Southerly 80.1: First, The Future

Description

Southerly 80.1

‘First, The Future’ affirms the importance of imaginative labour and literary production to the passing down of knowledge between generations. It is dedicated to the memory of the remarkable Charmaine Papertalk Green. In this issue, Barry Corr meditates on the muse; Natalie Harkin, Kirli Saunders, Elfie Shiosaki and Ellen van Neerven talk with each other about First Nations Peace Poetics; Courtney Jaye reviews Debra Dank’s Terraglossia; K.A. Ren Wyld reflects on archival adventurers. This issue also includes a wealth of unflinching, insightful and delightful new writing by Ali Cobby Eckerman, Angelo Loukakis, Anne Brewster, Bebe Oliver, Bhuva Narayan, Cheryl Leavy, Chrysanthi Diasinos, Craig Billingham, Eileen Chong, Felicity Plunkett, Hannah Donnelly, Hira Meyer, Hossein Asghari, Janet Chan, Jasmin McGaughey, Jayda Wilson, Jazz Money, Jeanine Leane, John Kinsella, Jumaana Abdu, Jumana Bayeh, Kathryn Gledhill-Tucker, Louise Adler, Micaela Sahhar, Mridula Nath Chakraborty, Omar Sakr, Paula Abood, Rashida Murphy, Samah Sabawi, Sara M. Saleh, Sean Pryor, Shastra Deo, Sin A.D. and Yasmin Smith.

About the cover of Southerly 80.1

The cover of Southerly 80.1: ‘First, the Future’ is ‘The messenger’,  by Kerry Klimm. Kerry is a Guguu Yalanji and Koko Lamalama woman who lives on the unceded lands of the Kabi Kabi peoples on the north side of Meeanjin (Brisbane/read more about Kerry here). Of ‘The messenger’, Kerry says:

The kookaburra is a messenger bird. Nanna Georgina would say, ‘They will call out to you bub when you need them most. A powerful sign that our ancestors are always protecting.’ In this special edition, the kookaburra symbolises writers, our literary messengers. Their voices command our attention. The yellow of the rising and setting sun reminds us these messengers have been protecting us since time immemorial. A crescent moon and star, here representing the start of Ramadan, are celestial features that are integral to all First Nations’ peoples, guiding our way and ensuring a safe journey.

This edition of Southerly is also available in digital (PDF) form.

For the digital edition, click here.

Long Paddock for this issue.