Meniscus

Volume 4 Issue 1 “Beyond the Divide”

Publication Information Meniscus is published by the Australasian Association of Writing Programs www.aawp.org.au © 2016 AAWP. All Rights Reserved. (First Published May 2016) ISSN: 2202-8862 Meniscus, an online literary journal featuring poetry and creative prose, is published twice a year. The editors read submissions twice a year; for details, please see www.meniscus.org.au. Meniscus claims only first publication rights. Copyright in published work remains with the author, and no work may be reproduced for any purpose without permission. Guest editors: Editors: Consulting editors: Designer: Images:

Dallas John Baker (Special Issue), Chris Kerr Paul Munden, Gail Pittaway Paul Hetherington, Jen Webb Simon Hinchco “Within Without” by James Turrell, photographed by Paul Munden

About Meniscus Meniscus is a literary journal, published and supported by the Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) with editors from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The title of the journal was the result of a visit made by two of the editors to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, where James Turrell’s extraordinary installation, “Within without” (2010), led them to think about how surfaces, curves, tension and openness interact. In particular, they were struck by the way in which the surface of the water features, and the uncertainty of the water’s containment, seems to analogise the excitement and anxiety inherent in creative practice, and the delicate balance between possibility and impossibility that is found in much good writing.

Australian Copyright Agency Meniscus would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Australian Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.

Foreword This is a two-part issue of Meniscus, beginning with the Special Issue, “Beyond the Divide”, as conceived and edited by Dallas John Baker. It seems appropriate that this first special issue should relate so intriguingly to the James Turrell installation, “Within Without”, which inspired the title of this journal and continues to feature in a new photograph for the cover image of each issue. Dallas John Baker highlights a particular East Coast divide in Australia, but we are pleased that the call for contributions resulted – as in past issues – with a considerable quantity of material from other parts of the world. At the same time, we also received an ongoing stream of general submissions, and this issue has accommodated a selection of those within its second part—a sort of “beyond the beyond”. Chris Kerr, a newcomer to Australia from the UK, has acted as guest editor on that section, further developinging the British/Australasian editorial axis of the journal. We are grateful to both guest editors for their work in compiling this issue. Paul Munden and Gail Pittaway Meniscus Editors

Guest Editors Dallas J Baker Dr Dallas J Baker is a lecturer in editing & publishing and creative writing in the School of Arts and Communication at the University of Southern Queensland. Dallas is Assistant Editor, Special Issues, of Text: Journal of Writing and Writing Courses and Managing Editor of Polari Journal. His study and research intersect with a number of disciplines: creative writing, publishing, media and cultural studies. Dallas is also a writer with creative work published in a number of journals and anthologies. www.dallasjohnbaker.com

Chris Kerr Chris Kerr co-edited issue 62 of UK Poetry magazine Magma and edited a poetry pamphlet for Dead Ink. His poetry has been published in Ambit. He recently moved to Canberra from London.

“Beyond the Divide”: Contents EDITORIAL (1)

1

BAPTISTA, CRISTINA J. Homesickness Eavesdroppers

2 3

BISSETT, ZELA, ET AL. Floating land

4

CORNELIUS, JEREMY In Eden DE FRANCESCHI, BARBARA How come Arid zone

11 12

DOYLE, KEVIN Capricorn

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