Published in Overland Issue 224 Spring 2016 · Uncategorized The tenets or tenants of Sweeney John Kinsella for MH And so … to rouse a whip, coral or corral or currach like coracle branded hide singed hair no modifier no not really to live by said decisive akubra mirage weaving tufts caught by spinifex bluebush bash- grab influence as testament of flaying, clothes-hanger slaughter-hook made allowances for under the Act. Tenancy is much more than tendency, to round up a leisurely quote, a jerk of conscience wavering towards some other matter, a duty, a flippancy, a soak. And so … farmer, occupant, dishes out the what’s what, signature chastisement as boy mimics father remade in bush fire-brigade imagery. Burnings. Roo-shoot spotlight. Cyclops. Down in the valley they rove. Such holdings. Little give-aways. Persona of compass, here’s a navigator. John Kinsella John Kinsella’s most recent poetry books include the verse novel Cellnight (Transit Lounge, 2023), The Argonautica Inlandica (Vagabond, 2023), and the three volumes of his collected poems: The Ascension of Sheep (UWAP, 2022), Harsh Hakea (UWAP, 2023) and Spirals (UWAP, 2024). A recent critical book is Legibility: An Antifascist Poetics (Palgrave, 2022). More by John Kinsella › 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 18 December 202418 December 2024 · Nakata Brophy Prize Dawning in the rivulet of my father’s mourning Yasmin Smith My father floats words down Toonooba each morning. They arrive to me by noon. / Nothing diminishes in his unfolding, not even the currents in midwinter June. / He narrates the sky prehistorically like a cadence cutting him into deluge. 16 December 202416 December 2024 · Palestine Learning to see in the dark Alison Martin Images can represent a splice of reality from the other side of the world, mirror truths about ourselves and our collective humanity we can hardly bear to face. But we can also use them to recognise the patterns of dehumanisation that have manifested throughout history, and prevent their awful conclusions in the present. To rewrite in real time our most shameful histories before they are re-made on the world stage and in our social media feeds.
