In honour of the much-loved and respected poet, editor, publisher and teacher, Ron Pretty AM (1940-2023), 3CR Spoken Word runs a program from its archive from 2022 in which friends of Ron Pretty and fellow poets Kevin Brophy AM and Alex Skovron discuss the poetry of and read poems from Ron Pretty's last collection of poetry, 101 POEMS. The collection contains poems from Ron Pretty's earlier collections and chapbooks, plus a selection of new poems, and is published by Pitt Street Poetry. Friend and poet Peter Frankis, who launched 101 POEMS in 2022, reads Ron Pretty's reflections on his life in poetry provided by Ron especially for Spoken Word.A biography of Ron Pretty is available here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_PrettyVale Ron Pretty from Rochford Street Review is available here: https://rochfordstreetreview.com/2023/07/05/vale-ron-pretty/Peter Frankis's launch speech of Ron Pretty's 101 POEMS can be found here: https://peterfrankiswrites.blog/2023/07/22/vale-ron-pretty-am/The podcast of the original show can be found here: https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/friends-read-ron-pretty-podcast-air-showAn extended podcast of the original show can be found here: https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/friends-read-ron-pretty-extended-podcast-air-show-0Ron Pretty's 101 POEMS is available online from Pitt Street poetry: https://pittstreetpoetry.com/poet_category/101-poems/ Production and Interviews: Tina Giannoukos

In honour of the much-loved and respected poet, editor, publisher and teacher, Ron Pretty AM (1940-2023), 3CR Spoken Word runs a program from its archive from 2022 in which friends of Ron Pretty and fellow poets Kevin Brophy AM and Alex Skovron discuss the poetry of and read poems from Ron Pretty's last collection of poetry, 101 POEMS. The collection contains poems from Ron Pretty's earlier collections and chapbooks, plus a selection of new poems, and is published by Pitt Street Poetry. Friend and poet Peter Frankis, who launched 101 POEMS in 2022, reads Ron Pretty's reflections on his life in poetry provided by Ron especially for Spoken Word.A biography of Ron Pretty is available here: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_PrettyVale" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_PrettyVale</a> Ron Pretty from Rochford Street Review is available here: <a href="https://rochfordstreetreview.com/2023/07/05/vale-ron-pretty/Peter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://rochfordstreetreview.com/2023/07/05/vale-ron-pretty/Peter</a> Frankis's launch speech of Ron Pretty's 101 POEMS can be found here: https://peterfrankiswrites.blog/2023/07/22/vale-ron-pretty-am/The podcast of the original show can be found here: <a href="https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/friends-read-ron-pretty-podcast-air-showAn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/friends-read-ron-pretty-podcast-air-showAn</a> extended podcast of the original show can be found here: <a href="https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/friends-read-ron-pretty-extended-podcast-air-show-0Ron" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/friends-read-ron-pretty-extended-podcast-air-show-0Ron</a> Pretty's 101 POEMS is available online from Pitt Street poetry: <a href="https://pittstreetpoetry.com/poet_category/101-poems/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://pittstreetpoetry.com/poet_category/101-poems/</a> Production and Interviews: Tina Giannoukos

In Honour of Ron Pretty AM (1940-2033): Friends Read Ron Pretty

Simone Spittle

In this episode, we present a live recording of Simone Spittle performing at Cherry Poets on 1st July 2023.Having recently moved back to Naarm/Melbourne, Simone is returning to the spotlight after an extended hiatus to record her album, fall in love, adopt a few fur babies and heal intergenerational trauma. Simone has toured nationally several times, most recently with her one-woman cabaret show Beauty In The Beast for a residency at the Butterfly Club theatre in Melbourne.We also hear from performer, playwright and poet, Lily Thomson. Lily's poems have been published with Poet’s Choice, Bus Stop Zine, Gems Zine and will soon appear in Pure Slush and Truth Serum. Regular contributor, Steven Atkinson, also reads a poem called Hero Rats.

