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.”
Wanta Jampijinpa’s stories draw on the language of song and ceremony to promote intercultural dialogue. He is the founder of Milpirri, a biannual festival held in Lajamanu in the Northern Territory. Milpirri grounds social action in the environment through performance and cultural transmission. Wanta’s work defines how responsibilities to place are mapped to the everyday experience, including how we can reconceive and restore our relationship to the environment and as Kurdungulu (guardians) of Country.
