AustLit

'At Christmas I sat at a pizza shop by the sea. We had a family-sized ‘Aussie’ to share, conveyor-belt crisp and drunk with salt. The night was hot, teeming with flies and with people and their laughter and togetherness. There was nothing to link that Melbourne beach with anywhere from my Adelaide Hills childhood, but when I bit into the pizza and its supermarket shredded ham I was left breathless. Not only because the oil was solidifying in my arteries but because, briefly, I was home again.' (Introduction)

'By the time I got to my mum's house I was already starting to think there might be something wrong with me and then Mum asked me how I was and I told her I have this cyst on my back that hurts when I touch it, and Mum said that's disgusting, that's disgusting, how are you going to find a husband if you keep talking like that, if you talk about your body like that, and I said Mum, I don't need to find a husband, I don't expect to find a husband anyway, I tend to only have sex with drunk guys, and Mum grimaced and told me that if I don't respect myself I'll never find a good man, and that if I just met a good man I wouldn't have to humiliate myself, and I said no, Mum, you don't understand, I only have sex with drunk guys because when I cum I make this guttural noise with my throat, it feels like it's coming from my stomach, like a kitchen sink when you drain the water, or like a dying toad, I've had it ever since I was a teenager and it's done nothing but escalate in volume and depth, when I lost my virginity the guys I was with were kind of grossed out, but drunk guys don't seem to notice it because they're drunk and they're usually already asleep by the time I cum, so we all get along, and Mum stood up and pointed to the door and said I told you not to talk like that, get out, and I said alright, and as I walked down the steps I called out and asked if she would prefer it if I lied to her and she said no, I don't want you to lie to me, I just wish you were different.' (Publication abstract)

'My new cat is a licker. She's also a biter and a scratcher, but that's expected of cats. All cats use their teeth and their claws on their owners to some extent. Only some use their tongues.' (Introduction)

'Continuing our Poets in Conversation series, Joshua Jennifer Espinoza and Alison Whittaker get into each other's Twitter DMs.' (Publication abstract)

'Agreeing on a holiday destination with your mother takes four days and twenty-eight phone calls.' (Publication abstract)

'So if men stop desiring women based on their looks, what would be the result? What's the big thing society will gain as a result of this evolution?' (Publication abstract)

'Jenny: This question reminds me so much of how my Benjamin came out to his grandmother recently. She has been asking him for years: "Why still no girlfriend, not married and no children?" He found the opportunity and told her he was gay, just like I suppose you have to find an opportunity to sit your grandma down and tell her to prepare herself for some "heart attack" announcement. Tell her it's going to be huge like earthquake or volcano. (Please do not blame Jenny if your grandma actually has a heart attack and dies.)' (Publication abstract)