Latest Articles
We are encouraged to rely more and more on government officials to do for us what we could equally well do for ourselves—and, maybe more importantly, not to do what might help us solve our own problems.
Sep 08 2024
10 mins
If we imagine a metric called the Pinocchio Scale, which measures the number of lies told by a politician as a percentage of his or her overall public statements, our current prime minister (for want of a better description), Airbus Albo, has moved well into uncharted territory.
Sep 06 2024
5 mins
C.R. Penny: ‘Still Life with Aphids’
Still Life with Aphids
Behind the bean lattice, in the fennel wasteland,
Scarred by fire and tokens of household trash,
The dirt moat, with pearl tracks of snails interweaved,
Where emerald light is suffused by aniseed
Among the small tangle of childhood’s minutes.
Some treasures, a mouse’s skull, a smooth stone that fell
From the moon. My mother moves across the kitchen
Window, I am aphid small among the stalks,
Afraid of ladybirds.
The plants distort the way light falls, the shadows,
Fragile structures through lace and frond,
Of things best seen, from slits of light through fingers,
Embroidery of fennel fern across the eye.
My father speaks, a bus goes by, dopplers away.
St. James’ bell rings the evensong;
I am aphid small among the stalks.
C.R. Penny
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins
