Poetry Says

A thought-provoking chat with R.A. Villanueva, author of Reliquaria, after we’d seen some fantastic readings at National Poetry Day Live. We cover plenty of ground, starting off with the influence of slam, intentional vs accidental ways of becoming a writer and the idea of priming yourself to take advantage of opportunities. Then we get into a great discussion … Continue reading "Ep 22. R. A. Villanueva: chance, race and games"

‘She got swept too far. She deliberately made herself ugly and wrote those extreme and ridiculous poems.’ Adrienne Rich lived enough for at least two lifetimes and not everyone was happy about it. Today’s episode looks at the poem Integrity from A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems 1978-1981. I also pull some context from Boundary … Continue reading "Ep 21. Adrienne Rich’s anger and tenderness"

A few weeks ago I went along to the Free Verse Poetry Book Fair and saw the panel ‘Poetry and Politics’ with Choman Hardi, WN Herbert, RA Villanueva and Sophie Mayer. Sophie and I then took the conversation off-road. After we cover off interconnectedness, I have a quick whinge about Carol Ann Duffy’s poem Silver Lining. We then … Continue reading "Ep 20. Sophie Mayer on the interconnectedness of everything"

Today I dive into my favourite poem from the last five years: Hannah Gamble’s funny and haunting Growing a Bear. I also detour into a classic Cary Tennis column: I’m going crazy in my job. Hannah is a poetry editor for Catch Up among many other good things. Hear her discussing her work on Make (No) Bones (out of Chicago, not Brooklyn!). … Continue reading "Ep 19. Hannah Gamble and the bear of secret desires"

This week South Australian poet SB Wright gets real about the fact that perfect poetry doesn’t happen the moment the pen hits the page. Sean’s spending a year focusing on poetry, which leads us to Ira Glass’s advice on the gap between taste and ability, William Stafford’s A Way of Writing, fixed vs. growth mindsets and Jo Bell’s poetry checklist. After looking … Continue reading "Ep. 18 SB Wright on dedicating a year to poetry"

A grab-bag of thoughts about the awe-inspiring (but not at all intimidating) Olena Kalytiak Davis and my ideas on how to approach a poet/poem for the first time. Check out: You and Me Both by Dan Chiasson in The New Yorker The Poem She Didn’t Write and Other Poems published by Copper Canyon Press, 2014 I had a Ski-Masked Rapist … Continue reading "Ep 17. Approaching Olena: A minor poet?"

This week I had fun chatting to Sydney-based poet Benjamin Dodds, author of Regulator published by Puncher and Wattman. We get a window into his current project about ‘ethically troubling scientific discoveries’, then hear the prose poem Ape by Russell Edson. (Put down your breakfast while listening to this one.) Benjamin also reads his beautiful poem Surrogacy. Next we cover how he shares … Continue reading "Ep. 16 Benjamin Dodds on the joy of surreal, skewed poetry"

This week I’m attempting to answer a listener question: How do I get into poetry? Poems in this week’s episode: Stopping by woods on a snowy evening by Robert Frost One Art by Elizabeth Bishop Burning Sappho by Gwen Harwood Lucky by Dorothy Porter praise song by Nate Marshall Bonus poems (if you’ve got other ideas … Continue reading "Ep 15. Getting into poetry: 5 starting points"

This week I got to talk with Lisa Brockwell about three poems that play with the theme of ‘the girl in the poet and the poet in the girl’. We also cover why it’s important to keep reading even when the poems go quiet, the question of poetry ‘scenes’ and, importantly, HBO’s Looking. This week’s poems: Glamourie by Kathleen Jamie … Continue reading "Ep 14. Lisa Brockwell on ‘girlhood as a place of strength’"

This week I make a case for the short WWI poem Adelstrop by Edward Thomas. Then things get a little experimental as I try to answer the question: How does this poem operate in 2016? (Mild spoilers towards the end for Helen Macdonald’s beautiful memoir H is for Hawk.)  If you’re keen to go deeper into … Continue reading "Ep 13. Edward Thomas: Remembering and misremembering"

You might already know Robbie Coburn as co-host of the fantastic Australian Poetry Podcast (a must listen for AusPo fans). Today Robbie tells us his own story, from his first publication in Pi O’s Unusual Work to his recent appearance in Poetry magazine. The poem we dive into this week is High Windows by Phillip Larkin, followed by a sneak peak of Robbie’s forthcoming … Continue reading "Ep 12. Robbie Coburn on banned books, Larkin, Pi O and poetry addiction"

In today’s bumper episode I get to have an in-depth chat with Queensland-based poet Stuart Barnes. We cover how he came to poetry through none other than Tasmanian poet Gwen Harwood, then dive into Sylvia Plath’s poem Ariel. We also talk about the art of the remix poem, how to write a cento, and the upcoming launch of … Continue reading "Ep. 11 Stuart Barnes on Harwood, Plath, centos and Glasshouses"

The wonderful PoemTalk podcast tackled Ted Berrigan’s 3 Pages back in 2008. For this episode, I’m jumping in with my own interpretation of this ever-shifting poem. Listen to Berrigan’s amazing reading here. And if you have your own ideas about this (or any other) poem, get in touch.

Since reading All the dead boys look like me, a poem for Orlando by Christopher Soto (aka Loma), I’ve understood the tragedy that happened there in an entirely new way. I’ve also been thinking about Walt Whitman’s all-encompassing poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry – a poem that seems to have no boundaries. If you like the sound … Continue reading "Ep. 9 Loma writes for Orlando, Whitman speaks through time"

I had a blast talking to Sydney-based poet Louise Carter today about UK poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Australian poet Luke Davies. We cover everything from self-doubt to housemates, how copywriting sometimes leads to poetry and what it’s like to have tea with your poetry idol. For bonus points, check out: Louise’s wonderful blog alone with beauty and … Continue reading "Ep 8. Louise Carter on Duffy, Davies, doubt and humour"

This week I got to talk to Australian poet Michele Seminara about Elizabeth Bishop’s mysterious, insistent poem Giant Snail. (Bishop’s One Art and Filling Station also pop up.) Michele is the managing editor of the online creative arts journal Verity La and the author of Engraft, which came out earlier this year. Want to share your best-loved poem with … Continue reading "Ep 7. Michele Seminara on Bishop: The internal battle"

‘Appreciation of poetry, one out of 10 or whatever it might be, is quite alien to what a poet feels about poetry.’ So says Judith Wright, a poet I’ve avoided far longer than I want to admit… Read today’s poem Eroded Hills, check out the Guardian’s obituary for Wright and learn more about her at the Judith … Continue reading "Ep 6. Judith Wright: When your conscience catches up with you"

If the proliferation of posters, t-shirts, mugs and grocery bags urging you towards ‘mindfulness’ is starting to grate, 17th century haiku master Basho has your back in today’s episode. Read Jane Hirshfield’s beautiful translation or check out the Japanese version (which I stuffed up by pronouncing the first character ‘Kyoto’ instead of ‘Kyo’…here’s a Japanese cuckoo to make up for … Continue reading "Ep 5. Basho: It’s ok to fail at mindfulness"

At first, Romania’s national poet Mihai Eminescu seems like your standard tragic Romantic poet. But as Cristina Haraba explains, he’s much actually much more human than that. Read today’s poem With life’s tomorrow time you grasp and find out more about its translator Corneliu M. Popescu and the Popescu Prize.  

Happiness was part of my life for years before I took the time to understand the poet who wrote it. Now it’s an even closer friend. Definitely read the non-mangled text of The Clothes Pin, then make some tea and read Donald Hall’s essay on life with Jane, The Third Thing.