Welcome to this 100th edition of Hearsay
I am pleased to celebrate this milestone by recognising the editors of Hearsay, both past and present.
Editors often go without fanfare. Credit goes to the author for the concept, the artistry, newly-woven idiom and the effective use of language and form. But the editor fashions the outcome and renders the result, polishing the facets of the diamond.
The significance of the editor is well illustrated by the relationship between American author, the iconic Raymond Carver, and his long-time editor, Gordon Lish.
It is easy to tell when you are reading a Raymond Carver short story. In some ways it resembles good legal writing: concise, eschewing unnecessary description, every word serving a purpose and put as simply as possible. Less so is his approach to characters, starkly real people who mean what they say but don’t always say what they mean, and his endings: abrupt and unexpected, sometimes mid-sentence.
In stories where traditional narrative has been cut down to the marrow, which exist in the real world and deal with themes like broken marriages, struggle and alcoholism, so much plays out in the silences left by Carver. In The Bath, a mother answers the phone, the caller asking after her hospitalised son, and the story ends, leaving the reader left to decide the son’s fate. They aren’t necessarily happy stories.
Following Carver’s death from lung cancer in 1988 and the publication by his widow of his manuscripts and Lish’s editorial notes, questions have arisen about the true source of Carver’s renowned minimalistic style.
Carver had described Lish’s editing as “surgical amputation”. This was never clearer than in What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, one of Carver’s most famous works. In 2007, Carver’s unedited manuscript was published under its original title: Beginners.
The short story features two couples talking around a bottle of gin. Lish renamed the published version, excised almost half of the 10,000 words, and created a different ending. The broad strokes of the story were the same but that did not stop Carver asking his publisher to halt production after he first received Lish’s edits.
In ‘What We Talk About’, Mel, a surgeon, tells the story of an elderly couple he treated after a car accident who recovered in full body casts, looking “just like in the movies. Little eye-holes and nose-holes and mouth-holes”. Despite their survival and recovery, the husband fell into a deep depression because his cast prevented him from moving his head to look at his wife, who is lying next to him in her own cast – so great is his love for his wife.
In the published version, Mel’s story takes up three paragraphs. In Beginners, it runs over multiple pages, the couple are in separate rooms, and the husband has use of his neck twice a day. In Lish’s version, the old couple’s love is so great that the gin drinkers ought to be ashamed that they think they know what they’re talking about when they talk about love. In Carver’s version, compared to the old couple they’re only beginners, who can improve with time. While Beginners is more hopeful, it’s difficult to compare the two versions and not conclude that Lish’s edits make for the better story.
It was the last time Lish edited Carver’s work.
We have all had our work given the Lish treatment, and we have probably all been Lish, perhaps even at the same time. We have seen hours of work undone with the swipe of a pen, lamented abandoning a point which seemed promising in its infancy but proved useless in its exploration, or cut down our work to its most elemental principle. We also have to overcome barriers Carver and Lish didn’t: that what we write must be true and must have an ending which makes sense. Without the colleagues who spotlight as our editors we would be trapped in full-body casts made of our own should-have-been cut drafts, with only hole-punched pages through which to peer out.
My thanks to the current Editors of Hearsay, Richard Douglas KC and John Meredith, each of whom is as accomplished as Carver and as helpful as Lish, for their work in compiling this 100th edition of Hearsay.
The many editors of Hearsay have built this superb publication willingly, voluntarily and enthusiastically, creating an enduring record of the strength of the current Bar.
I encourage you to read all of the articles in this edition, the editorial contribution in particular. My thanks to all the authors who have contributed to this landmark issue of Hearsay.
Please enjoy reading Hearsay.
Gordon Lish sub nom Cate Heyworth-Smith KC*
*Credit to Mr Joseph Murphy, Lawyer, Legal Department, Bar Association of Queensland and our resident Raymond Carver.
I am pleased to welcome you to this 99th edition of Hearsay, and hope that, whenever or wherever you read this, you have made it safely through or recovered from ex-tropical cyclone Alfred. My thoughts are particularly with our members on the Gold Coast and their families, where the cyclonic weather was at its worst. We understand that the lists at the Southport Courthouse are starting to proceed again and we hope that our members are able to resume their normal practices in what is one of the busiest regional courts at the best of times.
This edition comes after another successful, sold-out Annual Conference, held on 28 February 2025 and 1 March 2025. My thanks to all those who presented, attended, and organised the conference. My particular thanks to the new chairs of the Annual Conference Committee, Dominic O’Sullivan KC and Christian Jennings KC, and the staff of the Association who assisted in preparing for the conference and ensured its smooth running. Photos from the conference will be published in our next edition.
This edition’s Feature Article is a compendium of contributions on cross-examination from many silk who have spent countless hours on their feet. Their commentary on the art of cross-examination in ‘Words from the Past’ shows that it holds true today.
You will also find an excerpt from an interview with Daniel Kalderimis KC of the New Zealand Bar, who speaks about how ‘lawyer brain’ impacted his mental health, taking a tunnel-visioned approach to his own life. Daniel’s article serves as a reminder to take stock of our own health and wellbeing.
And on the subject of health and wellbeing, now is the time to book your flu vaccination at the Bar Association’s offices. Appointments remain available from 25 March to 4 April 2025. You didn’t just survive a not-cyclone to then spend a couple of weeks languishing at home with the flu.
My thanks to the Editors, Richard Douglas KC and John Meredith, and their deputy editors, for preparing this issue, and look forward to however Richard and John raise the bat in the next, century edition.
I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Hearsay.
Cate Heyworth-Smith KC
President
Welcome to Issue 98 of Hearsay, the last for this year, and my first as President.
With the close of 2024 comes the opportunity for a break and for time with family and friends. While there is always more work to be done – new cases to read, pleadings to be settled and proceedings to be commenced – I hope that you manage to find time away from your practice this summer.
In this edition, you will find reproductions of speeches given by Damien O’Brien KC and Rob Anderson KC at the recent Bar Dinner, as well as photos of the event which is unquestionably one of the highlights on the Association’s calendar.
I also encourage you to read Richard Douglas KC’s article ‘Barrister Cyber Risk’, which addresses crucial cyber security issues for barristers and considers methods to ensure the safety of confidential client data. As Richard points out, adequate cyber security for barristers is necessary to protect a barrister’s practice. Cyber security is an ongoing focus of the Bar Council, and will be a key area for discussion at the 2025 Annual Conference from 28 February to 1 March 2025.
In ‘Reviews and the Arts’, you will find evidence of Richard’s admiration for a certain New York-based pop star (unsurprising, for the father of four daughters, but also uniquely Richard).
My thanks to Richard and all of the Editorial team for their efforts compiling another edition which is practical, entertaining and wide-ranging.
I would also like to express my thanks to Damien O’Brien KC for his service to the Association as President, a role he performed with unfailing courtesy, thoughtfulness, and diligence in both his decision-making and support of members.
I hope that you find a comfortable place to read this edition over the Christmas period, and to relax and recuperate after a long year, perhaps someplace like the featured artwork. May you have a safe and enjoyable Christmas and New Year, returning refreshed and focussed for what is shaping up to be a splendid 2025.
Cate Heyworth-Smith KC
President
