Spoken Word

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.

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...