Going Down Swinging

PRESS RELEASE COURTESY GOING DOWN SWINGING

Going Down Swinging (GDS) is a Melbourne-based, international literary journal celebrating not only 30 issues, but also 30 years of publishing new work by writers and artists including Dorothy Porter, Peter Bakowski and Judy Horacek, up to Angela Costi, Fiona Wright, and Ali Alizadeh. GDS has constantly reinvented itself through the years, always maintaining its fiercely independent, provocative, and irreverent character.

In the last decade GDS has found a distinctive new focus in design, showcasing work from young and emerging Australian artists on the covers - including Anthony Lister, Tom Civil, Stephen Ives and Mila Faranov. The 30th edition features a stunning new painting by Melbourne artist Katrina Rhodes, “Gents of a Feather”.

Going Down Swinging has always been more than a literary journal. Since its first edition copied and stapled by Arena Printing (the Fitzroy-based printer that GDS has returned to three decades later) GDS’ philosophy as defined by founders Kevin Brophy and Myron Lysenko takes in ‘satellite’ forms of writing, presenting interviews with performance poets, and printing comic art works alongside more traditional print poetry and fiction.

Editors since have shared this philosophy and extended the journal’s commitment to alternative forms of writing through commissions and special editions. Since 2008 GDS has commissioned graphic novellas from local comic artists Picknick, Oslo Davis, Jo Waite, and now Michael Camilleri. In 1993 GDS presented a special CD dedicated to performance poet Jas H Duke, and in 1999 introduced professionally produced spoken word CDs to accompany every edition. It remains one of a handful of publishers in the world to anthologise aural poetry.

Going Down Swinging No.30
Founders Kevin Brophy and Myron Lysenko are joined by past editors Grant Caldwell and Adam Ford in selecting new works of short fiction, poetry, comic art, haiku and haiga for this
commemorative edition of Going Down Swinging.

The two accompanying spoken word CDs include both new local works as well as international selections from guest editors Christin O’Keefe Aptowicz (USA), Ian Ferrier (Canada), David
Prater (Europe) and Ian Daley (UK), featuring some of the very best spoken word and slam poetry artists working today.

Through the support of Arts Victoria, GDS has also commissioned for this issue a new short story by Paddy O’Reilly, a longform poem by Eddie Paterson, and a full-colour graphic
novella by Michael Camilleri.

Editors: Lisa Greenaway, Nathan Curnow and Ella Holcombe
172 page Trade Paperback Book + 2 CDs
RRP: AUD$24.95
Distributor (Aus/NZ): The Scribo Group: scribo.com.au
In stores and available from goingdownswinging.org.au
on 23 August 2010.