A Letter from the Editor
29th August 2025
Dear Reader,
Welcome to our fortieth issue, another significant landmark in StepAway Magazine‘s meandering journey.
At the very heart of this issue sit two poems about two very different markets. The first, ‘Dream of a Market,’ by Buoye Oluwatosin is set in a Nigerian village market, while the second, ‘Indoor Market,’ by Ben Banyard, describes a visit to a local market in Exmouth, England. Both poems, in their own distinct manner, discuss the market as a symbol of community identity.
Very few of the past issues of StepAway Magazine feature poetry about markets. This is quite surprising, given that the marketplace has so much to offer wandering observers, such as ourselves. Plato notes in The Republic:
“A city comes into being because no man is self-sufficient; we all have many needs. … And so we gather into one place, many people to share with one another — and this shared place is called a market.”
Plato’s emphasis on sharing, at its most obvious level, describes the market as a space of economic trade. Yet, people share more than money here. Markets are equally about human interaction. From the the cavernous glass-and-iron arches of Borough Market, London, to the sprawling labyrinth of Addis Mercato in Ethiopia—one of the largest markets on the African continent—these spaces are more than trading hubs; they are locations where people share time, attention, and spectacle.
For the flâneur or flâneuse, the market promises the theatre of everyday life. It is lively, sensory, culturally rich, and unpredictable. It provides a space where commerce intersects with community, where ordinary objects gain deeper meaning, and where observation becomes an act of discovery. Strolling among stalls of produce, souvenirs, and curiosities is more than shopping — it is a form of urban exploration, an intimate encounter with the rhythms, textures, stories and history of the city. The marketplace allows the flâneur/flâneuse to engage in subtle social critique. Observing who shops, who sells, and what is sold offers insights into class, taste, and urban hierarchies. The wanderer’s detachment enables reflection: noticing how markets cater to tourists versus locals, or how traditional crafts survive alongside mass-produced goods.
Markets are also fascinating windows into a city’s past because they often carry layers of history, culture, continuity and ephemerality in a single space. When I enter my local market, The Grainger Market, in Newcastle upon Tyne, I step on a mosaic in the entranceway that reads simply “Waltons.” This is a reminder of the long-gone tailor store where my grandfather once worked. Beside it is a wooden hatch leading to the basement which my great-grandfather, a boiler man, would once appear out of should anyone rap on it to attract his attention. Years after their passing, the lifelines of my family remain visible in the very fabric of the building. And as familiar stalls, such as the tripe shop disappear, they are replaced by the new — the stand selling Chinese dumplings and bao buns or the chap selling sweet and savoury crepes. In this way, the market becomes a microcosm of the city, revealing its constant state of flux.
When Buoye Oluwatosin writes in her poem, “We are the market / We are the life that keeps the market existing,” truer words were never spoken. The market is a dynamic, human-centered space, sustained by relationships, social life, and collective memory. And this sentiment can be applied more broadly to the city itself. All of the poems collected in this issue of StepAway explore how the “soul” of any city is human: its vibrancy, culture, history, and character all come from the people who live, work, and wander there. Buildings, and streets may provide structure, but it is the collective life of the diverse inhabitants that gives true meaning to urban space.
Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to those of you who clicked the donate button on our main page. StepAway Magazine would not exist without your generosity.
Now it is only fair that I let the work of our talented writers speak for itself. Enjoy reading.
Yours faithfully,
Darren Richard Carlaw
editor@stepawaymagazine.com
