Latest Articles
ABCers know their jobs are safe and that, for all Dutton’s fulminations, no government will insist on reform, let alone cut the broadcaster loose
Oct 12 2024
5 mins
The man behind X has been obliged to bow before a censorship regime we may soon see in Australia
Oct 10 2024
11 mins
To plumb the depths of our cultural crisis, we must examine our institutions, especially universities.
Oct 10 2024
11 mins
Rod Moran: ‘Wrens’ and ‘Lemon’
Wrens
(For Luke)
A relief against
The heat-hammered afternoon:
A wren blue as ice.
Those sequins of sky
Scattered around the hay stooks:
Iridescent wrens.
Avian optics:
A kaleidoscope of wrens—
Noon through a blue lens.
Rod Moran
The Lemon Tree
(For Lynette)
The lemon tree in our garden
Glistens golden-green after rain.
Its roots are deep beneath our home,
Siting our life within its frame.
Lemon-wood scent colours the air,
The perfume pervades like a balm.
A rain-front thunders through again.
The garden then resumes its calm.
Our daughter plays beneath the tree,
Gathers the golden fallen fruit,
(Honeyeaters plunder the buds),
Gifting to us her shining loot.
The tree is like an offering,
Our daughter clambers through its light.
There’s citrus cologne in her hair
When we kiss her to say goodnight.
The lemon tree is a jewel,
Luminous in the morning dew.
It’s like a poem telling us
We have found something deep and true.
Rod Moran
Many will disagree, but World War III is too great a risk to run by involving ourselves in a distant border conflict
Sep 25 2024
5 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
