The kiss 

Featured in

  • Published 20240206
  • ISBN: 978-1-922212-92-4
  • Extent: 204pp
  • Paperback, ePub, PDF, Kindle compatible

SHE COULD ONLY find one image of him on the internet, a grainy passport-style photo on page five of her Google search. Who knew there were so many men in the world called Ryan Stewart? It took Gemma a moment to recognise him, sandwiched between a balding, self-published author of middle-grade fiction and a piano teacher from Boston accused of grooming a student. The lips gave him away. Mediterranean thick, even though his family were apparently from some small, cold town in Canada. 

Gemma marvelled at how insignificant his digital footprint was. She wondered if he was dead, which made her sad and a little disappointed – in herself but also the world – that this was the most obvious explanation for his lack of social media presence. 

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

If you are an educator or student wishing to access content for study purposes please contact us at griffithreview@griffith.edu.au

Share article

More from author

The human factor

Memoir I would like to believe in the myth that we grow wiser with age. In a sense my disbelief is wisdom. Those of a...

More from this edition

Nostalgia on demand

Non-fictionHow then do we approach a circumstance in which it is possible to consciously curate those memories and sense impressions, such that they become mere features of our ‘profile’? Or one where third parties, having gleaned enough data to know us better than we know ourselves, can supply those memories and impressions for us?

From anchor to weapon

Non-fictionIn 1930s Germany, the slogan ‘blood and soil’ was most prominently promulgated by the Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture, which positioned itself not merely as an administrator but a kind of advocate-guardian of the soil and its workers. In 1930, Adolf Hitler recruited Richard Walther Darré, then a leading blood and soil theorist, to the Nazi Party. On seizing power in 1933, Hitler appointed Darré Reichsminister of Agriculture, a role he occupied until 1942. Recently, for reasons that are unclear but politically alarming, Darré’s works on blood and soil have been translated and republished in English to some fanfare.

Apocalypse, then?

FictionWriting took almost everything from me. Most afternoons, I’d arrive home from teaching classrooms of uninterested students, have a little Henry time, defrost a ready-to-eat supermarket meal, open a bottle of shiraz and write until midnight. Most weekends, I’d start writing once the hangover wore off, break for lunch, and then write again until dinner. It wasn’t just punishing on my physical health, it ruined my relationships, most recently with Greg, who said I’d die miserable and alone if I maintained my grim routine. And for what? The occasional acceptance from an obscure journal read by twelve other short-story writers?

Stay up to date with the latest, news, articles and special offers from Griffith Review.