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Place my hands in the water

Phoebe Grainer

Autumn 2024

Rain fell on my spirit and buried it somewhere in the dirt. It’s eight days post-referendum. This morning, my mother and grandmother want to walk. This is my mother’s doing, I know it. Since ‘the night’, my mother, being the healer that she is, has been busying herself bringing everyone together. My nana, well, I haven’t seen much of her lately. Thinking about it now… haven’t left this house since…

Early morning means a crescent moon still smiles. Under it, my grandmother stands waiting at the fence. Mum closes the front door of the house and I walk with her to meet Nana. We don’t say anything, and we know that’s different because most of the time I can’t shut my mouth. But what is there to say? All we can do is move.

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Meanjin is open again for subscriptions! Thank you all for your patience as we’ve undertaken the transfer of the journal to its new home.

The next edition of Meanjin will be available from December 2026. Information on the purchase of single editions – in print or ePub formats – will be available closer to time.

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Essays

Why I Write What I Write
Gerald Murnane
The Iceberg of Translation
Tiffany Tsao
My Head is a Camera
Steve MinOn
Elizabeth Jolley: An Appreciation
Helen Garner

State of the Nation

Publishing for the end times
Farrin Foster
Making marks: Literary journals and cultural value
Carody Culver
The language of the literary unconscious
Alison J Barton
Remembrance Day
Anne Twomey

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  • In Print
  • Online Only
    • Latest Pieces
    • Reading Trails
    • What I’m Reading
  • Read
    • The Meanjin Papers
    • Poetry
    • Essays
    • Fiction
    • Memoir
    • The Meanjin Interviews
    • Experiments
    • State of the Nation
    • The Year In…
  • Books
    • Reviews
    • Australia in Three Books
    • What I’m Reading
  • Writers
    • Interviews
  • Buy
    • Subscribe
    • Where to buy
  • News
    • Announcements
    • Events
  • About
    • About Meanjin
    • First Peoples First
    • People
    • Editorial Advisory Panel
    • Copyright and Payment
    • Partners
    • Get Involved
    • Contact
    • Privacy
  • Search