Culture

Mahmood Fazal Snoee Badman – the first Australian to release an EP from inside a maximum-security prison – embodies a punk defiance to institutional brutality. “I have a lot of violence to write about. Jail is not good for anyone … Prison gives you a lot of hatred.”

Jinghua Qian After almost six distinguished decades in a notoriously fickle industry, Nancye Hayes is still captivating Australian theatre audiences with her indomitable mix of sass and charm. “Some people can’t stand musicals, but they’re joyful and moving. Music is very emotional and touches people.”

Shaad D’Souza The Bull sisters took their gospel-singing Tongan background and perfectly blended harmonies and carved a decades-long career as both quintessential musician’s musicians and popular favourites. “I like the challenge of creating something out of nothing,” says younger sister Linda. “And then what happens at the end of that process is you get a song that you can sing for years.”

Tristen Harwood Fiona Foley’s groundbreaking new book Biting the Clouds traces a hidden colonial history of addiction and slavery. “None of the information in this book was ever taught to me in a classroom setting … We have no critical race studies in the curriculum in this country.”

Madeleine Chapman On the verge of international stardom, Rose Matafeo combines supremely confident ambition with deep personal doubt. “Seeing yourself on screen is the fucking worst thing ever. Your perception of yourself is the best version of yourself that you perform in the mirror, and that is not what other people see.”

Miriam Cosic A new Streeton retrospective at the Art Gallery of New South Wales reveals a painter who speaks dazzlingly to our present.

Cassie Tongue Returning to the stage after almost two decades, Alma De Groen’s Wicked Sisters now reads like a study of the generational failures of white feminism.

Lisa Radford The documentary Brazen Hussies vividly excavates the crucial, complex history of the Australian women’s liberation movement.

John Kinsella I am a dressmaker who does alterations to make a living. You might call me a tailor, but what would you know? How long would you spend down here in the heat, working 12-hour shifts? And this is better than when I worked in the shop with 30 others doing …

Omar Sakr Relevant to the Day     for Mr Daliri   After lunch, I decide I have no brothers and sisters, I am Alone. My love is in another room. She doesn’t know of this severance, how far I drifted   In …

Laura McPhee-Browne for Olga Masters When I was younger, I would look at my body in the mirror when I got up in the morning, between taking off my pyjamas and getting in the shower. I would drop the flannel pants and then my undies, letting my smell fill my nostrils. …

Reviewer: Winnie Siulolovao Dunn Kyle Sandilands as prime minister, ethnic suburbs on stolen lands being gentrified and our souls being illegally uploaded to computers: these are just some of the speculative imaginings within the 16 stories of Liminal magazine’s debut …

Reviewer: Maria Takolander When I first started reading Philip Salom’s latest novel, The Fifth Season, I thought I was in for a real treat. The set-up is engagingly noirish. Jack, a writer, moves into a holiday rental at the end of summer, with plans to write a book …

Reviewer: Linda Jaivin The climate crisis demands urgent action. Our democracy, with its “oligarchic” major parties – “shelf companies” with “small, ageing memberships” that serve as little more than “executive-placement agencies” …