Osborne, Roger, and Bradshaw, Wayne (2026) A Northern Affair: Victor Kennedy’s Northern Affairs in/and Australian Magazine Culture. Australian Literary Studies, 41 (1).

PDF (Published Version) - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only

Abstract

The brief life of Northern Affairs positions it within a tradition of many short-lived literary magazines published in the 1930s. For comparison in the Australian context, we might look to Manuscripts (1931–35), Pandemonium (1934–35) and Stream (1931), all published in Melbourne – or, in the case of Manuscripts, Geelong, in the first few years of its life. In the literary history of North Queensland, we might also consider Expression (1962–71), North (1963–68), LiNQ (1969–2016), Westlife (1970–73), In Print (1972–74) and, more recently, Sūdō Journal (2019–) as examples of periodicals established and sustained through the dedication of enthusiastic locals. In their reviews of North Queensland literary journals, neither Cheryl Taylor (1972) nor Wayne Bradshaw (2022) mentioned Northern Affairs;1 and at that time Northern Affairs did not appear in AustLit, the bibliographical radar David Carter and Roger Osborne were using at the time they were writing about the history of literary magazines in the twentieth century (2003).2 Perhaps the prevalence of periodicals in Townsville instilled a prejudice towards looking to Far North Queensland for literary culture. Why bring it up now? We might link this question with Patrick Collier’s pertinent question about provincial periodicals: ‘why should anyone be interested in a careful analysis of a heretofore critically obscure periodical? And how do we, as scholars, articulate the value of the artifact, and of work that explores the artifact, in ways that make theoretical sense and successfully justify and undergird a corresponding methodology?’(100). Collier’s provocation has led to an expansion of periodical studies during the last ten years, one which sees even the most obscure journal as ‘a potential source for new critical inquiries and conversations rather than as a window onto preexisting, valued critical categories’ (109). Drawing attention to the work of Hammill and McGregor on the important literary and cultural role played by regional Canadian periodicals, Matthew Levay argues that a focus on seriality itself ‘helps to counter the critical devaluation of popular, regional authors, genres and forms … to move away from the hierarchies of modernism implicit in first editions, canonical authors and major urban publishers and towards the kind of variety one finds in those smaller, regional periodicals that formed so rich a part of their readers’ experiences with the literary field’ (xv). This movement in periodical studies from the metropolis to the region – or province – supports a richer understanding of isolated local communities, but also the ways in which such analyses can inform an understanding of larger regional, national, and even trans-national networks and cultural practices. As we will argue in this paper, Victor Kennedy’s Northern Affairs contributes to that understanding.

Item ID:	94196
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1837-6479
Copyright Information:	© 2026 the authors.
Date Deposited:	02 Nov 2026 02:14
FoR Codes:	47 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 4705 Literary studies > 470502 Australian literature (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander literature) @ 100%
SEO Codes:	13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1302 Communication > 130203 Literature @ 100%
	More Statistics