FROM THE EDITOR

“It started with a kiss.” Hot Chocolate Ah, the dimensions of a kiss, I say to my friend in Poneke, in another phone marathon. We’re discussing a kiss that had altered, momentarily, a relationship.

“Give me a kiss to build a dream on.” Louis Armstrong

The dimensions of a kiss. It can mark passion or indifference. An exclamation mark, a comma, a question mark, a full stop. It can mean the beginning. And the end. A kiss can be longed for and never materialise.

“I just want your extra time and your ... kiss.” Prince

This is the last issue of Canvas I will edit. Canvas has been — or tried to be — a part of the cultural landscape and a reflection of our diverse world, our issues, our art, and a voice for those often sidelined by the mainstream. It is a magazine made by many.

“My prelude to a kiss.” Sarah Vaughan For this special issue, I asked writers, poets, artists, a sex worker, broadcasters, our regular columnists and our very own journalists to contribute on the theme The Last Kiss. In this issue, you’ll find politics, sport, film, music — all riffing on kissing.

All those who have contributed either as the star of their own story, or who are the narrators and commentators, have inspired me beyond measure.

Stacey Morrison was the first cover story for the relaunched Canvas four years ago. She has been abidingly generous with her mohiotanga (knowledge) and contributes to this issue too.

A shout out to stone-cold design genius Rob Cox and to the production team.

“A kiss is not a contract but it’s very nice.” Flight of the Conchords.

Joanna Wane compiles a visual history of the kiss, including graffiti art of Trump and Netanyahu. Hera Lindsay Bird writes a poem just for us. Greg Bruce disses the kiss. Bella Fraei, our YA reviewer, is unimpressed by a melting kiss. Kim Knight writes about the kiss of spring

— an ode to asparagus. Simon Wilson, on Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss, evokes the ancient Greeks, specifically Orpheus and Eurydice’s doomed love: “Men, right? We are everything and nothing. Just can’t do what we’re told. Got to think we know best. Bravery undone by a failure of judgment. So much to give the world and so likely to bugger it up.”

It is, like all exceptional writing, so much more than it might first appear (a souvenir bought in Vienna). It’s a reflection on love and the state of things in the world.

“’Lips like sugar. Sugar kisses.” Echo and the Bunnymen

Thank you, Dean, from Birkdale Intermediate, for my first kiss. He was tall, beautiful and shy but finally he kissed me on the dance floor just before I left Tamaki for Whanganui, aged 12. Thank you, my e hoa, Cherida, whose conversation helped inspire this issue. And to you, for reading. It is a magazine made by many for you.

“Let’s just kiss and say goodbye.” The Manhattans