Spoken Word

Today (13 Nov 2025), we are presenting are sumptous smorgasbard of poems read by poets featured at the event - Big Verse: The Readings Poetry Gala. This is happening 14th November at 8pm at the All Nations Church in Carlton. Get your tickets from the Readings website. The blurb says Big Verse will transport you through the rambunctious and politically charged world of contemporary Australian poetr...

This is part 2 of a conversation with Grant Caldwell about his new book of haiku, The Soundless Sound, and about haiku in general.

Di Cousens OAM is a poet and photographer based in Melbourne. Past poetry publications include Days Pass Without Name, Free Text Space, House Red and The Freedom to Be. She is also the author of academic articles and a book in Tibetan studies. Her poetry has been published in journals and anthologies and her photographic portraits of poets are used in publications and websites. For 11 years she ha...

George Vassilacopoulos was born in Greece and migrated to Australia in 1974. He taught philosophy at La Trobe University, and has published books and articles on (European) philosophy, Indigenous sovereignty, and (Greek Australian) history. Ashpoems  (re.press, 2025) is his fifteenth poetry collection, the first in English. Ashpoems is available here: https://re-press.org/title/ashpoems/?srsltid=A...

‘where the lazy susan spins tirelesslycarrying the love you put on plates’- from Photograph by Lynette Natasha In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 16 October 2025, you will hear poet Lynette Natasha talk about politics, performance and playwriting. During the podcast, Lynette Natasha talks about Cartograpgy of the Void by Chris Abani. Lynette Natasha is a poet and wri...

Grant Caldwell talks to Di Cousens about his new book of haiku, The Soundless Sound. This is Part 1 of 2 interviews.

George Vassilacopoulos was born in Greece and migrated to Australia in 1974. He taught philosophy at La Trobe University, and has published books and articles on (European) philosophy, Indigenous sovereignty, and (Greek Australian) history. Ashpoems  (re.press, 2025) is his fifteenth poetry collection, the first in English.  Ashpoems is available here: https://re-press.org/title/ashpoems/?srsltid=...

‘I am her beloved carrion.’- from Vulture my love by Maree Gladwin. In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 18 September 2025, you will hear poet Maree Gladwin talk about writing poems in a second language,  teaching poetry, women in science, ecology and lesbian feminist poets. Maree Gladwin is a queer poet, musician and artist who lives in Naarm (Melbourne) on Boonwurrun...

Di Cousens talks to Peter Bakowski about his new book, Necessary Wonder.

Robbie Coburn is a poet and author of the young adult verse novel The Foal in the Wire (Lothian/Hachette Australia, 2025). His poetry collections are Ghost Poetry (Upswell, 2024), And I Could Not Have Hurt You (Kiddiepunk, 2023), The Other Flesh (UWAP, 2019) and Rain Season (Picaro Press, 2013). He has also published several chapbooks and zines. His poems have been published in Australian and over...

‘A ceasefire breaks like a paper chainthey killed a forest to make.’- from Crisis Talks by Hayley Ricketson. In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 21 August 2025, you will hear poet Hayley Ricketson talk about politics, performance and playwriting. Hayley Ricketson is a poet, playwright and probably writes most from the impetus that the personal is political – and the p...

Di Cousens talks to Anne-Marie Te Whiu about her new book Mettle, published by the University of Queensland Press.

For much of the last four decades, Mark Roberts has been involved in writing, criticism and publishing. In 1982, he established P76 magazine with Adam Aitken and has been involved in small press publishing ever since. In 2011 he set up the on-line journal Rochford Street Review, one of the leading and most long-lasting independent cultural journals in the world. Mark was the winner of the 2016 Byr...

Omar Sakr is a poet and writer born in Western Sydney to Lebanese and Turkish Muslim migrants. His previous book of poetry, The Lost Arabs, won the 2020 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Poetry. In this interview he speaks to Di Cousens about his new book, The Nightmare Sequence, which reflects on the war in Gaza. Photo by Tyler Aves.

Angela Costi is a poet and writer with a background in social justice, law and communityarts. Since 1994, her creative gatherings, including plays, short fiction and essays, have been published, produced, broadcast and translated. She has a number of poetry collection including Honey & Salt (5Islands Press, shortlisted Mary Gilmore Prize 2008), and most recently, The Heart of the Advocate (Liq...

In this recording of the live broadcast of 3CR's Spoken Word show, you will hear Indrani Perera and WaffleIrongirl presenting poems sent in by our listeners. This June we’re asking you for your donations so that we remain free of government and corporate influence, and a true voice for the community. If you’ve ever enjoyed just a single program, then that’s a great reason to support us with a tax-...

3CR Spoken Word presents a LIVE show to celebrate the 3CR 2025 RADIOTHON! Hosted by Brendan Bonsack & WaffleIrongirl, this show was broadcasted on 3CR 855AM on 12th June 2025.Thank you so much for your donations, don't forget you can keep giving throughout June at: https://bit.ly/3crGIVENOWWe play listener contributions from:Antonio Montaine (Instagram: @antoniomontaine)Andrew Rogerson (Instagram:...

Sandy Jeffs' memoir, Flying With Paper Wings, Reflections on Living With Madness, has been recently reissued in a revised edition. Sandy talks about her experience of schizophrenia and the healing power of poetry. Part 2 of 2.Photo by Di Cousens.

Sandy Jeffs' memoir, Flying With Paper Wings, Reflections on Living With Madness, has been recently reissued in a revised edition. Sandy talks about her experience of schizophrenia and the healing power of poetry. Part 1 of 2.Photo by Di Cousens.

Jarad Bruinstroop’s debut poetry collection, Reliefs (UQP, 2023) won the Wesley MichelWright Prize, the Five Islands Poetry Prize, the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, and wasshortlisted for the Judith Wright Calanthe Award. He is the recipient of the Val Vallis Award, the Queensland Writers Fellowship, and the Fryer Library Creative Writing Fellowship. His work has appeared in The Best of Australian...

‘to write of skin is to discredit the self’- from Home’s Duplex by Lesh Karan In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 17 April 2025, you will hear poet Lesh Karan talk about studying poetry, assemblage, movement and lineages. Lesh Karan is an emerging poet of Indo-Fijian descent based in Naarm/Melbourne. Her work has been published in Meanjin, Overland, Griffith Review, C...

Marion May Campbell's novels include Lines of Flight (1985), Not Being Miriam (1989), Prowler (1999), Shadow Thief (2006), and konkretion (2013).She has also published the cross-genre collection Fragments from a Paper Witch (Salt, 2008), an experimental memoir The Man on the Mantelpiece (UWA Publishing, 2018), the poetry collections third body (Whitmore Press 2018) and languish (Upswell 2022).Her...

‘sink beneath the surface into myriad voices speaking in stone’- from On Danggu by Nandi Chinna In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 20 March 2025, you will hear poet Nandi Chinna talk about the eco-poetics of wild rivers, listening and reciprocal relationships. Nandi Chinna works as a research consultant, educator, and poet. She is based on unceded Aboriginal land in...

This episode was broadcast 10th of April 2025. We feature LIVE readings of poems from the members of the Western Union Writers, on the occasion of their 40th year celebrations.  Western Union Writers (Werribee) have been meeting as a writing group for 40 years in May this year; one of the longest running groups with continuous members in Victoria, if not Australia. They support local writers and w...

Sandy Jeffs on Out of the Madhouse is an encore broadcast. Sandy talks about the book she co-wrote with Margaret Legatt, Out of the Madhouse, From Asylum to Caring Community. The book contains both history and poetry and is written from an insider perspective. Interviewed by Di Cousens.