Poetry Says

Talking with Alan Wearne felt like taking a poetry masterclass. The poet Alan chose was Arkansas land surveyor and prolific writer Frank Stanford, who may well enchant you if you’re not careful. We look at his work from all sorts of angles and cover just about everyone from Ted Berrigan to Benjamin Frater, Gig Ryan, Joyce, Browning, the term … Continue reading "Ep 42. Alan Wearne on Frank Stanford"

Even the editors of poetry anthologies feel uncomfortable about the format at times. I’ve now discovered there’s at least one poet, maybe still living somewhere in Melbourne, who’s happy to take matters into their own hands. Show notes Black Inc’s Best Australian Poems 2013 edited by Lisa Gorton Post It by Gig Ryan published in Cordite

As a First Nations poet, Ellen O’Brien says Alison Whittaker’s poem ‘Willi Willi Will I’ from Lemons in the Chicken Wire speaks directly to her experience of doing late night research into family history. We take a close look at the poem before getting into questions about making compromises in writing, finding your primary motivation, accepting rejection and whether … Continue reading "Ep 40. Ellen O’Brien’s poem for late night Google searches"

I had a lot of fun talking with Melbourne-based writer and spoken word artist Rhea Bhagat for this episode on Robin Coste Lewis’s poem On the Road to Sri Bhuvaneshwari. We covered plenty of ground… Show notes Rhea’s article Daba (excerpt) from The Lifted Brow’s Capital issue Rhea’s Overland piece Cashmere and the politics of the brown body Typecast as a … Continue reading "Ep 39. Rhea Bhagat on Dubai and Robin Coste Lewis"

‘It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die every day for lack of what is found there.’ A few thoughts on poetry and the news along with a must-listen poetry podcast. Show notes Episode 18 of Commonplace Talk by Terrance Hayes Asphodel, That Greeny Flower by William Carlos Williams Williams’s “Asphodel, That … Continue reading "Ep 38. To get the news from poems"

Compulsive reader (and ModPo classmate) Magdalena Ball chats with me about the event that stopped her latest novel in its tracks and resulted in her new collection of poetry – Unmaking Atoms. We also take a close look at Samuel Wagan Watson’s intriguing poem A one ended boomerang. Show notes The Newcastle Writers Festival More about … Continue reading "Ep 37. Magdalena Ball on Samuel Wagan Watson"

People have complicated feelings about rhyme. Today I’m looking at seven types of rhyme based on Poetry Foundation’s glossary to see how cringeworthy it really is. Show notes Marionette by Jessica Wilkinson (Vagabond Press, 2012) Broken/Open by Jill Jones (Salt, 2005) Revolving Days by David Malouf (UQP, 2008) Free Will and the Clouds by Rob Wilson … Continue reading "Ep 36. Poetry basics: It doesn’t even rhyme!"

Two larrikins asking what you’re into, Merlions toasting at your table, a pig showing off – Australia is pretty hilarious when you think about it… I’m so grateful to Corey Wakeling for walking me through the fantastic Michael Farrell poem ‘An Australian Comedy’ in this episode, which you can find in his 2015 collection Cocky’s Joy. We also … Continue reading "Ep 35. Corey Wakeling: Having fun with the ANZAC"

When my friend asked me to explain how rhythm works in poetry I thought I’d have no trouble…until I opened my poetry encyclopedia. Show notes The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics Looking at rhythm and meter in poetry – Poetry for Dummies The Violence of Work – Geoff Goodfellow Observation – Dorothy Parker Mending … Continue reading "Ep 34. Poetry basics: Got rhythm?"

How do you tell a life story through a poem? For Jessica Wilkinson, poetry can go much further than straightforward biography. In this interview she talks about discovering Susan Howe, working with (not against) a self-confessed short attention span, and founding the fantastic Rabbit poetry journal. Show notes Beyond Facts and Accuracies in Axon Marionette and … Continue reading "Ep 33. Jessica Wilkinson on poetic biography"

Cid Corman isn’t afraid to ask unanswerable questions or to leave most of a page blank. In today’s episode he’s asking the question straight up: ‘Is this a poem?’ Show notes Join us for SlowPo 2017 Recordings of Cid’s reading group at CC’s in Kyoto It isn’t / what you think… It always / comes down … Continue reading "Ep 32. Cid Corman’s poetry of blank spaces"

Robin Wallace-Crabbe describes himself as ‘a dear little old man’ but I’m sure you won’t be fooled by that for long. Welcome back to Poetry Says for 2017 and welcome to the world of Hartmann Wallis, poet and white lightning enthusiast. Show notes Who said what, exactly by Hartmann Wallis (Finlay Lloyd, 2016) and Peter … Continue reading "Ep 31. Robin Wallace-Crabbe: ‘Art can be a lot of fun’"

In my final episode before taking a Christmas break I invite you to be part of the show in 2017 and to check out this close reading of Charles Bernstein’s In a Restless World Like This is, recorded with the wonderful Eleanor Smagarinsky.

A little more Maggie Nelson for you today to follow on from my chat with Tricia Dearborn. Molly Silverstein brings us The Mute Story of November, another beautiful poem from Something Bright, Then Holes (listen to Maggie reading the poem here).  We chat about Buddhist and Whitmanian angles on the poem (yep, Molly is a new ModPo … Continue reading "Ep 29. ‘This is what happens when you cease your management.’"

In today’s episode you get to hear how Judi Dench says the word ‘poetry’, Kelsey Grammer butchering Tennyson, everyone piling on e e cummings, William Carols Williams quoted by hackers and Eileen Myles being…Eileen Myles. Today’s links: Ulysses by Tennyson anyone lived in a pretty how town by e e cummings The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams I … Continue reading "Ep 28. Poetry spoilers"

Talking to Tricia Dearborn was a really good reality check for a stress bunny writer like myself. We covered everything from routine to writing last lines, along with Tricia’s connection to chemistry, favourite poets like Vicki Feaver, and definitions of ecopoetry. Tricia brings us Maggie Nelson’s poem ‘Green’ from Something Bright, Then Holes (check out Maggie’s interview on creativity here). This links up with one of Tricia’s new poems that’s about to … Continue reading "Ep 27. Tricia Dearborn on relaxing about writing"

R D Wood spoke to me from his vantage point in Kerala about the idea of Australia, the house of poetry, the ethics of being a writer and whether politicians can be poetic (and poets Machiavellian).  We also talk about his poem In the Desert – its creation and the response it received – along with Ted … Continue reading "Ep 26. R D Wood on the possibility of Australia"

Reeling from the US election while in New York City, I reflect on the poems, books and poetic communities that suddenly became essential this week: Jaap Blonk’s What the president will say and do Jena Osman’s Dropping Leaflets My post-election call to the ModPo hotline (tissues at the ready!) at the Kelly Writers House Lou Carter’s … Continue reading "Ep 25. An Australian in New York"

Rob Wilson’s Free Will and the Clouds received plenty of love when it came out, for good reason. Today I chat with Rob about how he comes up with his bizarre titles, why he teaches The Red Wheelbarrow to prisoners, and what he does to support his writing. We also listen to a poem by Rob’s … Continue reading "Ep 24. Rob Wilson on poetically killing the PM"

Jill Jones describes herself as a ‘poet person living quietly in Adelaide‘. Today I look into her poem Back at work after the flu (from her 1993 book ‘Flagging Down Time’). What does it say about the work poets do and the way this work happens alongside an ever-present day job?