsen

From novel to sketchbook to movie

Computing: Artificialness by Roisin Kiberd — Algorithms passing as human

Travel: Through security by Gabrielle Bellot — In transit in Senegal

Language: A better word by Wayde Compton — The word ‘passing’ is problematic

To catch the gaze

Family: Believing my eyes — Larson’s novel helped me tell my own story

Letters

Sail through The Odyssey

Bibliography

A BOOKISH
MAGAZINE

The Happy Reader is a unique magazine about reading for anyone who wishes to stay inspired, informed and entertained.With beautiful typography, the magazine is a design object which celebrates the pure pleasure of reading and the calming luxury of being offline.

Each issue is split into two halves. The first half is an in-depth interview with a book fanatic and the second half gets under the skin of one classic work of literature.