Published in Overland Issue 220 Spring 2015 · Uncategorized Young folly John Tranter It must seem like a mountain of folly to the old people, but we take our chances and we’re always on the ready. We’re on the ready, right now, and yet they think we’re just a troubled handful of trouble, just can’t go straight, can’t go straight like the arrow of time that speeds from ancient times to right now to get you between the eyes. This is the realm behind the eyes, with its whip-quick answers to how to behave, its cheap vow to be better, much better, quickly broken so that what is not better is boarding at boarding time, those giant flying machines. We take a drag, and fuck the lung. Fuck the drag of the air, the horizon’s curve. We’re all going on a summer holiday, already gone into sad age waiting, with just a wave. ‘Young folly’ began as a draft using the end-words of ‘The young’ by Roddy Lumsden John Tranter John Tranter is an Australian poet, publisher and editor. More by John Tranter › 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 8 May 202611 May 2026 · Nakata Brophy Prize The 2026 Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers (Poetry) Editorial Team Please follow this link to enter the prize. Sponsored by Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and supporters, the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers, established in 2014 […] 7 May 20267 May 2026 · Gaming Weaponised play: are loot boxes pokies for kids? Tom Gurn In the last decade, chance mechanics have been increasingly exploited by the video game industry to attract players, including very young ones. And while the federal government is clearly aware of the risks, it really isn’t clear what the right step forward is.
