Latest Articles
It's hard to believe the attention paid to Raygun's Paris absurdities, but there may be deeper lessons in that writhing and posing
Sep 10 2024
10 mins
From a perspective of some eighty years it is possible to misunderstand or underestimate the intensity of the fears—but also the hopes and aspirations—of the British people as they faced up to another colossal existential challenge, less than a full generation after what, it was now suddenly clear, had only been the first world war
Sep 10 2024
11 mins
The Republican presidential contender is an acquired taste. Given the alternative, it's a taste persnickety conservatives should make the effort to acquire
Sep 09 2024
4 mins
Valerie Murray: Epic Lunar Perigee
Epic Lunar Perigee
The skin of Earth itches, twitches,
wrinkles as tectonic plates move.
Volcanic acne spew lava, smoke,
move people far away to safety.
Up north, snow-bound, derailed,
people hibernate. Down south, sapped
of all energy, with threat of fire and flood,
we estivate, craving relief.
Tides are very high and low,
sheeted home to climate change.
Not true, even when the moon is blue.
Before recorded history, close sweeps
took their toll, making lunatics
crazier still. Words leap unbidden
from ungoverned mouths,
are denied, are decried.
Move back to moderation, moon.
Give us calm perspective,
thoughts and feelings
back in tune. Soon, please, soon.
Valerie Murray
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
