Koru (or no longer chasing the fern flower)

This poem juxtaposes the managerialist focus on publishing as a measure of productivity and prestige with the writer’s desire for meaning and personal growth which can only be achieved outside the oppressive panopticon of open plan offices and metrification of academic work. Under the pervasive publish or perish logic, publications are a commodity (Page, 2020) and the ideal academic is physically present and a prolific publisher in a narrowly prescribed list of ‘top journals’ (Lund, 2012). This focus on competition for space and recognition undermines and devalues feminist pursuits (Shipley, 2018). Recognising academic systems do not support women to thrive and flourish, feminist academics are increasingly rejecting publishing success metrics, instead adopting ‘insubmissive practices’ connected to creativity and academic freedom (de Lima, Casa Nova and de Oliveira Vendramin, 2023). This poem is a feminist recalibration of what matters in academic life and reclamation of academic authorship and control. The title, Koru, references the Māori word describing the spiral shape of an unfurling fern frond. Symbolising new life, growth and strength the koru conveys perpetual movement and returning to the point of origin. In folklore, prosperity, power, and wisdom are said to be bestowed on anyone finding a fern flower. Because ferns do not bloom, chasing a fern flower is an allegory for chasing the unattainable and constantly changing metrics of the neoliberal university.