New voices inspire ‘Open House'

What will they do next? New voices inspire ‘Open House’

A leading contributor to the field of experimental writing in New Zealand, Jack Ross’s latest ‘gig’ is guest editor of Open House, the new issue of Landfall, published by Otago University Press.

After a number of themed issues, Landfall opens up in this general issue, presenting new voices in poetry and fiction alongside more established writers.

Prose writing includes Ted Jenner on Malawi, Stephen Turner on cultural plagiarism and the New Zealand dream of home, Bronwyn Lloyd on doppelgänger suicide, and Ouyang Yu on ‘the axis of exiles’.

There are in-depth reviews of new books from a wide range of publishers, by writers from a variety of perspectives. Eight paintings by cover artist Emma Smith make up the first portfolio, while Gabriel White’s photographs of South Korea form the second.

‘I’ve ended up feeling very inspired by the whole experience!’ says Ross. ‘There are some really interesting writers out there. A lot of them, admittedly, I knew about already, but quite a few were new to me, too.’

‘It’s easy to mock the desire of every editor to detect new trends and incipient literary movements. ... my selections for this magazine may well have ended up privileging a personal impression of what is most pointed and relevant in contemporary writing. But some of the poems and stories included in this issue move me in quite a new way. I feel intensely curious to read what these new poets and fiction writers will produce next.’

CONTENTS Poetry Raewyn Alexander Stu Bagby Sarah Jane Barnett Robert James Berry Tony Beyer Sarah Broom Amy Brown Jennifer Compton Jen Crawford Brett Cross Hamish Dewe Michael Harlow Tourettes David Howard Leonard Lambert Katherine Liddy Thérèse Lloyd Olivia Macassey Mary MacPherson Sally Ann McIntyre Andrew Slattery Elizabeth Smither Michael Steven Claire Talbot Richard Von Sturmer Ouyang Yu Kirsten Warner Keith Westwater Fiction Breton Dukes Martin Edmond Scott Hamilton Kim McBreen Paul Millar Tracey Slaughter Latika Vasil Essays/Commentary Ted Jenner Bronwyn Lloyd Stephen Turner Ouyang Yu Artwork Matthew Kelly Emma Smith Gabriel White The Landfall Review: Sarah Broom Jen Crawford Siobhan Harvey Scott Hamilton Jack Ross Laurence Simmons Tracy Slaughter

EDITOR
Jack Ross, who teaches in the English Programme of Massey University’s Albany School of Social and Cultural Studies, is the author of four works of fiction and three poetry collections. A prolific reviewer and critic, Ross has also edited/co-ordinated a number of journals and books, including the New Zealand avant-garde journal A Brief History of the Whole World and Classic New Zealand Poets in Performance (2006), the latter with Jan Kemp. Ross, who holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, is a leading contributor to the field of experimental writing in New Zealand.

Publication details
Landfall 214 Open House
Editor: Jack Ross
In store: November 2007. RRP $29.95

ENDS

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