Poetry as speculation: Axon 11.1 (June) 2021

Ends on May 24, 2021

Please DO NOT submit poems to this issue

This issue of the Axon journal investigates ways in which contemporary poetry speculates about the world, modes of being, reality, creativity, writing itself and ways of understanding the quotidian. We are NOT looking for poems or poetic forms of speculative fiction. Please submit academic papers that explore and relate to:

• ways in which poetic expression and form may be said to speculate;

• how poetry conjectures about the nature of reality and/or being;

• ways in which poetry posits that certain things or situations are the case, even when this may not be literally true;

• how poetry makes use of the fantastic or invokes ideas of wonder;

• how poetry critiques common sense assumptions through invoking or suggesting alternatives;

• how poetry hypothesises about ‘alternative realities’;

• how poetry constitutes a form of conjecture or postulation;

• ways in which poetry engages in imaginative forms of theorisation;

• poetry as surmise;

• poetry as a way of thinking ahead;

• poetry’s employment of unlikely notions and ideas;

• poetry as a form of surmise.

What we would like from contributors:

1. A 150-word abstract of your proposed paper by Monday 8 February 2021.

2. If your abstract is accepted (we will notify you by Friday 22 February 2021), a full written paper of between 3,000 and 6,000 words should be submitted by Monday 24 May 2021.

The editors of this issue of Axon: Creative Explorations journal are Professor Paul Hetherington and Professor Jen Webb.

To reward postgraduate academic practice excellence, the AAWP Executive this year reinstated two prizes for the best postgraduate papers presented at conference – one for a scholarly research presentation and one for a creative/hybrid research presentation. To learn more about the results, head to our prizes page here.

CONGRATULATIONS to the winner of the 2020 Sudden Writing Prize, Raphail Spartalis!

The prize was co-judged by AAWP and Voiceworks, and the judges noted:

‘Little Apocalypse’ by Raphail Spartalis takes the image of children exploring rockpools, and inspects it at a scale and perspective that makes it strange. The imagery and tone in the piece are impressively memorably rendered—a tranquillity viscerally interrupted.

But like all writing, there are multiple readings, which makes this creation even more deeply interesting. Analogous perhaps; metaphorical. Perceptively fluid.

What we both agree on is that this is a piece we will think about in the future, observing the small chaoses our bodies create with a penetrating oddness.

CONGRATULATIONS also to our shortlisted authors (in alphabetical order): Amelia Bussing, Dominique Byrne, Grace Cassidy, Natasha Durney-Steel, Isabella Garrido, Jessica Hudson, Christina Tungate, Arun Wilfred Sam Than, Lorelei Williams.

You can read the winning piece right now, up on the Express Media website, here.

For all AAWP prizes, keep an eye on AAWP.org.au/news/opportunities

The Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) / Voiceworks (Express Media) invite submissions of Sudden Writing.

We are deeply interested in capturing a composite “picture” of what people are writing about. Now. Please send creative work—short-short fiction, “sudden” fiction, “sketchy” stories, creative nonfiction, poetry, as well as hybrid forms.

We are accepting submissions on the following scale: up to 400 words prose, 40 lines for poetry, 200 words for prose poems, and the equivalent for hybrid forms. Submissions must be previously unpublished. Please send your most polished work, without delay.

If you win you will receive $500. You will have your work published on the Express Mediawebsite and receive a Voiceworks subscription. You will also receive a one-year membership to the AAWP.

Theme: Open

Submission window: 30 October 2020 – 15 November 2020 (midnight) AEDT

Word count:

• 400 words prose
• 40 lines for poetry
• 200 words for prose poems

Take advantage of this opportunity to win a significant cash prize and get published. Be welcomed into the thriving writing communities of Voiceworks and the Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP).

How to Enter:

• Entry is via: https://meniscusliteraryjournal.submittable.com/submit
• The entry fee is $5.00.

For a full list of entry terms and conditions, click here.

FUTURES FOR CREATIVE WRITING ONLINE CONFERENCE

University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK in association with EACWP (European Association of Creative Writing Programmes)
Friday 21 May – Sunday 23, May 2021

Keynote Speakers:

BERNARDINE EVARISTO
CAROLYN FORCHÉ
ANDREW COWAN
(Scriptwriting Keynote TBA)

This online conference seeks to bring together PhD research students, Creative Writing tutors and graduates, writers and scholars to explore the varieties of practice in our discipline now, the points of convergence and contention, and, crucially, the opportunities for future development and the forces that may shape the nature of writing in the academy over the next several years.

Topics for papers will be organised into virtual panels and we’d particularly welcome proposals that address the teaching of writing in response to recent global crises, which might include but not be limited to the following themes:

We are keen to explore the expanded possibilities of online conferencing, and welcome suggestions for panels and roundtables that demonstrate the potential for a reconceived pedagogy in Creative Writing.

For a 20-minute paper or roundtable proposal, please submit an abstract of no more than 200 words to the conference organisers at CW50.conference@uea.ac.uk, including your name, affiliation, email address, and a 120-word biography.

The NEW deadline for submissions is Monday 16 November, 2020. We will reply to all applicants by Tuesday 15 December, 2020.

