Published 30 August 200931 August 2009 · Main Posts faithful poets & poetic faith Overland Overloaded On Tuesday August 4, Overland supported a heat of the Melbourne Believer Slam at the Spinning Room (Et’s Bar Prahran). Overland contributed free issues of the publication to heat winners and a subscription to the magazine, which went to Ezra Bix, an outstanding performer on the night and winner of last year’s Poetry Idol at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival. Overland’s involvement in the slam, and exhausted organiser Geoff Fox’s substitution of the word Overland for the word Overload several times, was the seed for the Overland/Overload collaboration. The Overland Overloaded blogging team recently caught up with Geoff Fox: Geoff, the Melbourne Believer Slam described in one word would be? Don’t fence me in by limiting my description of something I created over most of this decade into a word. …how about in ten words? Faith friendly, invitational, the most democratic slam in the world? And in haiku? Counting to 17 is not for me; I’ve asked some friends to help out: voices raised in faith venues sacred and profound slam with poetry (-Melbourne poet Lynne Dale) Finish this sentence: “Taking a group of slam poets to Quang Minh Temple was… an honour” Good, now extend the sentence: “and being judged by buddhist monks, what can I say… the abbott gave everyone a maximum score of 9; that’s his job and he does it well” “When I say believer what I mean is… someone who has beliefs” And religion? Omnia Omnibus is one way to go (“everything for everybody”) And finish this one: “The Parliament of the World’s Religions is… a place to share: poets take note: slam softly please” “During this year’s Overload I will be… at home in Indonesia, planting trees for peace” A heat of the Melbourne Believer Slam will take place at the Parliament of the World Religions in December Overland Overloaded More by Overland Overloaded › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 28 March 20249 April 2024 · Main Posts Why we should value not only lived experience, but also lived expertise Sukhmani Khorana In the wake of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, I want to extend the central idea of El Gibbs’s 2022 essay on 'lived expertise' and argue that in media accounts of racism, analytical expertise and lived experience ought to be valued together and even in the same body. 5 March 2024 · Main Posts Andrew Charlton’s school assignment Alex McKinnon Australia's Pivot to India exists for three reasons: so that when Andrew Charlton is interviewed on the radio or introduced on Q+A, his bio includes the phrase "he has written a book about Indian-Australian relations"; to fend off accusations that he is another Kristina Keneally engaging in electoral colonialism in western Sydney; and to help the Albanese government strengthen economic and military ties with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.