Meanjin, along with Overland and the Australian Book Review, is one of Australia’s most important literary magazines. It has evolved around core people and principles.
Meanjin was founded by Clem Christesen in Brisbane in 1940, although early in 1945 the University of Melbourne was successful in tempting him to relocate the magazine.
Although the University’s institutional support has waxed and waned over the decades, the editors have consistently produced ‘a journal of ideas, built around books, to encourage free expression and intelligent criticism’. The magazine is now an imprint of Melbourne University Publishing.
Flash Player Update Required
To view the Flash content available on this web page you must have Flash Player version 7 or higher installed. You can download the latest Flash Player for free. Alternatively, you may need to disable software such as a Flash AdBlocker and refresh your browser.
Download
Download the audio file by right-clicking on the 'Download...' link below and saving. Need help?
This audio tour is narrated by Ramona Koval, who hosts The Book Show on ABC Radio National every weekday at 10am and 8pm. Ramona Koval has written several books and her many interviews with leading writers have been broadcast on ABC Radio and published in books.
Illustration
The Herald & Weekly Times Photographer, CB Christensen, c 1968, gelatin silver photograph, H38849/739, courtesy of The Herald & Weekly TimesLtd
Transcript
This magazine is the first Melbourne issue of Meanjin that was released in autumn of 1945. In 2000 its founder and editor, Clem Christesen received an Order of Australia for his service to the development of Australian creative and critical writing as a founder and editor of Meanjin.
Christesen was born in Townsville in 1911, and in his early years worked as a journalist for the Courier and Telegraph newspapers and a government publicist for Queensland. In 1939 he travelled overseas and was inspired by the cultural life of cities in Scotland, England and Europe. On his return to Australia his desire to live in a place with a thriving intellectual and literary scene led to the establishment of Meanjin.
The first issue, an eight-page literary magazine called Meanjin Papers, was published in Brisbane in 1940. The fledgling magazine received an enthusiastic response from writers interstate and by the end of 1941 it had expanded into a thirty-two-page magazine. Despite the struggle to obtain paper during the war and Christesen's financial difficulties, Meanjin's reputation grew. By the end of 1944 there were 4000 subscribers. In 1945 at the invitation of The University of Melbourne and with the offer of security for the magazine, Christesen and his wife Nina moved to Melbourne. He remained editor until 1974.
Download Track 11: Meanjin [mp3
1.9MB
01:34]
