Westerly

Westerly edited by Delys Bird and Dennis Haskell & HEAT edited by Ivor Indyk

February 2007, no. 288

Lyn McCredden reviews 'Westerly vol. 51' edited by Delys Bird and Dennis Haskell and 'HEAT no. 12' edited by Ivor Indyk

Who reads literary magazines, and why do they? Writers looking for what is being published, academics keeping up with who is being published, the elusive ‘general reader’ looking for a good read? The current volumes of HEAT and Westerly offer multiple reasons and rewards for picking them up, reasons which extend well beyond these superficial factors. Reasons which may send you to the postbox with a subscription form.

... (read more)

Westerly vol. 50, November 2005 edited by Delys Bird and Dennis Haskell & Australian Literary Studies vol. 22, no. 2, 2005 edited by Anne Pender and Leigh Dale

by Maria Takolander •

March 2006, no. 279

Maria Takolander reviews ‘Westerly vol. 50, November 2005’ edited by Delys Bird and Dennis Haskell, and ‘Australian Literary Studies vol. 22, no. 2, 2005’ edited by Anne Pender and Leigh Dale

As an academic teaching in literary studies, I regularly feel compelled to justify my job, particularly in the light of dwindling enrolments. Literary journals and the writers who feature in them, judging by the latest issue of Westerly, also feel pressure to defend their relevance, primarily due to their small audiences. Delys Bird and Dennis Haskell, in an editorial commemorating fifty years of Westerly, pay tribute to the ‘creative and intellectual enthusiasm’ that drives the journal and celebrate its survival in a culture they believe is becoming increasingly visually, rather than verbally, literate. Tracy Ryan, one of the contributors, alludes to a different obstacle: public resentment. Her poem ‘Curriculum Vitae’ summarises public attitudes to writers: ‘Narcissism, egotism, think the world owes you a living, / God’s gift.’ What to do in the face of such indifference and even dislike?

... (read more)

Nancy Keesing reviews 4 magazines

by Nancy Keesing •

October 1978, no. 5

Quarterly magazines have much in common with enjoyable small dinner parties whose hostesses serve fine food and wine in comfortable and attractive surroundings. Confident party-givers need no gimmicks to prompt their guests to lively and civilised conversation; they offer adventurous dishes and a few bottles from newer vineyards, but with respect for a balance with ...