WHO ARE WE?
We are an Australian student-run media publication, who have been churning out quality content since 1969.
We have a reputation nationally as a premium student magazine, delivering quality features, interviews, and reviews through informative copy and slick design.
We operate seven editorial departments — Art & Film, Music, Student Life, Politics & Economics, Science & Technology and Guild Survival Guide — to deliver a variety of content. We also have our Prose & Poetry section where we publish poems, short stories, essays, memoirs and visual arts.
We publish regularly here and produce a glossy print edition each semester — which you can pick up at Guild outlets across campus or view online.
To ensure you’re informed, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
If you’re interested in contributing to Grok as a writer, illustrator, photographer, or designer, or if you have a scoop, contact our team at grok.editor@guild.curtin.edu.au
ORIGIN OF “GROK”
The term “grok” was coined by Robert A. Heinlin in the science-fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land.
Published in 1961, Stranger in a Strange Land was a proto-hippie novel — a celebration of free love and counter-cultural rebellion. It follows Valentine Michael Smith, a human born on Mars and raised by Martians who comes to Earth in early adulthood; it is through their eyes that humankind is denaturalised.
Heinlein coined “grok” to mean “to drink” in Martian. But, more specifically, it meant to take something in so thoroughly that it becomes a part of you. Grok was later incorporated into English-language dictionaries as a verb, used with object, “to understand thoroughly or intuitively”.
In 1972, then-Chief Editor Rod Cole adopted Grok as the title of the publication; it had been titled Aspect from 1969 to 1971.
MEET THE TEAM
Andrew Williams is in his final year studying Journalism and is Grok’s Editor-in-Chief. He enjoys meeting new people, listening to their experiences, and writing stories that matter. He has a keen interest in long-form, investigative content. He’s as pleased as punch to be part of the Curtin University news team.
— Andrew Williams (he/him), Editor-in-Chief
Arte Blythe is a third year journalism student. She loves traveling and reading. Arte looks forward to covering a wide range of stories at Curtin.
— Artemisia Blythe (she/her), Contributing Editor for Grok Magazine
Mansi Mattoo is pursuing her Masters in Creative Writing, which has been her passion since high school. She is an avid nature lover and in the perfect environment to pursue her writing dreams. She looks to becoming the voice for the unspoken emotions depicted in the world around her. A keen observer and hard worker is what describes her well.
— Mansi Mattoo (she/her), Contributing Editor for Grok Magazine
Noah Oska O’Reilly is Grok’s Contributing Editor for ‘People of Curtin’. He’s a fourth year Bachelor of Arts and Commerce student studying a double degree in Journalism and International Business. He is naturally inquisitive, passionate about writing, and has a thirst for knowledge.
— Noah Oska O’Reilly (he/him), Contributing Editor for Grok Magazine
