Author: PoetrySays

Ep 53. Steve Wasserman on Wallace Stevens and poetic medicine

UK-based psychotherapist Steve Wasserman sees poetry as having a kind of medicinal power, especially when memorised. We chat about using memorisation to step outside the churn of the mind, then Steve recites the very tricky Wallace Stevens poem Final Soliloquy of the Interior Paramour (newly memorised!).

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Ep 52. Inside a poetry workshop

Would you let a mic into your poetry workshop?

Sydney poets Benjamin Dodds and Mran-Maree Laing were brave enough to let me record while we workshopped three unpublished poems. We wanted to show what the workshop process can be like for those who might feel intimidated by the idea. I think the result is pretty representative of what a top-notch workshop can do for a poem. It was such a pleasure to share work with these two fantastic writers!

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Ep 51. Toby Fitch on Rimbaud’s Bloomin’ Notions

Grab yourself a beverage, pull up a chair and listen in as I ask Toby Fitch to help me understand Rimbaud, figure out where the keys to poetry are hiding and keep my sense of humour about me along the way. Toby reads us a new, very funny poem during this chat and talks a little bit about his latest manuscript-in-progress, along with how he finds ways to make writing happen alongside everything else.

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Ep 50. ‘All the practice you get makes you better.’

For my 50th episode I wanted to talk about how I got started with this podcast, which took me back to a pretty painful decision point in my life. These are the poems (and quotes) that helped me stop being so busy, sit down and actually make something.

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Ep 49. Gemma Mahadeo on Ted Hughes and Fred D’Aguiar

In an episode that spans countries, languages and histories, Melbourne poet Gemma Mahadeo shares the poem Calypso History Lesson from Fred D’Aguiar’s book The Rose of Toulouse. We start off with some thoughts on Ted Hughes’ Crow before D’Aguiar’s poem takes us in all sorts of directions, from Hansonism to urban foxes to West Indian cricket commentary.

Show notes

  • The Vulture Goddess from Fred D’Aguiar’s American Vulture.
  • The Story in History: interview with D’Aguiar on the place of history in his work.
  • ‘There is no sophistry in my body: / My manners are tearing off heads – ’ is from Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes.

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Ep 48. Benjamin Solah on spoken word in Melbourne

Benjamin Solah can recite a calendar of upcoming spoken word gigs from memory. We talk about what spoken word actually is (or might be), whether there’s a particular slam style, how politics plays into this kind of poetry and why you should just get up there and perform at the next open mic.

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