'When the Australasian Association of Writing Programs decided in 2013 to establish a literary journal, those of us who took on the role of editors settled on the name ‘Meniscus’ and drafted the explanatory statement that is now located in the ‘About Us’ section of the website:
Meniscus is named for the curve that forms at the top surface of a container of liquid. The curve is caused by surface tension, which not only holds the fluid in, but also allows the passage of objects through the surface. It creates uncertainty for anyone attempting a precise measurement because of the parallax effect. The combination of tension, openness and uncertainty can be read as an analogy for creative writing.
'While Sandra Arnold and I were working on this issue, the shattering news of the mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand emerged in the media, and this grim, heartbreaking evidence of xenophobia, hate speech and cultural supremacy coloured the remaining time we spent selecting, editing and preparing the issue for publication. It also hardened our resolve, as editors, to remain firmly committed to publishing creative works that are open to differences and possibilities (like the meniscus itself, which affords both a border and permeability); that allow nuance and complexity (avoiding any ‘precise measurement’), and are able to express, and even celebrate, the ‘tension, openness and uncertainty’ that are so much part of human society.' (Jen Webb, Editorial introduction)
Only literary material by Australian authors individually indexed. Other material in this issue includes:
The Dream Dispels on Waking by Chris Muscardin
‘Haere Rā’ by Jenna Heller
Ghost on a Bridge by Frances Gapper
Beach Book and Lifebelt and Moving Schedule by Ken Cockburn
Hold the Front Page and TV Times and A Folktale for Every Occasion by Oz Hardwick
Afterlife by Peycho Kanev
Holding on and Midmorning field/eye of the storm by Peter Roberts
The Stock Exchange Makes Landfall by Mary Cresswell
Untitled by Simon Perchik
Francine’s Memorial by Gerard Sarnat
Into the Desert and Sorting the Earthquake China by Marjory Woodfield
Excess Baggage by Sudha Balagopal
Left Out by Brent Cantwell
The Fog of Love by Michael Gould
Is this a Test? by Ian Ganassi
You Never Really Win at Carnivals by Paul Beckman
Four Haiku by Anum Sattar
In the Checkout Line and Echo and Thin by Francine Witte
Less by Sarah Penwarden
Sanctuary by Jon Hoskins
Sequelae by Wes Lee
Ariadne by Yael Klangwisan
Like a Ton of Bricks by John Brantingham
A Message in Autumn and In late Autumn by Martin Stannard
Loss of Wilderness by Paul Ilechko
Philately by Nod Ghosh
Irreversible Sense by James Grabill
A Neighbour in the Rain and Sumo Wrestlers' Heating Service by Robert Scotellaro
Ko Taku Whanau by Vaughan Rapatahana
The Portrait by Ruth Brandt
This Time and Voyage by Tony Beyer
