The first instalment of the magazine features an eclectic selection of emerging poets and fiction writers. Although the magazine and its publishing house, Regime Books, is based in Western Australia the selection is not geographically constrained, taking in pieces from neighbouring states and the eastern seaboard.
There is no overarching theme to the collection but some recurring tropes do provide a glimpse into the aesthetics of its editors Peter Jeffrey, Nathan Hondros, Damon Lockwood and Chris Palazzolo. A penchant for the experimental in poetics is evident in contributions from Rosalee Kiely (‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’) and Jan Napier (‘Childhood Diabetes’).
There is an unflinching engagement with the politics of the body such as Virginia Jealous’ ‘Oiling the Decks’, Matt Davies’ ‘Fifty Dollars a Dance’ and Helga Jeremy’s ‘Second Skin’. The prickly topic of drugs is tackled in the poem ‘Tripped Out’ by Gail Willems and similarly with gallows humour in Aaron Furnell’s ‘Crack Den Delight’.
Regime 01 also secured new work from Francis Webb scholar and editor Toby Davidson, who adds the subtle lyricism of ‘Sunset, Cottlesloe’ to the collection. Palazzolo offers up his vertiginous tale of physical shock and dissociation following a devastating car crash in ‘Appointment with an Orphic Headhunter’.
Julia Osborne’s short story ‘Maitland’s Cow’ delves into the psychology of young parents shortly after the arrival of the child and the economy of individual needs, which inevitably emerges between partners. There is a host of new short fiction writing as well from emerging prose writers.
Overall Regime 01 delivers on its promise of a solid showcase on new writing, and it will be interesting to see whether the editors can back it up in their second instalment.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Regime Magazine issue 01
Edited by Peter Jeffrey, Nathan Hondros, Damon Lockwood and Chris Palazzolo
Contributors include Andrew Burke, Amanda Joy, Peter Jeffery, Richard James Allen, Ari Mattes, Damon Lockwood, Petri Ivalo Sinda, Kailash Srinivasan and Ruth Stubbings
ISBN: 978-0-646-58284-9
Published by Regime Books
118pp, RRP $15
