By Riley Bampton
The University of Queensland’s literary and creative journal, Jacaranda, recently launched its newest edition. Scorched Earth is Jacaranda’s 12.1 edition of the print journal and is just as blazing as its title. We at Glass were lucky enough to be invited to the launch party at UQ’s Global Change Institute. This was the first Jacaranda event Glass had attended, and though we got a bit lost on the unfamiliar campus, we eventually found our way.
Once inside we were greeted by lovely architecture and a few familiar faces. It seems that everyone from QUT’s creative writing sector does their master’s at UQ.
After mingling with the other attendees, we were ushered into another room for the launch. I will not lie, the first thing I noticed was the number of people in attendance. The seats were filled until people had to stand at the back. It was great to see the amount of support being shown for Jacaranda, though admittedly I was a bit jealous.
Jacaranda Journal’s current Publisher and Editor in Chief, Euri Glenn, started us off with a brilliant speech, on the reason for the title Scorched Earth:
”The term ‘scorched earth’ once belonged to the lexicon of war. A military policy of intentional destruction of everything that enables the enemy in their war. It leaves no trace of crop, livestock, infrastructure, or shelter. But language evolves, and meanings change, now the term makes its way closer to us.”
Euri went on to speak on the phrase’s relation to society. From colonialist destruction, extractive capitalism, disregarded calls for justice to climate change, police brutality, and refugees. In this Journal you will find a range of works by writers who have risen from the coals. The speech ended with the question: “What will we find in the ashes?”
Alongside a redesign, the team at Jacaranda were excited to announce recent changes to the journal. Jacaranda Journal is now open to National submissions. Anyone within Australia can submit their work to Jacaranda. Glassies this means you! However, I encourage you to always have some work spare for us. Two new competitions will be held for each edition. The first being a cover art competition and the second a writing competition. Winners will receive a monetary prize and have their work featured in the magazine. The University of Queensland Press are now collaborating with Jacaranda, bringing with them enormous opportunities for the journal. And finally, Jacaranda Journal is being sold in even more locations. You can now buy a print copy of the journal at;
– Avid Reader (West End)
– UQP Shop (University of Queensland)
– Riverbend Books (Bulimba)
– Library Shop (State Library of Queensland)
– Brunswick Bound (Melbourne)
– Books@Stones (Logan)
Alternatively, you can buy digital copies from their website, www.jacarandajournal.com.
The winners for Scorched Earth’s cover art and writing competitions were announced on the night. Dani Ringrose won the cover art competition with her brilliant photography from the Shetland Up Helly Aa Viking fire festival, which can be seen on the front cover. Bethany Keats won the writing competition with, Yesterday’s Washing, a short story on the unpaid and unappreciated labour of women in the household. Congratulations to them both!
All in all, a brilliant night filled with talented people. The next edition of Jacaranda Journal, Memento Mori, has just been announced. Submissions are open now! Glass was grateful to receive a review copy of the journal, so keep an eye out for our thoughts on Scorched Earth.
