ISSUE 03

It’s been a surreal three years since the inception of Symposia. We’re now three issues into what started as the random idea of a few uni students, and a lot has changed in that time. Our current government has made it clear that in times of crisis, the arts are first to go. Their ruthless spending cuts have left our industry high and dry, and Symposia’s hometown of Pōneke has been left at a particular loss, with the culling of some 2,200 public sector jobs, the closure of iconic cafes and venues, and the massive cuts to faculty at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. In a hostile economy like this one, we want to make our stance clear: no matter what our politicians may say, the arts, and particularly the literary arts, are not a “low-value department” that can be so easily tossed aside.

When we sat down after launching Issue 2 to discuss what would come next, we knew that things would look different for us, too. Namely, farewelling our founding team members Pippi Jean and Georgia Wearing, as well as our designer Erin Dailey, all of whom we’re endlessly grateful to for their mahi in getting this magazine off the ground. But, of course, every ending is also a new beginning! We’ve since welcomed Issue 1 and 2 poet Jackson McCarthy on board as the newest member of our editorial team, and we’ve also been incredibly privileged to take on Natasha Kerridge as our new designer, alongside Issue 2 poet Kata Brown as our illustrator. 

In the midst of all of this change, some things have remained consistent, namely our passion for poems that felt fresh and exciting, rich with detail and feeling, and with strong, developed voices. The submissions that we received this year did not disappoint. Among new and familiar names, we were overwhelmed by the strength and diversity of the poems we received.

A common thread throughout many was their address to particular people – Harley Bell’s ‘Alexandra’, Ava Rose’s ‘For Your Tangi’, and Jason Lingard’s trio of people poems, among others. Chaos was also a recurrent theme: see Kermit Winona’s ‘Get Milkrun.’, with its ruthless portrayal of an endless social media scroll, or Josie Connor’s surreal collage ‘Corrupted Pictures’, or the hysterical computer-persona of Joshua Toumu’a’s ‘C:\data\EDR\last_thoughts_of_a_tesla.txt’. Just as common, though, were poems that spoke in low, private tones, in interior rooms, as diary entries, or as confessions: Theo Castle-McLean’s beautiful ‘Travel Diary’ and Tara Leckie’s perfectly-formed miniature ‘small hours’ might come to mind. All in all, the poems we chose for Issue 3 were the ones that made us jump, giggle, and scream; the ones that caused fights among the editorial team; the ones we just had to say aloud; the ones that made us pause and think.

It’s important to acknowledge the difficult year it’s been for many arts organisations in Aotearoa. We’re incredibly fortunate to have received financial support from the Wellington City Creative Communities Fund and are so grateful to everyone who has supported us – whether by donating, purchasing, or simply just reading – to continue producing Symposia. We hope you’ll enjoy the third issue of our journal.

Ngā mihi nui,
Maia, Cadence, Amelia, and Jackson