This week, in lieu of our normal editorial, we're featuring the video above. I've always had a thing for Ray Harryhausen and, with regard to artistic endeavour, you'll see that it's all there: the hours of dedication; the obsessive attention to detail; the creation of an entirely individual, distinctive world. Ray wasn't half-arsed – he wouldn't settle for second best – and, if it wasn't such an awful pun, I'd say that we should all consider taking him as our model.
In the meantime, there's lots to choose from in the current issue. We have poems by Hugo Williams, John Burnside, Steve Shepherd, Shash Trevett, Ben Bransfield, Annie Fisher, Angela France, Melissa Sprawson, George Neame, George Rawlins, Cat Balaq, Christina Buckton, Kate Gold, Katherine Meehan, Naomi Folb, Jeff Gallagher and Mike Barlow. We also have an extract and Stewart Lee's introduction from Andy Hamilton's excellent new book on Steve Beresford, as well as Annie Fisher talking about her favourite things in "Since Feeling is First", our usual Track of the Week and our regular articles from Noah Rasheta and Brandon Robshaw. I've said this before but I'll sat it again: we're an artistic smorgasbord. Dig in.
The exhibition "Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema" has just opened at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.