Published in Overland Issue 227 Winter 2017 · Uncategorized Crossing Galata, Istanbul John Upton Flying fish on Galata Bridge, rods bowing and bobbing like suppliants at a vizier’s audience. Each fisher has his own space program, launch pad, elbow room, bait bucket, like this sleeve-tugging city. I’m for the fish, somehow. Down there there’s piscine stitching of continents: Europe – Asia, ferries and fish restaurants. Crossing their sunshine I pass between poles of then and now, a fish caught in a rip of time, the zip of bait, the howl of hook in mouth, it flips me onto this bridge and off, too scrappy a catch, victim of cheap jet fuel and wanderlust. Image: Fly fishing tackle box next to stream / Chesapeake Bay Program Read the rest of Overland 227 If you enjoyed this poem, buy the issue Or subscribe and receive four outstanding issues for a year John Upton John Upton was well known for his writing of poetry, plays and TV dramas. His poetry includes the collection Embracing the Razor (Puncher & Wattmann). He had five stage plays produced, and his prizes include the Australian Writers Guild’s award for Best New Play. He died in early 2017. More by John Upton › 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 5 February 20255 February 2025 · Art A poetic argument for restitution: Isaac Julien at the MCA Sarah Schmidt Once Again... (Statues Never Die) invites viewers to engage deeply, rewarding those willing to invest time contemplating its layered narratives. Transformative in its complexity, seductive in its visual literacy, it offers a space for empathy, education, and debate, emphasising how museums can serve as platforms for confronting contested histories and inspiring social change. 4 February 20254 February 2025 · Indigenous Australia Teaching Palestine on stolen Indigenous lands Charlotte Mertens Refusal is not only possible, it generates different worlds. Refusal insists on the possibility of alternative anti-colonial futures and ways of being. Refusing the University’s erasure of Palestine involves a collective effort in thinking on how we will teach Palestine, the ongoing settler colonial violence and what this means for a place like Australia.
