Poetry Says

And what is the fastest fish? Show notes Archives Fine Books My interview with Shastra Deo Helen Allan John Blight Two absolute icons

Just before New Year’s I got to meet up with Shastra Deo in Brisbane. She spoke about expectation, regret, her award-winning collection The Agonist, how that book continues to follow her, and the weird, frustrating tension between poetry and the industry around it. Show notes Shastra’s interview with Terri Ann Quan Sing for Hello Poet … Continue reading "Ep 159. Shastra Deo: Pressure, persona & the ‘I’"

Matthew Buckley Smith is a poet who makes a podcast called SLEERICKETS. You’re welcome. Show notes SLEERICKETS Ep 33: Pudding Day More starter episodes: Ep 14: M*****f****r of the Arts: (includes discussion of Ben Lerner’s The Lights), Ep 24: Musée des NSFW Arts (includes discussion of Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn) & Ep 13: … Continue reading "Ep 158. Matthew Buckley Smith: Angels and ministers of grace defend us!"

Turns out I just really like pop music. p.s. Since recording this I’ve learned that A. E. Housman rushed out his Last Poems hoping straight boy crush Moses Jackson would read it. Girl, same. Show notes No Second Troy by William Butler Yeats Maggie Nelson’s Bluets The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse Mibu Tadamine The … Continue reading "Ep 157. pov ur the hot ex"

Giving up on poetry, the luxury of regret, and relapse. With help from Liz Taylor & Van Johnson. Show notes Jennifer Mills’ piece On Quitting Poetry & her books Alison Croggon’s Giving up poetry & her New and Selected Poems 1991-2017 Adrienne Rich Rimbaud Vauxhall & I Finding Neverland Berryman by W. S. Merwin

I interviewed Luke Beesley on a rainy Friday, keen to ask about some of what came up when I spoke to Matthew Buckley Smith on Sleerickets episode 30, and not to ask about process, or influence. (I failed to avoid those areas.) Luke reads from his latest collection Aqua Spinach as well as from Jam … Continue reading "Ep 155. Luke Beesley: There is no puzzle"

A story. With thanks to ford. for allowing me to use his beautiful track Dusk as the outro here. Also to Lauren Bacall, Andre Prévin & Dinah Shore. Show notes Mary Karr’s Tropic of Squalor and her poem The Voice of God The Best Poems of Jane Kenyon selected by Donald Hall Sleerickets Ep 30 … Continue reading "Ep 154. The big sleep"

I ask the inimitable Jennifer Compton about her poem Dear Les, why we have no boys in our poetry group, and gaining control by losing it. We also chat about a new poem of hers, and then I get a rejection in real time. Show notes Jen’s poem Law and Order Jen performing Love is … Continue reading "Ep 153. Jennifer Compton: Poetry as Cassandra"

I fail to explain poetry. With thanks to K, who only agreed to this after the fact.

Peter Goldsworthy (poet, novelist, Medal of Australia recipient…) describes himself as a doctor-writer. In this last Poetry Month interview, we talk about why he writes in the direct, plain-speaking way he does, the poems he’s been writing about his cancer treatment, and why he thinks anyone who wants to write poetry should simply ‘go for … Continue reading "Ep 151. Peter Goldsworthy: ‘There are 25 million poets in this country.’"

My dear friend Eleanor Smagarinsky joined me for this episode, in which we gossip and laugh about workshops that work, workshops that don’t work, and the erotics of language. Also, James Schuyler. Show notes A previous chat with Eleanor in which I yell at her to throw her poetry books out. ModPo Brooklyn Poets Joshua … Continue reading "Ep 150. Nerding out with Eleanor"

The inimitable Maddie Godfrey shares their thoughts on poetry’s public profile, what’s exciting about hearing new poets share their work for the first time, resilience versus joy, and what we don’t talk about when we talk about poetry.

Loki Liddle is a self-described mischief maker, so I thought I’d I ask him whether he ever gets any pushback for not being ‘serious enough’ in his work. He also talks about satire, playfulness, the role of the MC, and how his poems have been received (and, once, totally misinterpreted). Before that, I go on … Continue reading "Ep 148. Loki Liddle: ‘There are no Aboriginals in On The Road’"

‘Work sucks. Do a PhD.’ So my big sister advised me, and I don’t think she was wrong (at least about the first part). In this episode I talk about grappling with work in poems, and chat with Dan Hogan about what it is to write against the backdrop of ‘multiple, overlapping crises’. (If someone … Continue reading "Ep 147. Dan Hogan: ‘Somewhere a landlord is kissing another landlord’"

I went into this interview with Maxine Beneba Clarke with a bunch of very earnest questions. Our conversation reminded me that it’s ok to have fun, even in poetry. Even, or maybe especially, right now. We also get into whether we need a poet laureate, what you can learn from bad poetry open mics, and … Continue reading "Ep 146. Maxine Beneba Clarke: ‘Art does not live on art alone.’"

In my first interview for Red Room’s Poetry Month, I spoke with John Kinsella about why poetry needs many voices, the critical response to False Claims of Colonial Thieves, travel, how his thoughts on poetry and writing have changed, and finding empathy late in the game. Show notes ‘Graphology Endgame 100: I am a dickhead’ … Continue reading "Ep 145. John Kinsella on community & empathy"

The podcast is coming from inside the radio! Throughout August, Poetry Says will become part of Red Room’s inaugural Poetry Month. Across four episodes broadcast around the country via the Community Radio Network, I’ll be talking to the Red Room team, and a selection of special guests… In the meantime, if you miss your fortnightly … Continue reading "Ep 144. Poetry Month preview"

A conversation with my friend and co-producer, Shane Henry, about white-knuckling it through poetry open mics, learning a new art form, building something from the ground up, waiting, and a 2003 indie rock album called The Meadowlands. Find out more about Impossible Machine & Lost Weekend.

Can’t pronounce their proper title, but here are my thoughts on what poems do and don’t do when they show up at weddings, with help from Sarah Jessica Parker and Cameron Diaz.

It was a joy to speak with Thuy On about Turbulence, her 2020 collection from UWAP cataloguing heartbreak, passion, loss and pleasure. She talks about writing the book in a ‘wild gush’, the mechanics of getting it edited and published, how poets around her have supported her work, and what she really thinks when she … Continue reading "Ep 141. ‘You have to be brave.’ Thuy On’s Turbulence"