Spoken Word - Simone Spittle live at Cherry

John McKelvie

A live recording of John McKelvie at Cherry Poets, 24th June 2023.John was born in Scotland, moved to Melbourne in the 1980s, and has been writing poems, songs and stories for over 50 years. He is a very familiar and friendly face at poetry gigs, and a generous supporter of poets and writers. His work has been published in a number of anthologies including Best Australian Poems. He has also produced a poetry volume, Hopscotch, edited by Tom Kent.** This podcast is an extended version of the program that was broadcast on 3CR on 13 July 2023. It contains some mild course language.

John McKelvie live at Cherry Poets

Justin Clemens and Thomas Ford talk to Di Cousens about their new book, Barron Field in New South Wales, the Poetics of Terra Nullius.

The Poetics of Terra Nullius

Linda Adair

A poet, publisher of Rochford Press and co-editor of Rochford Street Review, as well as an emerging artist, Linda Adair grew up on Dharug country without knowing whose land she stood on. She now lives and works on Dharug and Gundungarra lands in the Blue Mountains, Australia, and pays her respect to the Traditional Custodians of the unceded Country which always was, and always will, be Aboriginal land. Her debut poetry collection, The Unintended Consequences of the Shattering, was published in 2020 by Melbourne Poets Union. Her poems have been anthologised in To End All Wars, Messages from The Embers, Poetry for the Planet, Pure Slush Volume 25, Work! Lifespan Vol 5 and have been published in Bluepepper, The Blue Nib, FemAsia, Meusse, Ozburp, and most recently in Live Encounters Poetry &amp; Writing. As a resident poet at BigCi in 2022, Adair researched the failed shale-oil mining town Newnes and wrote poems and painted canvases to consider the childhood point of view of her favourite aunt in that dour town during the 1920s and ’30s. That work was exhibited as Finding Jesse of Newnes at DIP (Darlington Installation Project) in September 2022. Adair was consequently invited to read her poetry to conservationists, historians, rock climbers and adventurers, not the usual poetry audience at The Back to Newnes Weekend in November 2022. During a Varuna Residency in April 2023, she began work on a verse memoir of her family’s complex relationship to unceded land. Some of the poems she worked on were published in the May issue of Live Encounters Poetry and Writing. Three short poems and three canvases referencing these concerns were part of Together or Otherwise A(part) the MAPBM (Modern Art Projects Blue Mountains) members group show at Articulate Project Space in Leichhardt, NSW. She is keen to take poetry out to a wider audience through connections with her visual art. She was a featured poet at ‘The Poetry of Rethinking’ event in May at Poetica at La Mama Courthouse.To Purchase The Unintended Consequences of the Shattering:  https://rochford-pressbookshop.square.site/product/the-unintended-consequences-of-the-shattering-by-linda-adair/13 Picture: Mark RobertsProduction and Interview: Tina Giannoukos

A poet, publisher of Rochford Press and co-editor of Rochford Street Review, as well as an emerging artist, Linda Adair grew up on Dharug country without knowing whose land she stood on. She now lives and works on Dharug and Gundungarra lands in the Blue Mountains, Australia, and pays her respect to the Traditional Custodians of the unceded Country which always was, and always will, be Aboriginal land. Her debut poetry collection, The Unintended Consequences of the Shattering, was published in 2020 by Melbourne Poets Union. Her poems have been anthologised in To End All Wars, Messages from The Embers, Poetry for the Planet, Pure Slush Volume 25, Work! Lifespan Vol 5 and have been published in Bluepepper, The Blue Nib, FemAsia, Meusse, Ozburp, and most recently in Live Encounters Poetry &amp; Writing. As a resident poet at BigCi in 2022, Adair researched the failed shale-oil mining town Newnes and wrote poems and painted canvases to consider the childhood point of view of her favourite aunt in that dour town during the 1920s and ’30s. That work was exhibited as Finding Jesse of Newnes at DIP (Darlington Installation Project) in September 2022. Adair was consequently invited to read her poetry to conservationists, historians, rock climbers and adventurers, not the usual poetry audience at The Back to Newnes Weekend in November 2022. During a Varuna Residency in April 2023, she began work on a verse memoir of her family’s complex relationship to unceded land. Some of the poems she worked on were published in the May issue of Live Encounters Poetry and Writing. Three short poems and three canvases referencing these concerns were part of Together or Otherwise A(part) the MAPBM (Modern Art Projects Blue Mountains) members group show at Articulate Project Space in Leichhardt, NSW. She is keen to take poetry out to a wider audience through connections with her visual art. She was a featured poet at ‘The Poetry of Rethinking’ event in May at Poetica at La Mama <a href="http://Courthouse.To" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Courthouse.To</a> Purchase The Unintended Consequences of the Shattering:  https://rochford-pressbookshop.square.site/product/the-unintended-consequences-of-the-shattering-by-linda-adair/13 Picture: Mark RobertsProduction and Interview: Tina Giannoukos

