Spoken Word

This is part two of a two part series. Robert DiNapoli is a translator of Old English poetry. His new book, Reading Old English Wisdom: The Fetters in the Frost, translates and interprets wisdom poetry from the ninth century. Interviewed by Di Cousens. Photo by Di Cousens. 

Poet, podcaster, and all round maker of beautiful things, Indrani Perera, is our guest this week on Spoken Word. Indrani is the author of eight books including two collections of poetry published by Ginninderra Press (Defenestration and Pas De Deux). Her poems have been published in Cordite, More Than Melanin, Not Very Quiet, Rochford Street Review, and many more. She is editor of The Pocketry Alm...

This is part one of a two part series. Robert DiNapoli is a translator of Old English poetry. His new book, Reading Old English Wisdom: The Fetters in the Frost, translates and interprets wisdom poetry from the ninth century. Interviewed by Di Cousens. Photo by Di Cousens.

On this episode, our guests are Chae Paterson and Geoffrey Prince, talking about their new book, Lines in the Sand. Hear tales of the 1970s and the Whitlam dismissal, and the similarities in  the social anxiety of those times and now, of mental health, and "going bush", and finding healing in the natural world and writing. Lines in the Sand is published by Papyrus Publishing. You can also obtain a...

About 1,000 years ago a collection of formerly oral wisdom poetry was preserved in the Old English language by monk scholars. In this program Bob Dinapol discusses his translation and explication of these works in his new book, 'Reading Old English Wisdom - The Fetters in the Frost'. This is Part 1 of two programs. Interviewed by Di Cousens.

On this program we play excerpts from a live performance by poet and teacher, Helen Bradwell, from this month’s Girls on Key, which was held at Open studio on the 7th July 2021. Helen’s writing has won the Ada Cambridge prizes for poetry and biographical fiction, and the Nillumbik Poetry Ekphrasis award. In 2020 her poetry was shortlisted for competitions including the MPU and the ACU prizes. She...

Poet Tony Birch talks about and reads from his new book, Whisper Songs. Interviewed by Di Cousens. Photo by Savanna Kruger. See: https://www.uqp.com.au/books/whisper-songs

Angela Costi talks about her new book of poetry, An Embroidery of Old Maps and New, with Di Cousens. Photo by Di Cousens.

On this week's show, Palestinian writer and editor, Lujayn Hourani, shares some of their new work, reflecting on the resistance and resilience of the Palestinian people through generations of colonial violence and oppression. Lujayn is a recipient of The Wheeler Centre's Next Chapter Scheme, and has been published in Meanjin, Overland, Australian Poetry, Going Down Swinging and The Lifted Brow, to...

Today's show features a recording from a live performance by Kathryn Ross at Girls On Key, in March 2021.Girls on Key hosts a monthly spoken word event at Open Studio in Northcote, which aims to foster opportunities for women and gender diverse poets to connect and share their work. Kathryn Ross is a word tinkerer, beach drifter, chronic over-thinker, shapeshifter (mild mannered nurse manager by d...

Eileen Chong discusses her new poetry collection, One Thousand Crimson Blooms, with Di Cousens. Photo by Charlene Winfred.

In this week's show, we present a continuous stream of performances from poets, Charlotte Sareño Raymond, Eleanor Jackson, Allara, Saint Jorge, Ivana Dash, Alice Night, Trixi Rosa and Marita Dyson, set to the music of Helen Mountfort, Bonnie Mercer, and The Letter String Quartet.

Dropbear is Evelyn Araluen's first full length collection of poetry. She talks here to Di Cousens about poetry, family and country.

Santo Cazzati presents revolutionary socialist poetry.

Dave Munro talks about his recently released first book of poetry, Wearing My Father's Hat, published by the Melbourne Poets Union. Interviewed by Di Cousens.

Somali-Australian poet, Hani Abdile, is interviewed about her first collection of poetry, I Will Rise, by Di Cousens.

Trixi Rosa reads from her new collection of poetry, Double-knotted Shoelace, published by Girls on Key Press. Trixi Rosa is a poet and artist from Punakaiki, Aotearoa (New Zealand). She currently lives between Tāmaki Makaurau and the unceded Kulin Nation lands known as Melbourne. Trixi works for local non-profit organisations, collaborating with other artists to co-design community arts and cultur...

A live recording of local poet, Ren Alessandra, performing at the monthly spoken word gig, Girls on Key, at Open Studio in Northcote. Ren was winner of the Australian Poetry Slam in 2020, and was recently published by The Weekly Service, in The Bard Book. Her work explores her relationship with her femininity and her journey into self-discovery. She is currently working on her first collection. Th...

Thuy On is a freelance arts journalist, critic and editor who's written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Australian, The Saturday Paper, The Age/SMH, ArtsHub, Sydney Review of Books, and Australian Book Review. She is the books editor of The Big Issue and her first collection of poetry, Turbulence, was published in 2020 by UWAP. Interviewed by Di Cousens. Photo by Brett Rawl...

Noisy chants for the imprisoned refugees in Carlton; nasty racists Marine Le Pen, Xi Jin Ping and Pauline Hanson put on trial; revolutionary poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Pablo Neruda and Maya Angelou - in this revolutionary half hour with Santo Cazzati.

Santo Cazzati invites poet/singer/songwriter of Brittle Sun, Viki Mealings back to 3CR Spoken Word for a programme with a social justice slant. Viki is a gritty, honest artist who will not cover over difficult issues with saccharine and fake optimism. And yet, her poetry is indeed cause for optimism precisely because it is real and can thus show the way forward. Viki covers a wide range of subject...

Sandy Jeffs' new history of Larundel, a Melbourne psychiatric institution, is written from an insider perspective. As a past inmate she has an unparalleled understanding of the experience of living there and how it managed mental illness. In this book Sandy has collaborated with former staff member and social worker, Margaret Leggatt, to create a qualitative history of Larundel. It includes interv...

A bit of nostalgia for the times that were, and some reflections on the strange times that we find ourselves in! Director of Melbourne Spoken Word, Annie Solah, joins us to talk about the role technology has played in keeping gigs going during the pandemic, and chats about the MSW Spoken Word Gala, coming up on the 4th December 2020 at Twitch. TV/MelbSpokenWord With performances by Peter BakowskiA...

On this week's show, we talk to Daz Chandler, producer of the multi-disciplinary arts congregation, Vigil for the Smooth Handfish. The global event aims to provide a space to contemplate loss, grief, the parameters of care, radical hope, and “collaborative survival”. We hear samples of the extensive line-up of performances from individuals and communities all over the world, including Chris Bonney...

Anne M Carson talks about her poetic biography of Dr Felix Kersten who was Heinrich Himmler's personal masseur during World War 2. As a result of his access to HImmler and his exceptional ability to alleviate pain, Kersten was able to organise the release of many prisoners.