<
https://theconversation.com/australian-writers-shocked-and-disgusted-by-closure-of-85-year-old-literary-journal-meanjin-264585>
"After 85 years of continuous publication,
Meanjin, Australia’s second-oldest
literary journal, is closing. Editor Esther Anatolitis and deputy editor Eli
McLean have been made redundant and the final issue will appear in December.
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP), which has housed the magazine since
2007, has cited “purely financial grounds” for the decision.
The closure has been roundly condemned by writers across Australia, including
Jennifer Mills, Anna Krien, Claire G. Coleman and Sian Prior, along with former
editors including Sophie Cunningham, Jonathan Green and Sally Heath.
“The loss of
Meanjin is devastating news for Australian writers and readers,”
Mills, a Miles Franklin shortlisted author, wrote on Bluesky. “Always meant so
much to see my work there. Some of my best experiences of being edited.”
Award-winning writer Anna Krien told
The Conversation:
As an outsider, clearly I don’t have a detailed script of what went on
behind closed doors – but the public statement that this turn of events is a
financial decision is laughable. I highly doubt Meanjin, in its entire 85
years, has ever made money.
Krien said
Meanjin was “a literary journal for emerging and established
writers to practise and experiment with form and craft, to say the unsayable
and yes, the trite as well. Its very existence was an expression of valuing
critical and creative endeavour in literary form.”
“Disgusted” Noongar writer Claire G. Coleman, writing on Bluesky, called
Meanjin’s closure “cultural vandalism of the highest order”; she pointed out
the journal is older than the Sydney Opera House."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