Linda Adair talks poetry, colonisation and uncovering hidden histories

The 2023 Radiothon edition of 3CR Spoken Word, presented by Waffle Irongirl and Brendan Bonsack.Featuring poetry readings from:Chae PatersonLinh TranSteven AtkinsonJazz MoneyJosh CakeFrances HorneJennifer MackenzieThank you to everyone who pledged their support for the show this year!

Spoken Word Radiothon 2023

Fotoula Reynolds

Fotoula Reynolds launched her fourth book of poetry, Kairós, at Cherry poets on Saturday 3 June 2023.This episode of the Spoken Word show replays a recording of the event.Fotoula's book is available from Litoria Press below:www.litoriapress.com/kairos-fotoula-reynolds

Fotoula Reynolds launched her fourth book of poetry, Kairós, at Cherry poets on Saturday 3 June 2023.This episode of the Spoken Word show replays a recording of the event.Fotoula's book is available from Litoria Press below:<a href="http://www.litoriapress.com/kairos-fotoula-reynolds" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.litoriapress.com/kairos-fotoula-reynolds</a>

Fotoula Reynolds Book Launch - Kairós

Peter Bakowski

Poet Peter Bakowski talks to Di Cousens about his recent work, including spending time on retreat in Gippsland and at a virtual residency with the City of Manchester.

Peter Bakowski's New Poems

Pauline Hopkins

Patricia Sykes

Angela Costi

In Part 2 of this two-part interview, Patricia Sykes, Angela Costi and Marion May Campbell talk with Tina Giannoukos about their works in the Spinifex Press anthology, "It's All Connected. Feminist Fiction and Poetry" along with editor Pauline Hopkins.Pauline Hopkins is an editor at Spinifex Press and a bookseller. She majored in psychology at university and completed further studies in English and Professional Writing and Editing. She has worked in local government, as a speechwriter and media adviser in state government. She is an avid swimmer, has been a swim teacher, swim coach and lifeguard. She volunteers in the health sectoPatricia Sykes is a poet and librettist. Her collaborations with composer Liza lim have been performed nationally and internationally. A podcast, The Abbotsford Mysteries Song Cycle by Andrew Aronowicz, based on her collection, The Abbotsford Mysteries, is now available in podcast.Angela Costi is the author of five collections of poetry, including Honey &amp; Salt (Five Islands Press, shortlisted for Mary Gilmore Prize 2008) and An Embroidery of Old Maps and New (Spinifex Press, awarded The Book Prize for Poetry in English 2022 by the Greek Australian Cultural League); together with nine produced plays/performance-text. She was writer-in-residence at the former Kensington Public Housing Estate on the 'Relocated' arts project, which received the LGA national award for community innovation, 2002. She received the High Commendation for Contribution to Arts and Culture, Merri-bek Award 2021. She is known as Αγγελικη Κωστη among the Cypriot-Greek diaspora, her heritage.Marion May Campbell’s recent works include the poetry collections languish (Upswell 2022) and third body (Whitmore Press 2018), and the memoir of her father The Man on the Mantelpiece (UWAP 2018). Part 1 of this two-part interview featuring Pauline Hopkins and Sandy Jeffs is available here: https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/its-all-connected-part-1-pauline-hopkins-and-sandy-jeffs The anthology, It's All Connected. Feminist Fiction and Poetry, is available from Spinifex Press: www.spinifexpress.com.au/shop/p/9781925950564(link is external) Production and Interview: Tina Giannoukos

