Published in Overland Issue 217 Summer 2014 · Uncategorized In Memoriam Hashem Shaabani Martin Kovan (Ahwazi Arab poet executed by the Iranian regime, 27 January 2014) We searched you in the hollows And we searched you in the fen We took you down for mercy And we took you down again We heard you’d gone a-roaming And taken up your pen We heard you used the Holy Name And took that Name in vain We saw you in the papers And we heard you in the den We knew you’d gone a-roaming By the treason of your pen We thought we’d show you mercy And let you live again We thought we’d offer clemency If you’d just put down the pen You raised it high against us Stabbed us dead and dead again With your prophecies of freedom That take the Holy Name in vain. We searched you in the hollows And we searched you in the fen We took you down for mercy And we took you down again We found you in the hollows And we found you in the fen And we took you down for mercy So you’ll never rise again. Martin Kovan Martin Kovan is an Australian writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. His short and long-form essays, articles, fiction, poetry, and interviews, have been regularly published in Australia, and in the US, UK, France, Hong Kong, India, and Czech Republic. His philosophical monograph A Buddhist Theory of Killing: a philosophical exposition was published by Springer in 2022. More by Martin Kovan › 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 27 February 202527 February 2025 · ecology Keeping it in the ground: pasts, presents and futures of Australian uranium Nicholas Herriot Uranium has come a long way from the “modern Midas mineral” of the 1950s. However, in an increasingly dangerous, militaristic and volatile world, it remains a lucrative and potentially lethal metal. And it is so important precisely because of its contested past and possible futures. 25 February 202525 February 2025 · the arts Pattern recognition: censorship, control and interference in Australia’s art ecology David Pledger My final thoughts go to the artist and curator who have borne the brunt of this injury. Selection for the Venice Biennale is a significant event for an Australian artist and curator. To be treated so shabbily must cause pain to both. One can only hope the outcry of fellow artists, the solidarity shown by many, and the strong stance of their shortlisted colleagues, provides some succour.
