Editing this issue of Cordite Poetry Review with Joel has felt a bit like a global cultural exchange, one that has expanded and enriched our respective literary worlds in unexpected and enriching ways. I’ve relished the opportunity to read and think deeply about the poems submitted for consideration, and to get a glimpse of what is occupying the hearts and minds of poets in Australia and beyond. Unsurprisingly, there is much common ground despite our geographical differences.

As I read through the submissions, I was constantly reminded that poetry has a funny way of knitting disparate parts of the world closer together, so it’s a thrill to be able to read the poets and poems we selected alongside each other to see what conversations might be started, or what poetic tensions might give rise to a shift in the timeline.

Although this is a themeless issue, it’s inevitable that readers will find connections lurking between the poems, like little strings of light leading them towards a resolution or closure. The poets in this issue share an appreciation for words and how they can make and unmake meaning – they interrogate the world with curiosity and hard-earned wisdom, touching on subjects as varied as indigeneity, climate crisis, literary tradition, family secrets and gender, to name but a few. Whether the poems “Do something lovely / or vicious / or both”, they nonetheless remind us in their own ways that life is neither easy nor commonplace, and that we are all doing what we can to navigate our way through an unpredictable world.

As Joel has said, it’s been an honour to be trusted with steering this issue safely to shore. We hope you’ll find something in these 60 poems to delight, amuse, fortify or haunt you.

— Chris Tse