In Part 2 of this two-part interview, Patricia Sykes, Angela Costi and Marion May Campbell talk with Tina Giannoukos about their works in the Spinifex Press anthology, "It's All Connected. Feminist Fiction and Poetry" along with editor Pauline Hopkins.Pauline Hopkins is an editor at Spinifex Press and a bookseller. She majored in psychology at university and completed further studies in English and Professional Writing and Editing. She has worked in local government, as a speechwriter and media adviser in state government. She is an avid swimmer, has been a swim teacher, swim coach and lifeguard. She volunteers in the health sectoPatricia Sykes is a poet and librettist. Her collaborations with composer Liza lim have been performed nationally and internationally. A podcast, The Abbotsford Mysteries Song Cycle by Andrew Aronowicz, based on her collection, The Abbotsford Mysteries, is now available in podcast.Angela Costi is the author of five collections of poetry, including Honey &amp; Salt (Five Islands Press, shortlisted for Mary Gilmore Prize 2008) and An Embroidery of Old Maps and New (Spinifex Press, awarded The Book Prize for Poetry in English 2022 by the Greek Australian Cultural League); together with nine produced plays/performance-text. She was writer-in-residence at the former Kensington Public Housing Estate on the 'Relocated' arts project, which received the LGA national award for community innovation, 2002. She received the High Commendation for Contribution to Arts and Culture, Merri-bek Award 2021. She is known as Αγγελικη Κωστη among the Cypriot-Greek diaspora, her heritage.Marion May Campbell’s recent works include the poetry collections languish (Upswell 2022) and third body (Whitmore Press 2018), and the memoir of her father The Man on the Mantelpiece (UWAP 2018). Part 1 of this two-part interview featuring Pauline Hopkins and Sandy Jeffs is available here: <a href="https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/its-all-connected-part-1-pauline-hopkins-and-sandy-jeffs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/its-all-connected-part-1-pauline-hopkins-and-sandy-jeffs</a> The anthology, It's All Connected. Feminist Fiction and Poetry, is available from Spinifex Press: <a href="http://www.spinifexpress.com.au/shop/p/9781925950564(link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.spinifexpress.com.au/shop/p/9781925950564(link</a> is external) Production and Interview: Tina Giannoukos

It's All Connected Part 2 -- Pauline Hopkins, Patricia Sykes, Angela Costi and Marion May Campbell

Sandy Jeffs

In Part 1 of this interview, Editor Pauline Hopkins and poet Sandy Jeffs talk about the Spinifex Press anthology, "It's All Connected.  Feminist Fiction and Poetry".In Part 2 of this interview, poets Patricia Sykes, Angela Costi and Marion May Campbell talk about their works in the anthology along with editor Pauline Hopkins.Pauline Hopkins is an editor at Spinifex Press and a bookseller. She majored in psychology at university and completed further studies in English and Professional Writing and Editing. She has worked in local government, as a speechwriter and media adviser in state government. She is an avid swimmer, has been a swim teacher, swim coach and lifeguard. She volunteers in the health sector.Sandy Jeffs was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1976 when it was considered something from which you could not recover. In the 1980s, she was among the first wave of people who started speaking publicly about living with a mental illness. Much of her writing has been about her struggle with schizophrenia. Sandy has published eight volumes of poetry and a memoir, Flying with Paper Wings: Reflections on Living with Madness. Sandy co-authored with Margaret Leggatt, Out of the Madhouse: From Asylums to Caring Community? which won the oral history prize at the 2020 Victorian Community History Awards. Her most recent book is The Poetics of a Plague: A Haiku Diary, about the 2020-21 pandemic.The anthology, It's All Connected. Feminist Fiction and Poetry, is available from Spinifex Press: www.spinifexpress.com.au/shop/p/9781925950564 Production and Interview: Tina Giannoukos

