Ep 60. John Blight’s old-school advice for Aussie poets

I’ve gradually discovered that Great Uncle Jack Blight was a poet with something to say (and more than a few books under his belt). I delve into his 1965 lecture ‘The Shaping of a Contemporary Poet’, share his advice for other Australian poets (most of which still stands up) and take a few detours into family lore.

Ep 59. The Melinda Bufton mixtape

Set up your tea/biscuits/wine/other treats because this chat with Melinda Bufton is cosy and joyful. Within the first 10 minutes we’ve covered performance, lyrics, the page, the lyric I, rhyme, feminism and constraint. It gets even better from there.

Show notes

 

Ep 57. Auden’s secret Berlin Journal and poems that fall apart

I’ve been trying to write a poem in response to Auden for about four years. It’s not going well. So I thought I’d talk to you about the ideas I’m trying to grapple with.

Show notes

Ep 56. Getting published.

Past guest Sean Wright joins us again this week to talk about the process of getting his first collection published (!) along with navigating the world of poetry journals. How do you know where to send work? What do you say when you do? We don’t have all the answers but these are our tips on making it out of the slush pile.

Publishers and journals mentioned (by no means exhaustive):
Resources that can help (or cause a meta-fiddling addiction):

 

Ep 55. Ashbery’s autobiography (in 14 lines)

Ashbery’s poem ‘Your name here’ has been pinned up in my office for almost a decade now. Reading it again in light of his passing, I saw another element of the poem I’d never noticed before.

Show notes

Ep 54. Alistair Baldwin on comedy, permission and Milligan

Can poets learn something from the world of improv? After chatting with Alistair Baldwin I’m more convinced than ever that the best elements of poetry and comedy are basically aligned. This episode is also for you if you’ve ever hit a wall writing that dreaded 100-word bio…

Show notes

Ep 53. Joanne Kyger is afraid (but also funny)

Feeling a little sketchy, I went back to Joanne Kyger’s On Time, which led me to a poem about why calendars can be so very scary.

Show notes