Published 11 August 20111 June 2012 · Writing / Main Posts Drought Maxine Beneba Clarke drought she can’t crawl yet but my sassy little daughter bum-shuffles her way toward the broadsheet smirking back at me / in defiance the paper is open to a young somali woman trying to finger-feed rice to her wasting child maya stares at them transfixed then / trying to catch the dying baby’s gaze she lifts chubby brown fingers to cherubic mouth & smiles the young mother half-turns from the camera lowers suffering brown eyes there drought ravaged desperate broken & but by the grace of god go i On Sunday 14 August, I’ll be performing some poems and a Q&A about my writing at the CaribVic Youth Arts Festival in Melbourne which runs from 3pm to 7pm. Other featured artists include artist Tony Phillips, filmmaker Jason Phillips and musician Lloyd Watson-Jones – really looking forward to this one! You can find out more details about this event, how to book, and about the Caribbean Association of Victoria at the CaribVic blog. 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 20 March 20262 April 2026 · Main Posts Final results of the 2025 Judith Wright Poetry Prize Editorial team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize seeks outstanding poetry from new and emerging writers. This year’s judges, Shastra Deo, Harry Reid and […] 20 March 202620 March 2026 · Main Posts Final results of the 2025 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize Editorial team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize seeks outstanding original short fiction of up to 3000 words themed loosely around the notion […]
