This issue of Southerly is framed by a contemplation of island futures by Elaine Stratford, taken from her opening address at the inaugural Australian Small Island Forum in May 2012. The remaining literary essays focus on the interplay between island fantasies in Australian writing where the island is a powerful site in real and imaginary terms.
In addition to these thoughful works of analysis the issue includes a wealth of fiction, poetry and reviews centred on islands, archipelagos, the experience of their materiality and their imaginative power.
