"Woof, Woof, Woof, Woof"

Dale Benson
Editor of Deep South
Department of English
University of Otago

dale@home.otago.ac.nz

Deep South v.2 n.2 (Winter, 1996)

Copyright (c) 1996 by Dale Benson, all rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the New Zealand Copyright Act 1962. It may be archived and redistributed in electronic form, provided that the journal is notified. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying, such as copying for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating new collective works, or for resale. For such uses, written permission of the author and the notification of the journal are required. Write to Deep South, Department of English, University of Otago, P. O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Tired of whining at the back door, the clever puppies sensed that if they woofed in concert they might be heard and let inside ...

In two years and five issues the postgraduates' electronic journal, Deep South, has made a lot of noise, and its postgraduate student editors have enjoyed the increasing volume. At first, they intended to air mostly the academic and creative voices of postgraduates from the University of Otago. But for this and previous issues they have accepted many prose and poetry submissions from way beyond Dunedin and New Zealand, not only from postgraduate students and academic staff but also from an interesting assortment of individuals known only by their email addresses.

Those clever pups have added their woofs to a global network of yelps, barks and throaty howls. Trouble is, they're still standing on the outside of their own back door. They can bark alright, but they've perceived that it's not enough to be intelligent and appealing. In these dog eat dog times of full cost recovery, as puppies they lack the status and the money to fight their way indoors and thus secure a place in the hierarchy. All they have to exchange for access to the Internet is their ability to attract readers and contributors to Deep South. Through Deep South they offer splendid publicity for the University of Otago while they practise publishing their ideas in the worldwide academic community. But that's not enough.

For the vigorously noisy and playful present, however, before their funding runs out, the editors of Deep South are pleased to announce that 1996 will see two more issues go online. The next will appear in October of 1996 when they will publish the proceedings of the University of Otago's Humanities conference. Then Deep South will transmit the combined voices of a Film Studies class.

Quite a lot of fan mail reaches the editors who then pass it along to the contributors concerned. Starting with the next issue, the editors will publish some of it in a "Responses" section.

Puppies thrive on praise and encouragement. Woof.

Dale Benson, editor.

Write a letter to The Editor. The authors of the work in the journal would appreciate your feedback, so take a moment to write to us if you wish to comment on or respond to anything you have read here. Write to: deep.south@stonebow.otago.ac.nz