In Part 1 of this interview, Editor Pauline Hopkins and poet Sandy Jeffs talk about the Spinifex Press anthology, "It's All Connected.  Feminist Fiction and Poetry".In Part 2 of this interview, poets Patricia Sykes, Angela Costi and Marion May Campbell talk about their works in the anthology along with editor Pauline Hopkins.Pauline Hopkins is an editor at Spinifex Press and a bookseller. She majored in psychology at university and completed further studies in English and Professional Writing and Editing. She has worked in local government, as a speechwriter and media adviser in state government. She is an avid swimmer, has been a swim teacher, swim coach and lifeguard. She volunteers in the health sector.Sandy Jeffs was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1976 when it was considered something from which you could not recover. In the 1980s, she was among the first wave of people who started speaking publicly about living with a mental illness. Much of her writing has been about her struggle with schizophrenia. Sandy has published eight volumes of poetry and a memoir, Flying with Paper Wings: Reflections on Living with Madness. Sandy co-authored with Margaret Leggatt, Out of the Madhouse: From Asylums to Caring Community? which won the oral history prize at the 2020 Victorian Community History Awards. Her most recent book is The Poetics of a Plague: A Haiku Diary, about the 2020-21 pandemic.The anthology, It's All Connected. Feminist Fiction and Poetry, is available from Spinifex Press: <a href="http://www.spinifexpress.com.au/shop/p/9781925950564" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.spinifexpress.com.au/shop/p/9781925950564</a> Production and Interview: Tina Giannoukos

It's All Connected Part 1 -- Pauline Hopkins and Sandy Jeffs

A program dedicated to the eclectic world of poetry and performance. Guests are contemporary poets who read and discuss their works.

I’m in the US and am a dedicated listener. Very cool to hear new spoken word from another country each week

Big fan

Spoken Word

Awale Ahmed

Awale Ahmed is our guest this week, fresh from his stint as resident poet and storyteller in Queenscliff!Awale shares some brand new poems, and some old favourites, and speaks about his childhood journey from Somalia to Saudi Arabia, and eventually to Australia, where he discovered and fell in love with the vibrant spoken word scene. He talks about casual and systemic racism, his favourite poetry gigs, and his great love of the shared humanity of telling and hearing stories.

Spoken Word - Awale Ahmed

Richard Wrigley

Amy Bodossian

Amy Bodossian performs poetry from her new book, Wide Open, and talks about life. Amy is a cabaret artist and poet.

Josh Cake

Tune in the Spoken Word on 3CR to hear Josh Cake in conversation with Carmen Main.  -----------------------------Josh Cake is a writer and performer from Melbourne, Australia. He has worked in Australia, France, and Italy.His poetry was first published at the age of 10 in Random House’s collection 'Poems by Young Australians, Volume 3'. He wrote the comedy blog 'Penguin on Porpoise', a repeat finalist at the International Weblog Awards. A former member of the Paris Spoken Word community, he was a lead performer at the 2015 'Poetry Brothel' in Paris.He has written, directed, and performed in hundreds of comedy, music, cabaret, theatre, and short film productions. His debut solo stand-up and musical comedy show, 'A Death By Chocolate', won the 2014 Degraves Award for Best Comedy. His cabaret work in Paris won him The Weekly Beckett's award for Best Cabaret in 2015, and Humour Nouveau's awards for Best Musical Comedian and Best Solo Performer in 2016. He currently hosts a weekly inclusive space for experimental comedy at Sloth Bar in Footscray.He has worked as a radio and television host for SYN 90.7FM, 88.3 Southern FM, and Channel 31, as well as appearances on Radio Fodder, SBS Radio, and ABC RN.His recent credits include composing and performing a 2018 concert series for the National Gallery of Victoria, a 2018 storytelling feature on ABC Radio National, directing and composing the 2018 cabaret 'Foreign Woman' for the Melbourne Fringe Festival and Sydney audiences, producing 'Three Guards on Manus Island' at the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, delivering a TEDx talk in September 2019, and receiving an Honourable Mention at the 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word Prize.Josh loves teaching music and comedy. As well as his piano, guitar, and composition students, he regularly runs comedy workshops at the University of Melbourne, and is also passionate about languages - you can hear him on the Spanish course CDs of the Victorian School of Languages.Josh is currently active in the Melbourne Spoken Word community. His poetry is informed by his background in music and comedy, aiming to entertain and provide laughter while drawing out the rhythms and melody of the spoken word, as well as urging audiences to reflect on the world in which they live. His recent poetry has centred around themes of climate change, emotions in digital spaces, and anecdotal encounters between the personal and the political.Josh is grateful to the Melbourne and broader Australian poetry community for their welcome, friendship, advice, and inspiration. He would like to particularly thank all the people who work hard, often unseen, to create opportunities for poets.---Reviews:★★★★★"a stunningly intelligent performer ... extraordinary awareness of his audience" - Red Kangaroo, 2019★★★★★"Josh Cake weaves simple, universally recognisable objects into extraordinarily beautiful metaphors for the human condition." - The Recruiting Officer, 2018★★★★★"he moves from a masterful display of meticulously timed hilarity to metaphors that bypass the brain and land straight in your tear glands ... intensely funny and heartbreakingly poignant, with a core of sincere hope" - The Bullock, 2018★★★★★"virtuosic in his comedic intelligence, his musical dexterity, and his control of an audience" - The Weekly Beckett, 2015"That was so good that I'm a little bit angry. Fuck you, Josh." - Tim Evans, 2019

