EDITORIAL

What's It All About?

The theme for this, the lucky 13th issue of Cordite, is International. As Michael Caine would say: "Not many people know that."

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Our new format makes it easier for us to respond rapidly to current events, as well as change our minds at the drop of a hat. On April 30 we almost did that, in the belief that "international" was so broad and bland a theme that no one would bother to respond to it.

Indeed, a brief glance down this page might confirm one's suspicion that this issue has about as much to do with "international" as Michael Caine's hairpiece (pictured).

Who knows what it's all about? Does it matter? At this stage we're not sure. That's why we've broken the word "international" into three key terms: Inter (to denote that this issue sits between "test match" and "zombie" on our shelf), Nation (because, erm, we live in a nation-state) and Ale (to reflect both the workers' struggles embodied in the "Internationale" and the importance of beer in Australian culture).

That being said, we've never claimed to be in complete control of this juggernaut. As we hurtle towards the future of Australian poetry and poetics, we can only hope that the wheels don't fall off.