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
Andrew Lansdown: ‘Ocean Haiku’, ‘Of Catnip and Women’ and ‘The Chosen Whale’
Ocean Haiku
i
Under a blue sky
a school of salmon surfing
inside a blue wave.ii
Seaborne galleon
the ponderous pelican
airborne zeppelin.iii
Jigged from the sea
jetting ink on the jetty
the jiggered squid.iv
Belly-up blowfish
among the marina boats
like mini sea mines.v
A hermit crab
backing into a seashell
and this haiku.Andrew Lansdown
Of Catnip and Women
1
BesottedFawning, meowing,
gawping, pawing and growling—
so astounding is
a cat’s response to catnip,
a man’s response to women!2
UnbearableAs cats with catnip,
so men with women—gaping,
nuzzling, caressing—
anything to get relief from
the unbearable loveliness.Andrew Lansdown
The Chosen Whale
Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah,
and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days
—Jonah 1:17Sonorous and oom
I roam and sound
in the strange storm …I up and breach
and I catch him
as they toss himsquid-squirming from
the pitching float
to the wave-roil …And the Master
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