Rates: full delegate £50; postgraduate £30; EACWP/NAWE members, £35. Further information on technical arrangements will be provided in February 2021, when general registration will also open.

You can view a full version of the CFP here.

We’re delighted to bring you the following prize results:

AAWP—Ubud Writers and Readers Festival Translators’ Prize

Winner:

‘423 Colours- excerpts from the Spanish novel 423 colores by Juan Gallardo and Rafael Avendaño’, translated by Lilit Thwaites.

Highly Commended:

‘A Dosimeter on the Narrow Road to Oku’ by Durian Sukegawa, translated by Alison Watts

‘Mestri Di Mont’ an excerpt from Tito Maniacco’s (1932-2010) memoir, Mestri di mont (2007), translated by Valentina Maniacco.

‘Martin, Martin’s Newborn Brother, His Father, His Mother, The Doctor, Aunt Juanita, The Birdcages and a Bird’ – a short story by Ana María Moix, translated by Lilit Thwaites

‘The Blind Spot – excerpts from the Spanish novel El ángulo ciego by Luisa Etxenike’, translated by Lilit Thwaites.

AAWP UWAP—Chapter One Prize

Winner:

Stone Hearts: A collection of short stories by Lisa Dowdall

Highly commended:

The Taste of Cedars by Anne Hotta

AAWP—Australian Short Story Festival Short Story Prize

Winner:

‘Cockroach’ by Jane Cornes

Highly Commended:

‘Rose and Thorn’ by Sarah St Vincent Welch 

‘Not-John’ by Jon Geoffrey 

AAWP—Ubud Writers and Readers Emerging Writers’ Prize

Winner:

‘Pit Stop’by Nina Divich 

Highly Commended:

‘The Suitcase’ by Deborah Huff-Horwood 

‘Jungle Heat’ by Petra Sully 

AAWP Slow Canoe Creative Nonfiction Prize for Emerging Writers

Winner:

‘An incomplete archive of blue’ by Dani Netherclift

Highly Commended:

‘Learning to Say Goodbye the Dublin Way’ by Breda Hertaeg

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Congratulations to our successful entrants…and thanks to all those who submitted their work.

Social Alternatives is an independent, not-for-profit peer-reviewed journal with quarterly publications. It is committed to the principles of social justice, commenting on important social issues of current concern or public debate.

While Social Alternatives is primarily a scholarly journal, publishing articles and commentary, the collective firmly recognises the ability for literature to comment on range of social issues and act as vehicle for social change. Fiction is by definition transformative, allowing us to reveal and re-imagine ourselves. No particular theme or focus is required for short stories.

For more details and how to submit, please check this call for papers

We’re delighted to bring you the following prize results for 2020.

AAWP—Ubud Writers and Readers Festival Translators’ Prize

Winner: ‘423 Colours- excerpts from the Spanish novel 423 colores by Juan Gallardo and Rafael Avendaño’, translated by Lilit Thwaites

Highly Commended:

‘A Dosimeter on the Narrow Road to Oku’ by Durian Sukegawa, translated by Alison Watts

‘Mestri Di Mont’ an excerpt from Tito Maniacco’s (1932-2010) memoir, Mestri di mont (2007), translated by Valentina Maniacco.

‘Martin, Martin’s Newborn Brother, His Father, His Mother, The Doctor, Aunt Juanita, The Birdcages and a Bird’ – a short story by Ana María Moix, translated by Lilit Thwaites

‘The Blind Spot – excerpts from the Spanish novel El ángulo ciego by Luisa Etxenike’, translated by Lilit Thwaites.

AAWP UWAP—Chapter One Prize

Winner: Stone Hearts: A collection of short stories by Lisa Dowdall

Highly commended: The Taste of Cedars by Anne Hotta

AAWP—Australian Short Story Festival Short Story Prize

Winner: ‘Cockroach’ by Jane Cornes

Highly Commended:

‘Rose and Thorn’ by Sarah St Vincent Welch 

‘Not-John’ by Jon Geoffrey 

AAWP—Ubud Writers and Readers Emerging Writers’ Prize

Winner: ‘Pit Stop’ by Nina Winter

Highly Commended:

‘The Suitcase’ by Deborah Huff-Horwood 

‘Jungle Heat’ by Petra Sully 

AAWP—Slow Canoe Creative Nonfiction Emerging Writers’ Prize

Winner: ‘An incomplete archive of blue’ by Dani Netherclift

Highly Commended: ‘Learning to Say Goodbye the Dublin Way’ by Breda Hertaeg

Congratulations to all our successful entrants…and thanks to all who submitted.

Interesting in undertaking a PhD or MPhil in English or Creative Writing?

Applications for JCU Research Scholarships for 2021 are open for submissions now! See https://www.jcu.edu.au/graduate-research-school/how-to-apply

We’ve listed some potential topics below, but we are interested in discussing a range of projects with prospective applicants. Students who want to study externally are encouraged to apply.

