Spoken Word

Winner of 2017 youth slam competition, Grounded, Adelin Zipman, is guest poet on the program. Adelin shares some of her work, and reflects on her time in the Melbourne spoken word community. 

Michael Reynolds in conversation with Carmen Main- discussing all things poetry, photography and live music. Michael reads poetry from his collection "Upon finding a chair in the forest", as well as some of his favourite poems by other Australian poets. Michael shares his uniquely generous and warm style of performance, as well as discussing how he became a pivotal part of the Melbourne Poetry com...

Malaika Gilani, speaks about her poetry book, "Untold Journeys", and a soon-to-launched anthology, "I Bared My Chest".Santo Cazzati introduces a new project by Pope Fred. Performances from Anna Fern and Viki Mealings. Benjamin Solah speaks about the 2017 Melbourne Spoken Word Prize.

Writing on The Wall by Anne M. Carson is a long poem that takes as its starting point the name of freed slaves on a wall in Delphi. This long poem imagines the life of a man whose father was captured in the Persian War and who must navigate freedom for the first time. Read by Anne M. Carson and Di Cousens.

Carmen Main introduces her guest Waffle Irongirl. A conversation on poetry, snacks and Barnsey. This podcast contains ramen.

Carmen Main introduces her guest Waffle Irongirl. A conversation on poetry, snacks and Barnsey. This podcast contains ramen.

3CR Spoken Word presenter Di Cousens features Carolyn Masel and her Book of Hours.

Brendan Bonsack is about to join the team at 3CR Spoken Word and we hear him here reading his own poetry with long time presenter of the programme Santo Cazzati.

Gayelene Carbis is  Melbourne poet who has won many prizes, but up until now she has not published a book. In this program she reads her poems and talks about the poetic process with Di Cousens.

This week we have Helen Child LIVE in the studio with a few surprise guests (hint: there is mention of onion and some explaining... as well as a dead, headless rat)

This show was recorded live after one of the 5 shows in Footscray. Featuring Steve Smart, Loran Steinberg and Jez PA Speelman.

Philton has been a poet and publisher of literature for many years on the Melbourne scene. He has more recently moved to the Mornington Peninsula where, in addition to the foregoing, he has been active in establishing the Rhonda Jankovic Society to encourage the expression of social justice through literature (the late Rhonda Jankovic being the founder of the Spoken Word programme on 3CR and a lon...

Peter Bakowski talks about his new book, The Courage Season, and reads some of the poems.

The meeting of a saint and a pope - Spoken Word presenter Santo Cazzati introduces Pope Fred, anarchist, cultural agitator and colourful personality. Pope Fred rants spiritedly against car culture, consumerism, the mental health system and many others. The two protagonists discuss the reasons for the attempted control of society through the mental health system, the underlying economic causes of s...

Regular Spoken Word presenter Santo Cazzati, co-founder of the programme with the late Rhonda Jankovic, reads the prizewinning and placegetting poems in the Rhonda Jankovic Awards of 2016. Beginning with the Commended poems, then the Highly Commended poems, and concluding with the Third, Second and First Prize poems. The competition was judged by highly respected and experienced poet and teacher C...

One of the earliest Spoken Word shows from the first year of the programme, 2009, panelled by our founder, the late Rhonda Jankovic. Santo Cazzati introduces Michael Reynolds, the convenor of the long running Passionate Tongues gig in Brunswick, tireless and selfless photographer of poets in action, and general patient nice guy of our scene. We hear poems by both of them and they talk about the sc...

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.

A programme of crazy and spontaneous interaction between 3CR Spoken Word presenter Santo Cazzati and guest poet Paul Skec. Amidst the general philosophical prattle and weird noises emanating from the mouths of these two are observations on science, the Croatian language, the immigrant experience, Paul's wife Lish and their two twin children. Paul Skec is one of the ghoulish presences on Melbourne'...

Susan Fealy has just released her first book of poetry, Flute of Milk. It has been ten years in the making, after her poems have been included in many journals and anthologies in Australia and the US. She has a careful and distinct style of reading her poetry, which is most appropriate to the refinement and thoughtfulness of her composition. The issues she deals with in her poetry include love, lo...

Susan Fealy has just released her first book of poetry, Flute of Milk. It has been ten years in the making, after her poems have been included in many journals and anthologies in Australia and the US. She has a careful and distinct style of reading her poetry, which is most appropriate to the refinement and thoughtfulness of her composition. The issues she deals with in her poetry include love, lo...

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

Ian McBryde recently released his book of poetry We The Mapless. It is a retrospective of work from many of his previous books AS WELL AS containing new poems. His imagery is very striking, very disturbing - and very brief. He has a live reading style to match, which is heard in this programme to great effect as he caresses the 3CR microphones with his distinctive vocal cords.

Laura’s first job was with the prestigious British supermarket Sainsburys. She tried to make friends with her co-workers (for she had few at school), but since most of them were into So-Solid-Crew and Arsenal she found that she had more in common with the numerous bottles of condiments and tinned non-perishables that she was stacking. From there she left her half-cockney/half-posh conservative tow...

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