AustLit

'Why the theme TREAT? Because, as I said in the call-out for submissions, ‘Who couldn’t use a treat in these difficult times?’ Though the word ‘treat’ also has other meanings, which I encouraged poets to explore.

'Nearly half of the poems I selected for this issue address the most familiar meaning of treat, though the type of treat varies. There were many poems about food and drink – like Zephyr Zhang’s rambunctious ‘Cucumis sativus parvus’, a poem in praise of mini cucumbers, or Megan Cartwright’s ‘My shout’, which has fun with the office coffee run – and also food as a vital component of culture, as in Lesh Karan’s ‘My mother’s kitchen’. There are unusual treats, as in Diane Suess’s sly yet bold ‘Better than to receive a treat, I would like to know the taste of a treat in someone else’s mouth’. There are poems in which the treat is existence itself, as in Moira Kirkwood’s exuberant ‘Fullest’ (‘I’ve had it with eking’). There are celebrations of the natural world, of music, language, friendship, and the freedom of solitude.' (Tricia Dearborn : Editorial introduction)