Comrades!
The Turtle Editorial Collective
has spent a very pleasant holiday season in India, gathering tales
of courage in struggle, ethnic votives, and some exciting new intestinal
flora. Armed with these, the year ahead promises to be filled with
raised fists, incensed air and raw behinds.
We start the year with
a bhiriyani of articles. Betty Trask Award-winning novelist Rajeev
Balasubramanyam tells us about the travails of Living
With The Whites. From India, Raj Patel reports on the struggle
of the National Alliance of People's Movements against
state tyranny, while Leo Zeilig writes of working
class betrayal and hope in Zimbabwe. Aziz Choudry provides musical
condiment this month with reviews
of three albums from the Antipodes. And Amy Tabor is the pint
of Kingfisher lager, which washes it all down with her fine treatment
of Terrence Deacon's The
Symbolic Species.
In the year ahead, we encourage
you to continue to look to the Turtle for coverage of the issues that
matter. Kelly Dietz's second instalment of her meditations on the
World Conference Against Racism, and Linnie Rawlinson's slurrings
on the delights of gin will all grace our pages soon. And following
the widely-circulated analysis of Harry Potter's closet conservatism,
a deconstructive treatment of The Lord of the Rings will be
with us shortly. A new section of revolutionary tales for our junior
comrades in struggle, is well underway. Look out for first instalments
of The Mao of Pooh, and Little Red
Riding Hood.
While we were away, Santa
was kind to us at The Voice of the Turtle, and stuffed our
stocking with Hardt and Negri's Empire. Since our second favourite
thing is interpreting the world (our first, of course, being that
of changing it), we're having a symposium to talk about Empire. Do
think about joining in. In keeping with our past symposia on Naomi
Klein's No Logo and Jim Scott's Seeing Like a State,
any and all angles on the book are appreciated. Don't worry about
summarising the book. An introductory piece will frame the major arguments
and issues. Write, respond, and react to whatever takes your fancy,
at whatever length, and see your name in lights at the Turtle.
Finally, our usual plea.
The spice of the Turtle's life lies in the contributions of our readers.
If there's anything at all that has moved you, angered you, or even
raised your spirits, be it in the realms of politics, culture, the
arts, sport or anything else, please send us your thoughts. Our prose
engine here at the Turtle is always on hand to trim, craft and hone.
Last year, we had a record number of articles, contributors and new
subscribers -- we salute you all, and hope that this year, the Turtle's
domination of cyberspace can finally be attained.
Avanti popolo!
The Editors
