'Over the years Mascara has published writers of distinction who cross genre and culture boundaries often with unique affinities. We have also been tasked to advocate for the cultural interests and cultural access of non-white writers in Australia. In 2012, we approached The Australian Centre at the University of Melbourne requesting that they establish a special prize or a fellowship for migrant or refugee literature since the lack of such encouragement, particularly for non-European migrants, is glaringly apparent. Conversations ensued with sporadic enthusiasm but were not followed up. Ultimately, our correspondence was dismissed by the bureaucracy of that powerful institution.' (Michelle Cahill , Editorial introduction)
Only literary material by Australian authors individually indexed. Other material in this issue includes:
Poems by Roisin Kelly, Cameron Morse, and Rebecca Vedavathy.
Martin Edmond reviews Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young
Rose Hunter reviews Poems of Mijail Lamas, Mario Bojórquez & Alí Calderón translated by Mario Licón Cabrera
Hayley Scrivenor reviews Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
'As though it were a competition, as though you could measure love, put it on a scale, graph it, draw charts and predict growth or recession. Calculable. Everything was measurable. He felt the need to quantify things. Everything had currency, as long as you knew where to look, how to decipher it in numerical components. That was how he saw the world and the world saw it fit to bend to his will. After experiencing the grief of losing a relationship with a man I loved, I came to understand, albeit over several years, what my father meant by this. I understood that he wanted to save me from the hurt of loving, of being the doer, not the receiver. The operator, the labourer. The less worthy. The Iove-er.' (Publication abstract)
'Brian Castro’s eleventh work of fiction is a profoundly playful novel about life, death and authorship. Faced with a terminal diagnosis, Lucien Gracq contemplates the meaning and meaninglessness of life as a town planner. Given fifty-three days to live – this is an allusion to Georges Perec’s novel 53 Days, which he left incomplete at his death – Gracq decides to focus on finishing his epic poem, Paidia. He moves to Paris and there joins an absurdly shadowy society of misfit intellectuals. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by this?' (Introduction)
