About Annika Holland
Annika Holland is a Chicago/ London-based writer and musician whose work is rooted in surrealism and the avant-garde, exploring altered states of awareness through non-linear narratives, the fluidity of nature, and fragmented perception. Her writing has appeared in both print and online publications, including A VOID Magazine and Edge of Humanity Magazine. Her debut poetry collection, My Pet Consciousness, was published in 2022. Annika is currently working on her second poetry collection and a short novel.
Her website is https://linktr.ee/racingfromtheheart
A Profile of the Author
Notes on “Fire, Our Lady of Paradise”
Fire, Our Lady of Paradise started as an automatic writing experiment, something loose and unformed that I eventually gave shape to. When I make things, I’m drawn to immediate sensations—those “imprints” that land without explanation. The meaning comes later, if at all. Sometimes it changes and sometimes it slips away or morphs entirely if I revisit it.
What’s most interesting to me about writing is the mystery—the connection between the work and whoever else encounters it. It’s alive in a way I can’t control after it’s out there, and that’s what keeps me coming back to writing over any other art form I think. I don’t need all the answers. I just need to feel it.
Music, Food, Booze, Tattoos, Kittens, etc.
Recently, I’ve been really inspired by the films of Wim Wenders, particularly Until the End of the World. The narrative is centered on the dangers of nuclear technology, our collective addiction to screens, and our ultimate detachment from each other and the planet. It’s a remarkably prophetic and beautiful work—if a bit camp—and, of course, it has a killer soundtrack (this is Wim, after all). He makes the best road films.