• Fairy tale and gothic narrative, especially Beauty and the Beast and related tales; retellings and adaptations of fairy tale in film, literature and new media (talk with A/Prof Allison Craven allison.craven@jcu.ecu.au)
• Australian Gothic film and literature – landscapes and monsters, colonial and contemporary (talk with A/Prof Allison Craven allison.craven@jcu.ecu.au)
• Australian cinema, its histories and regional connections in the Asia-Pacific (talk with A/Prof Allison Craven allison.craven@jcu.ecu.au)
• Teaching and/or performing Shakespeare in Australia (talk with Dr Claire Hansen claire.hansen3@jcu.edu.au)
• Exploring the power of place in literature/drama through a framework of ecocriticism and the blue humanities (talk with Dr Claire Hansen claire.hansen3@jcu.edu.au)
• How literature improves our wellbeing – linking the health humanities and literary studies (talk with Dr Claire Hansen claire.hansen3@jcu.edu.au)
• Exploring zines and archives through a lens of self-representation (talk with Dr Emma Maguire emma.maguire@jcu.edu.au)
• Digital life narratives of girls and women (talk with Dr Emma Maguire emma.maguire@jcu.edu.au)
• Writing fiction, creative nonfiction, auto/biography or memoir (talk with Dr Emma Maguire emma.maguire@jcu.edu.au)
• Exploring the relationships between authorship, editing, publishing, and reading of novels and short stories – Australian, British, American literature (talk with Dr Roger Osborne roger.osborne@jcu.edu.au)
• Representation of cultural heritage texts in print and digital media – Australian, British, American literature (talk with Dr Roger Osborne roger.osborne@jcu.edu.a
• Grief or trauma literature and memoir (talk with Dr Victoria Kuttainen victoria.kuttainen@jcu.edu.au)
• Postcolonial approaches to literature (talk with Dr Victoria Kuttainen victoria.kuttainen@jcu.edu.au)
• Early twentieth century 1914-1950 literature and/ or new media (magazines, photography, cinema) (talk with Dr Victoria Kuttainen victoria.kuttainen@jcu.edu.au)
• Information on PhD entry requirements, application procedures and scholarships is available from the JCU Graduate Research School website: https://www.jcu.edu.au/graduate-research-school

For general enquiries please contact Professor Sean Ulm, (Associate Dean of Research Education) at sean.ulm@jcu.edu.au

Across the ages, critics and poets have made pronouncements about the role and function of poetry in the world. Plato banished poetry from the ideal society, though was open to its value if defenders could prove it; Coleridge said that poetry is for ‘pleasure, not truth’. Auden said that ‘poetry makes nothing happen’; Anne Carson says that a poem ‘is an action of the mind captured on a page’. Alison Whittaker says that poetry can be a ‘great tool for organising and for mobilising people’. 

What is poetry now? What purposes does it serve, and for whom? How are poets harnessing poetry’s power globally to address urgent contemporary issues? How is poetry experienced and received among different communities of readers and listeners? And what are the new frontiers for poetry? How does it intersect with other domains, and what are the fruits of these intersections? What are its emerging contexts? How will poetry function in the future? 

This special issue of TEXT seeks to publish scholarly papers and poetry that investigate poetry’s evolving place in the contemporary moment. Papers and poetry are encouraged to explore, but are not limited to the following:

• Poetry and activism
• Poetry and aesthetics
• Poetry and ageing
• Poetry and the body
• Poetry and collaboration
• Poetry and community
• Poetry as confession
• Poetry as conversation
• Poetry and design
• Poetry and ecologies
• Poetry and elders 
• Poetry and the environment
• Poetry as experiment
• Poetry and genre
• Poetry and humour
• Poetry and identity
• Poetry as instruction
• Poetry as manifesto
• Poetry and medicine
• Poetry and memory
• Poetry and music
• Poetry and the non-human
• Poetry and older Australians
• Poetry and politics
• Poetry as protest
• Poetry and practice
• Poetry as process
• Poetry in public spaces
• Poetry as record/history
• Poetry as research
• Poetry and science
• Poetry and technology
• The role of the poet
• Poetry as witness
• Poetry and writing lives

Scholarly papers should be between 5,000 and 6,000 words, including references. Up to three poems and/or one poetry sequence of any length per poet, will be considered. Please note, all poetry submissions must be accompanied by an ERA research statement that clearly explains the submission’s aims and significance. 

How to submit your Expression of Interest: 

• Please submit a 250 word Expression of Interest for scholarly essays (by email to Jessica Wilkinson: jessica.wilkinson@rmit.edu.au with ‘Poetry Now EOI’ as the subject line. In your EOI please outline how your paper or poems explore(s) the theme of ‘Poetry Now’. Also, make sure you include the following information: your full name, institutional affiliation (if any), email address, title of paper/poem, brief biography (50–100 words), and 3 to 5 keywords (at least two of which should clearly relate to the issue’s title). Deadline: October 31^st2020.
• Poetry submissions should be sent in full, accompanied by an ERA research statement, by February 28^th 2021.

Enquiries: Jessica Wilkinson, RMIT jessica.wilkinson@rmit.edu.au or Cassandra Atherton, Deakin University cassandra.atherton@deakin.edu.au or Sarah Holland-Batt, QUT, sarah.hollandbatt@qut.edu.au