Spoken Word - Josh Cake

Lisa Bellear

This programme features the poetry of long time 3CR stalwart, the late Lisa Bellear. Jen Jewel Brown has recently edited a beautiful anthology of Lisa's poetry for University of Western Australia Publishing. For twenty years, Lisa presented Not Another Koori Show on 3CR before her untimely death. She was not only a poet and broadcaster, but also an academic, social worker, photographer, theatre practitioner, Collingwood City councillor and, of course, passionate political fighter for Indigenous peoples.

Spoken Word Invasion Day Tribute to Lisa Bellear

On this week's show, we chat to Nour Abouzeid about the special exhibition currently running at the Immigration Museum, Kahlil Gibran: The Garden of The Prophet. Nour performs some of his own and Gibran's work, and discusses the various influences Gibran has had on himself and his writing.In the second half of the show, poet and songwriter, Alice Night, performs some pieces from her debut book of poetry, Molten, launched in Melbourne at Hares &amp; Hyenas on January 10th. Alice talks about the powerful role that artistic expression plays in her life, and the joy and surprise she finds in sharing with audiences.Running order:00:00 - Nour Abouzeid19:53 - Alice Night* This program contains some strong language

On this week's show, we chat to Nour Abouzeid about the special exhibition currently running at the Immigration Museum, Kahlil Gibran: The Garden of The Prophet. Nour performs some of his own and Gibran's work, and discusses the various influences Gibran has had on himself and his <a href="http://writing.In" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">writing.In</a> the second half of the show, poet and songwriter, Alice Night, performs some pieces from her debut book of poetry, Molten, launched in Melbourne at Hares &amp; Hyenas on January 10th. Alice talks about the powerful role that artistic expression plays in her life, and the joy and surprise she finds in sharing with audiences.Running order:00:00 - Nour Abouzeid19:53 - Alice Night* This program contains some strong language

Nour Abouzeid and Alice Night

In this week's show we explore the intersections of hip hop and spoken word, through artists, Class A and EmKew. Inspired by a similar event in the UK, Class A has started "Speak on It", an event in Melbourne that offers a supportive and safe space for artists to come together to discuss mental health through A Capella hip hop and Spoken Word Poetry. The next event is on 17th October at 7pm in Coburg.The two rap MCs talk about the special vulnerability of performing lyrics without music, and to a hushed, still and attentive audience. EmKew and Class A emphasise the importance of artistic communities sharing truth and providing care for one another. "Speak On It" is a rare spoken word gig that has a clinical psychologist on hand.We also hear an A Capella performance of EmKew's work, "Third Culture".

Speak on It - A Capella Hip Hop and Spoken Word

Jay J Larkin

Santo Cazzati presents Jay J Larkin, convenor of the gig Ms Millies, held monthly at Afro Hub in North Carlton. She talks about what motivated her to start this gig and about her interest in poetry in general. We hear substantial pieces by her covering issues of gender, sexuality and race, written and delivered in a pointed and incisive style.

