AustLit

'Synott reflects on the poetry published in Social Alternatives journal in the last forty years. His appointment as poetry editor of the journal from 2002 to 2012 followed in the footsteps of Laurence Burke, John Knight and Wendy Morgan. Their editorial work established that Social Alternatives was not only a publication of critical articles on politics, social movements and cultural debates but a journal that presented poetry from poets involved in those social movements. They published poetry that expressed the voices of poets engaged in the anti-nuclear weapons, anti-conscription and anti-Vietnam war campaigns, the campaigns for women's liberation, the campaigns for Aboriginal Land rights, the movement for environmental protection, and other new left analyses and proposals for change towards a communitarian and ecologically sustainable world.'  (Publication abstract)

'The goal of Social Alternatives from its inception in 1977 was to provide a forum for discussing and analyzing problems, with an emphasis on formulating nonviolent alternatives in a quest for peace and social justice. The previous decade had seen great changes both in Australia and overseas; it was a period of student unrest that led to new ways of thinking. Professor Ralph Summy played a major role in the upheaval that took place at the University of Queensland during the sixties and into the seventies. It was in this environment that the idea of a radical journal took root. Ralph gathered a few like-minded friends to work on the first issue of the journal which was launched on Dec 1977. Here, Summy uncovers Ralph's personal story, in an attempt to understand his motivation in pursuing a fair and equitable society, and to discover the evolution of his ideas.'  (Publication abstract)