Published in Overland Issue 207 Winter 2012 · Uncategorized Corydalis Mark O'Flynn He tells me the summer grass is worth more than gold. The seed in the worm’s mouth sprouting on Tibetan hillsides traditionally good for general health. Perhaps I saw the documentary? No, but his faltering description, the little pencil sketch of the worm as I try to understand why he wants me to know this – it’s not about the lucrative worm, or the state of my general health, but as if he can smell it, so far from these walls, the summer grass, worth more than gold. Mark O'Flynn Mark O’Flynn has published three novels, most recently The Forgotten World (2013), as well as four collections of poetry. His most recent book is White Light (2013), a collection of short stories. More by Mark O'Flynn › 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 14 February 202514 February 2025 · Poetry 9 to 5 Dave Drayton volunteer to clown / undermine an award / construct to heave / interfere in class / dismantle if civil / disregard no cause / freelance at ennui 1 13 February 202514 February 2025 · Reviews Echoing of the white gaze in Evie Wyld’s The Echoes Karen Wyld Wyld’s creation of voiceless-nameless-lifeless Blak people in The Echoes serves no narrative purpose. This novel is not truth-telling of invasion and occupation, and it does not envision justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Instead of rejecting or confronting lazy literary tropes and colonial-style narratives, the author has erased Blak voices, bodies, histories and futures, adding her own voice to a never-ending echo of white-gazed literature when silence would have been better.
