Published 12 February 201015 February 2010 · Main Posts They tell me I should go to rehab, I say: no prose, no prose, no prose. Maxine Beneba Clarke there will be no poetry on the overland blog we will not be able to haiku or rhyme couplets or upload audio there will be no sonnets or free verse or fixed verse we will not hip hop or scatterbug or freestyle your ears will not be challenged by it your minds will not be stretched by it your heart will not be pierced by it poetry will not be blogged here will not be blogged here will not be blogged here we will not be able to slam up or slam down or slam around poetry will not be whispered spoken or written you will not be able to comment on it criticise it or download it we will not reach you by webcam or twitter note or youtube post we will not be able to howl in pentameter iambicly amble or laughingly limerick poetry will not raise your spirit check your conscience or musically align your ears there will be no poetry there will be no poetry there will be no poetry here Maxine Beneba Clarke Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian author and slam poet of Afro- Caribbean descent. Her short fiction collection Foreign Soil won the 2015 ABIA Award for Best Literary Fiction and the 2015 Indie Award for Best Debut Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Her memoir, The Hate Race, her poetry collection Carrying the World, and her first children’s book, The Patchwork Bike, will be published by Hachette in late 2016. More by Maxine Beneba Clarke › 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 First published in Overland Issue 228 10 November 202311 November 2023 · Subscriberthon 2023 On the final day of Subscriberthon, Overland’s most important members get to have their say Editorial Team BORIS A quick guide to another year of Overland, from your trusty feline, Boris. I liked the ginger cat story, though it made my human cry. I liked the talking cat, too, but I’m definitely in the “not wasting my time learning to talk” camp. But reading is good. And writing is fun, though it’s been challenging […] 1 First published in Overland Issue 228 9 November 20239 November 2023 · Subscriberthon 2023 On the second-last day of Subscriberthon, Overland’s co-chief editor Evelyn Araluen speaks truth to power Editorial Team To my friends and comrades, I’m not sure if there’s language to communicate how this last month has utterly changed me. This time a few weeks ago the busyness and chaos of bricolage arts and academic labour had so efficiently distracted me from my anxiety about the upcoming referendum that I forgot to prepare myself for its inevitable conclusion.