One of Australia’s latest literary journals, Kill Your Darlings, has taken its name from a quote attributed to William Faulkner. As stated by the journal’s editor Rebecca Starford, the phrase means ‘to ruthlessly cut out that which doesn’t serve a purpose in one’s writing, no matter how sentimental one feels about it’. And thus, I was hooked. The striking title and cover had me at ‘hello’ but as soon as I read about the meaning of the journal’s title, and its vision - to create literature that demands attention - I felt very happy that I had been in a buying mood that fruitful afternoon at Carlton’s Readings.
New fiction, essays, commentary and reviews. This is what the content promises and each section has been a delight to read. I particularly enjoyed Clementine Ford’s piece on internet dating, ‘Love in a LOL-ed Climate’, and ‘Talk Derby to Me’, which is Georgia Gowing’s ode to roller derby (something I wish I was brave enough to be awesome at!). The fiction offerings are just as thought-provoking and here I want to give a special shout-out to ‘Theories of Relativity’ by Chris Womersley. Just, wow.
I can’t wait for the next edition…make sure you get your hands on a copy.
