In this highly anticipated new issue, we encounter brilliant examples of what writing can do in a hypernormal time – whether that's Benjamin Gready on the absurdity of fieldwork on land under active occupation or Zahid Gamieldien's short story about a dancing rat who finds itself enmeshed in systems too shadowy to be true. But, as with the emotional cycles of resistance, hope and snark are features too. Dan Hogan considers the lawn as a class obsession, and π.ο. asks a question: why people hate poetry? We also read about a rakhasa family who passes on wisdom to their young kin, a story by Shefali Mathew. And you’ll find new poetry by Eli McLean, Fiona Hile and Sol Chan, among others, as well as a comic by Safdar Ahmed, plus heaps more. Co-editors Evelyn Araluen and Jonathan Dunk write in the editorial, "Writing always matters, but it matters most directly in the face of this kind of thuggish assault on language, our first and last commons. We can’t let the bastards have it.”
Frank Hardy’s writing career began with the publication of short stories in Trade Union journals. In 1950 he published Power Without Glory; two months later he was arrested, jailed and charged with criminal libel. Among Frank Hardy’s many published works are novels such as But the Dead Are Many, Who Shot George Kirland? and The Outcasts of Foolgarah and collections of short stories including Legends from Benson’s Valley, Great Australian Legends and a book about Aboriginal Australians, The Unlucky Australians.
