Meanjin 2016 Vol 75 No 4 Summer

Meanjin #75 #4

by Jonathan Green (Editor)

In the summer edition of Meanjin, Miles Franklin award winner Alexis Wright puts a challenging question: who should have the right to tell Aboriginal stories? Guy Rundle considers the Donald Trump victory and the changing state of US politics. Katharine Murphy reflects on the passing tides of parenthood, Tim Dunlop wonders what we’ll all do in a world that has moved beyond work, Arnold Zable looks at the resilient beauty that can come from the depths of evil inhumanity. There’s new memoir from Fiona Wright, fiction from John Kinsella and Beejay Silcox, and a fresh brace of new Australian poetry, including work by Anna Kerdijk Nicholson and Geoff Page. Plus, Commonplace: a new regular column from the legendary John Clarke.

204 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2016

About the author

Jonathan Green has been a working journalist since the late 1970s, mainly on newspapers including The Melbourne Herald, The Herald Sun, The Sunday Herald, The Sunday Age and The Age. He edited Crikey for three years before becoming foundation editor of ABC online's The Drum. He now hosts Sunday Extra on Radio National.

Reviews

[Tilda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm actually a bit embarrassed to admit this, but this is the first time I've read Meanjin. I bit the bullet this year and took out a subscription, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit underwhelmed?

This edition was heading straight for two stars but was saved by a few fantastic pieces. Alice Bishop's essay on gender dynamics in disaster management and recovery was the standout. Other enjoyable reads were Rundle's take on Trump, Emma Froggatt's analysis on the rise of the confessional and Alexis Wright's piece on Aboriginal identity and who holds the pen. Hopefully the next edition takes it up a notch.

[Avril · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dennis Altman on the politics of sexuality; Katharine Murphy on her daughter washing her hair; Arnold Zable on the life of Sonia Lizaron. This edition of Meanjin is worth the cover price for these three pieces alone. And there’s so much more good stuff!

[Curious Reeds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zahid Gamieldien's "Three Deaths" is an absolute stunner.

[Highlyeccentric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this volume a lot. Alexis Wright's cover article was weighty, and absolutely worth a read.

Other highlights included:

Matthew Sini's The Marx of Queerness, a fascinating survey of the myth of "cultural marxism".

Arnold Zable's biographical essay on Sonia Lizaron, Holocaust survivor and founding member of 'The Concentration Camp Theatre'.

Andrew Ford's God and I, on writing liturgical music as an agnostic.

Fiona Wright's The Everyday Injuries, which. Wow. The woman can write. (CN: eating disorder)