Spoken Word

Gad Ben-Meir was born in Baghdad in 1931. He has published two collections of poetry in classical Arabic, Nightingales of Intimacy (2004) and Dialogue of the Hearts (2008), and one collection in the Egyptian dialect, Ya Manal Ya Manali (2004). After more than fifty years of living in England and Australia, his first collection of poetry in English, Siren of the Heart (2020), celebrates his appreci...

‘If my childhood were a thread it would connect all the vibrant colours into a phulkari and remind me to be proud of my parivaar, my family.’- from Pardes by Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 20 March 2025, you will hear multiform artist Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa talk about racism, representation in the arts and her debut novel. Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa OAM...

Eileen Chong has just released a new book of poetry, 'We Speak of Flowers', published by the University of Queensland Press. Interviewed by Di Cousens. Photo by Travis De Vries.

Gad Ben-Meir was born in Baghdad in 1931. He has published two collections of poetry in classical Arabic, Nightingales of Intimacy (2004) and Dialogue of the Hearts (2008), and one collection in the Egyptian dialect, Ya Manal Ya Manali (2004). After more than fifty years of living in England and Australia, his first collection of poetry in English, Siren of the Heart (2020), celebrates his appreci...

‘Peace is the true flavour.’- from Shaah for Healing by Mohamed Sudi In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 20 February 2025, you will hear poet Mohamed Sudi talk about shaah (tea), healing and hope as well as some of the secret projects he has been working on. Mohamed Sudi is a Somali refugee, poet, and calligrapher. He is a member of the Calligraphy Society Victoria, a...

Michael Reynolds ran the spoken word gig, Passionate Tongues for 25 years. He reflects back on the history of the gig, poetry in Brunswick and the many poets who were a part of the scene. Interviewed and photographed by Di Cousens. Part 2 of two parts.

Michael Reynolds ran the spoken word gig, Passionate Tongues for 25 years. He reflects back on the history of the gig, poetry in Brunswick and the many poets who were a part of the scene. Interviewed and photographed by Di Cousens. Part 1 of two parts.

Michael Reynolds has run the Passionate Tongues spoken word poetry gig for 25 years. Now, as he winds up the gig, he reflects on the highlights of this very long run. Interviewed by Di Cousens. Part 1.

Alicia Sometimes is a poet and broadcaster passionate about art and science. She has performed her poetry at many venues, festivals and events around the world. Her poems have been in Best Australian Science Writing, Best Australian Poems, Meanjin, Westerly and many more. Alicia is director/co-writer of the art/science planetarium shows, Elemental and Particle/Wave. In 2023 she received ANAT’s Syn...

‘Let me burrow through the earth and come back with a diamond’- from a prayer to the teachings by AJ D’Costa In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 19th December 2024, you will hear poet AJ D’Costa talk about separateness, belonging, the sacred ordinary and the diaspora. AJ D'Costa is a poet, artist & mental health practitioner of Goan-Indian heritage. She works at the i...

Poet Robyn Rowland talks to Di Cousens about her new book, Steep Curve.

Stuart Barnes is the author of Like to the Lark (Upswell Publishing, 2023), awarded the 2023 Wesley Michel Wright Prize in Poetry, shortlisted for the 2024 ALS Gold Medal and highly commended in the 2024 Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, and of Glasshouses (UQP, 2016), awarded the 2015 Arts Queensland Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, commended in the 2016 Anne Elder Award and shortlisted for the 201...

‘My inner child is playing with matches and I’ve brought marshmallows’- from An Ode to my Little Firebrand by Anke In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show aired on Thursday 21 November 2024, you will hear Anke talk about righteous anger, injustice and the need for a new kind of superhero. If you are unsure how to pronounce Anke's name, it rhymes with the German word for thank you – ‘Danke’. Born...

Madeleine Dale talks to Di Cousens about her new book of poetry, Portraits of Drowning, published by the University of Queensland Press.

Kent MacCarter is a poet and editor. His publishing career began at University of Chicago Press in 2000; since then, he has worked with educational publishers. He is  the managing editor of Cordite Poetry Review and publisher of Cordite Books. His writing has been published widely and includes four poetry collections: In the Hungry Middle of Here (Transit Lounge, 2009), Sputnik’s Cousin (Transit L...

In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show aired on Thursday 17th October, you will hear Vasilka Pateras talk about ideas of home, the intricacies of language and the experience of being a migrant daughter. Vasilka Pateras lives in Naarm/Melbourne, and is an Australian-Macedonian writer whose poetry, reviews and articles have been published both nationally and internationally including Cordite, Mas...

This is the second interview with Jeanine Leane about her book of poetry, Gawimarra Gathering.

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. Sandy co-authored with Margaret Leggatt, Out of...

In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show aired on Thursday 19 September 2024, you will hear an interview with poet and spoken word artist, Jude Chrisan. Jude Chrisan is a boy learning how to be alive. He’s a passionate connecter, poet, and professional cry baby. Most importantly of all, Jude is a searcher for the beauty in the pain, in the mundane; he’s searching for the green in the grey. He’s a...

This episode of 3CR Spoken Word is an interview with Laura Fisher and Eddy Burger. They talk about absurdist poetry, collaboration, and Laura's play "Why Not Believe In Everything".Laura Fisher is an energetic poet, and performer who is well known on the Melbourne Spoken word scene for convening Radio Laria Poetry and MCing Girls on Key.  Through both these poetry nights, Laura has been a keen adv...

This is the first interview with Jeanine Leane about her book of poetry, Gawimarra Gathering.

A live recording of selected performances from Rochford Street Review's launch of their print magazine P76 Issue.9 (Sonic Edition). Performed at the Bergy Bandroom in Brunswick as part of the Sonic Poetry Festival 2024.Includes readings by:Jeanine Leane (After the Silence the Echo)Alex Skovron (Trigger Logic)Nadia Niaz (Motia, Djinn Hunter)Alison J. Barton (One Hand, Buried Light)Peter Bakowski (O...

Alicia Sometimes is a poet and broadcaster passionate about art and science. She has performed her poetry at many venues, festivals and events around the world. Her poems have been in Best Australian Science Writing, Best Australian Poems, Meanjin, Westerly and many more. Alicia is director/co-writer of the art/science planetarium shows, Elemental and Particle/Wave. In 2023 she received ANAT’s Syn...

Waffle Irongirl interviews Nadia Rhook.  Nadia is a non-Indigenous historian, poet, and educator, and the author of two history-themed poetry collections: boots (UWA Publishing) and Second Fleet Baby (Fremantle Press).

In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show aired on Thursday 8 August 2024, you will hear Alison J Barton talk about her forthcoming debut poetry collection, Not Telling, colonisation, German missionaries and psychoanalytic theory. Alison J Barton is a Wiradjuri poet whose work appears in Australian and international journals and anthologies such as Meanjin, Cordite, Westerly, Mascara Literary Revi...