March 2018: Issue One
Cover: Judith Hanna’s photo of Guo Pei’s Red Goddess Dress in her 2017 spring-summer Legend collection. Snapped while her dresses were showing at the National Gallery of Victoria as part of the NGV Triennial. The dress is made of hand crafted silk. More details about the collection at https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2017/dec/20/divine-inspiration-the-heavenly-gowns-of-guo-pei-in-pictures
Continue reading →Editorial
The electric Wild Goose
The Wild Goose: A Collection of Ocean Waifs was a weekly newspaper published in 1867 by British prisoners as they sailed to a penal colony in Australia.
Handwritten on foolscap donated by the onboard priest, it was read aloud to passengers of the convict ship Hougoumont every Sunday. Reaching a landmark seven issues, The Wild Goose could be called Australia’s first zine.
So when Adam suggested we should do an e-zine, I suggested we reuse the title from Australia’s earliest days.
Articles
Margaret Cavendish and The Blazing World
Adam JenkinsA look at the 17th centenary SF writer, Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, based on a 2017 talk given to the Critical Mass SF discussion group.
Virigina Wolfe in 1929 wrote of Margaret Cavendish:
What a vision of loneliness and riot the thought of Margaret Cavendish brings to mind! as if some giant cucumber had spread itself over all the roses and carnations in the garden and choked them to death. (Woolfe, 1989. pp 61-62)
It is a delightful albeit painful description, yet it encompasses a common perception of the Duchess of Newcastle. Philosopher, poet, playwright, scientist, fashion designer and author, the first woman to publish under her own name as well as the first to attend a meeting of the Royal Society of London, Cavendish blazed a trail in the mid 1600’s, including being one of the first writers of proto-science fiction.
The Sustainability Drinks Affair
Roman Orszanski“Hey”, said Trish, “guess who the speaker at the November Sustainability Drinks is! Ben Heard.”
“How Curious!” I replied. Sustainability Drinks is a monthly gathering of people interested in sustainability, held at my local pub, The King’s Head. Ben Heard is a PhD candidate at Adelaide, and an aggressive advocate of nuclear systems.
Reviews
Taha
Written & Performed by Amer Hlehel
Adelaide Festival 2018
David Faber reviews the performance
TAHA is the triumphant but not triumphalist story of the Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali, refracted through the experience and artistry of Haifa based actor and dramatist Amer Hlehel. The performance we saw deservedly commanded several standing ovations and not a few tears of empathy and joy.
Memorial By Alice Oswald
Starring Helen Morse ◼︎ Direction by Chris Drummond
A review by David Faber
Director Chris Drummond has dramatically realized upon the stage poet Alice Oswald’s compelling elegy to the fallen of the Iliad. The author has succeeded in interpreting the atmosphere of the epic, by stripping it of narrative detail.
If You Can’t Be Good Be Careful
David Faber reviews an exhibition at a collective art space
Kate Kurucz If You Can’t Be Good Be Careful
9th March – 1st April 2018
Floating Goose Studios Gallery 271 Morphett St., Adelaide SA 5000
The Floating Goose Studios Inc is a cooperative enterprise of a number of emerging Adelaide artists. Works displayed are for sale at reasonable prices, if you have the necessary; visiting for a look is free. On the day we dropped in unannounced, partner Patrick Cassar was in attendance, working in the backroom. Opening hours are from Friday 3-9pm, Saturday 10am-4pm and Sunday 12-4pm. You could try arranging an appointment if you’re in the market to buy on 0417 818 978. The venue is handily located just off the Gouger Street café precinct, having hitherto been located in the old Trim’s site off King William Street.
Currently showing are 3 recent works by art school graduate Kate Kurucz, discussing the representation of female sexuality and interpersonal relations.
A Black Utopia?
This long-awaited film about a powerful black superhero is drawing huge crowds in the US. T’Challa, prince of Wakanda (played by Chadwick Boseman), returns home to claim his throne and battle with an old enemy, Ulysses Klaue (wonderfully portrayed by Andy Serkis). The real threat, however, lies in a returning cousin Erik Killmonger, who lays claim to the throne, claiming he was the victim of actions by by T’Challa’s father. He’s been away in America, and has returned with the captured Klaue. He establishes his claim by the traditional trial by combat, throws T’Challa over a waterfall, and proceeds to share Wakanda’s wealth with the world.
The Craft Sequence
Max Gladstone’s Craft sequence is set in a world where, until recently, Gods ruled. Due to arcane knowledge known as The Craft, some people learnt how to control/create god-like powers. After the God Wars, Gods have either been killed, hounded from their territories, or controlled by people.
The Dressmaker
The Dressmaker is a fine Australian movie, a black-comedy-fashion-western-revenge-drama murder mystery, set in the fifties.
Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, from the book by Rosalie Ham. It stars Liam Hemsworth, Kate Winslet, Hugo Weaving, Sarah Snook and Judy Davis. You’ll also undoubtably recognise a fine ensemble of Australian actors throughout the film.
It opens as Tilly (Kate Winslet) arrives in an outback town on the evening stage bus, to be met by the Town Sergeant, who gives her a lift to her parental home.
Brett Dean’s Hamlet
A review from the Adelaide Festival performance by Jennifer Bryce
Australian composer Brett Dean has written an opera, Hamlet, which is being performed at the Adelaide Festival, following acclamation at Glyndebourne, UK.
It is a brilliant collaboration between composer, librettist (Matthew Jocelyn) and director (Neil Armfield). I didn’t come away with the music running through my head; I came away thinking about the play, particularly Shakespeare’s language, which is used faithfully.
Opinion
Boldly going … Again!
Stu Blair
Star Trek Discovery and The Orville have amassed a loyal following of fans during their respective premiere seasons.
For Star Trek fans, it has been quite a spell, close to eleven years to be precise, and for those card carrying trekkers, that is more than a life time!
As ‘Disco’ (Star Trek Discovery) commenced its final run to the starting gate, and premiering to — for the first time in Star Trek’s history — a pay per view audience, there was much trepidation being displayed by one sector of fans ‘post premiere’, due to its overall presentation.
It’s all in the hearts
Lynelle HowellSo….Doctor Who is going to be a woman. So what? To me it’s just another reincarnation. I guess what I’m saying is I don’t care who plays The Doctor, so long as they play to the true euthos and stylings of the character. If we have to have a change in Doctor yet again, I can handle it being a woman.
Not only is The Doctor not ginger…
Christine PymanThoughts on the new Doctor, by Christine Pyman
As an admin of a couple of Doctor Who groups, and a member of many more, I think I’ve seen some of the best and worst of the Who world’s reactions to The Doctor regenerating as a female.
It seems that, as a species, humans don’t particularly like change, and the Internet has given everyone a platform to express their disgruntlement.
This is an electric wild-goose production. This fanzine is (c) 2018 by the editors, Adam Jenkins and Roman Orszanski. Copyright reverts to the contributors upon publication. Issues will first appear on wild-goose.net, to be followed in due course by a downloadable issue for local viewing.
Contact the editors via email: editors@wild-goose.net