Spoken Word - Jay J Larkin

Zaynab G Farah

Rhiann Isaacs is an Afro-Guyanese poet whose pieces centre around identity, Pan-African issues and mental health. Rhiann joined us in the studio ahead of her appearance at the Feminist Climate Justice Poetry Night at Open Studio on 14th March, an event held in solidarity with the March 15th Golbal Climate Action strike and to celebrate feminism and climate justice. Rhiann shares some of her powerful and vulnerable work, and perspectives on violence and mental health, her love of words and performing, mother-daughter love, and young people's fight against climate injustice. Also in the show, we present a recording of Zaynab G Farah performing her new poem, Black Woman, at GriffinSpeak in March 2019.  * Note: This program contains some course language and themes of self-harm.

Rhiann Isaacs + Zaynab G Farah

Felix Nobis

Beowulf is an ancient epic poem written in Old English. Dr Felix Nobis has translated this epic and performed it theatrically. The story is one of heroes, Vikings, Danes, monsters and dragons, and also chivalry and clan. Felix is interviewed by Di Cousens.

Felix Nobis reads Beowulf

Kim Jeffs

Bushfires, gardening, masculinity and family violence, dementia and loneliness, being a mother, being a doctor, celestial bodies, love, religion, football, and more!Kim Jeffs is our guest this week, sharing her work and discussing how poetry has helped change her outlook on life.

Kim Jeffs - Spoken Word

Australian Poetry Slam Victorian winner, Sharifa A Tartoussi, shares her epic love poem, talks about her recent publication, "ColourBlind", the experience of performing poetry at the Sydney Opera House, convening GriffinSpeak, her childhood and parents, the poets that inspire her, and much more!

Spoken Word - Sharifa Tartoussi

This was an outdoor recording in Castlemaine of poets reading the working of refugee poets, most of whom are in detention offshore, on Manus Island and Nauru. The readers of the poems were Andy Jackson, Klare Lanson, Adam Ford, Margot Feast, Ann de Hugard, Catherine Ryan, Paola Bilbrough, Kent McCarter and Janet Galbraith. The reading was an activity of the Free Poetry Project, affiliated to Writing Through Fences.

Poets in Prison - the Castlemaine reading

Hani Abdile

ani Abdile, a Somali Australian refugee, performs her poetry from her new book, I Will Rise

Hani Abdile's new book, I Will Rise

Recording of Hamish Danks Brown featuring for Westword at Dancing Dog Cafe, Footscray.

Spoken Word - 22 March 2018

Anne M Carson reads from her new book, Two Green Parrots. To be launched in April. Interview by Di Cousens.

Anne M Carson's Two Green Parrots

Kerry Scuffins reads from her new book, The Million Star Hotel. This hotel is the night sky, appreciated only by the homeless. Kerry's poetry has a sensitivity to the vulnerable and reflects her broad life experience.

Kerry Scuffins reads The Million Star Hotel

Thabani Tshuma

Thabani Tshuma shares some of his award-winning writing and performance skills this week on Spoken Word!A shortlist nominee for The 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word Prize, Thabani's work explores mental health, addiction, generational trauma and time travel, captivating audiences with its raw honesty and humour.Winner of the 2019 Slamalamadingdong! Poetry Slam, Thabani has recently returned from the Individual World Poetry Slam in the USA, where he represented Melbourne. * Note: this show contains some course language, and discusses themes of drug addiction.

Spoken Word - Thabani Tshuma

Astrid Mbani

Poet, spoken word performer, and author of Ramblings of a Unique Mind, Astrid Mbani, is our guest this week, sharing some of her work, and chatting about men and women, the legacy of slavery, relationships and emotional language, masculinity and raising boys.Growing up granddaughter of a pastor, and daughter of an activist in the era of Apartheid in South Africa, Astrid discusses her own spirituality and influence of the fight for fairness and justice on her life.

Astrid Mbani on Spoken Word

Rania Ahmed

Rania Ahmed, winner of the MSW Prize People's Choice Award 2018, and feature performer at the 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word and Poetry Festival, is our guest this week.

Spoken Word - Rania Ahmed

The best podcast episodes about true crime. For any thrill seeking podcast listeners who just can't get enough of the captivating stories of murderers and criminals. This topic has all the best episodes from many different true crime podcasts.  Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best True Crime Podcasts

What is this?
1 quote, 3 ideas & 1 question from a carefully curated podcast episode.
Every Monday & Wednesday.

Want a 3rd insight and episode every week? Email me at curation@owltail.com.