165 x 230 mm, 168 pages

São Miguel, Azores (English-language)

Biannual

Editor: Kathleen McCaul

Art director: Julia Garcia

From the middle of the Atlantic Ocean—the Azores archipelago, to be exact—emerges Ilhéu, a new biannual of prose, interviews and photography dedicated to ‘conversations from the Atlantic’. The name, apparently untranslatable in Spanish or English, refers to both ‘islet’ and ‘island-dweller’ in Portuguese; ‘it was this fusion of man and land that excited us’ writes editor (and island-dweller) Kathleen McCaul. 

Showcasing a bold new title design, this tender sophomore edition is dedicated to ‘Ilhéu’s search for Pure Blue’—a slippery theme when probed, Kathleen writes, that was ‘inspired by the inescapable ocean which shapes the days and the minds of all who live in the Azores.’ The issue traces the etymology, symbolism and complex emotional significance of the colour through the perspectives of the island’s creatives.

Inside, discover the belated genius of António Dacosta, whose 1982 painting ‘Memória V’ graces the cover, and the story of his 30 year pause from painting; the new Azorean marine park ‘Blue Azores’; the enduring mystery of an abandoned swimming pool in a sequestered part of the island; searing prose on a friendship’s murky waters; and Leïla Slimani in conversation with local writer Maria Brandão on the ultimate blues: writer’s block. Elsewhere, Romeu Bairos plays the island blues, interspersed with photographic explorations of the colour through an Azorean lens by Sandra Rocha and Marco Costa, and a map tracing ruins spread across the archipelago. 

ilheumagazine.com