Postkiwi

I found Ha! Magazine in the local newsagent today, the launch issue of a rag dedicated to serious Australian humour. Paul Dovas, editor, aims to acknowledge humour and comedy from an distinctly Australian perspective and put it ‘out there for the rest of the world to enjoy’.

The lead article is an essay by Allison Leo on “taking the piss”, an Australian cultural tradition. She says that piss-taking is about making a joke that demonstrates lateral thought, yet does it in a way that makes the target feel better about themselves. She traces this disrespectful and irreverent practice back to Australia’s early days in which convicts turned settlers failed often and splendidly in their enterprising schemes. ‘Taking the piss’ was refined as an art during the two world wars. For a contemporary example she points to the humorous capacity of the two surviving miners in the Beaconsfield mining disaster.

There’s some excellent reviews of Aunty Jack Season 2, Graham Kennedy, RV, and Click. Elena Lonergan reviews her own comedy web site, www.talking-fish.com.

It should be interesting to see if Ha! survives. I suspect that it is a little too intellectual at this point. The common reader is not so much interested in reading about humour, as in engaging in humour itself.

The next issue, due out any time now, is to focus on families and relationships.