‘a round of silencewhere the voice of our oceansshore into one song’- from Please my dear neighbourby Benjamin Theolonius Sanders (IQ). In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 18th Decmber 2025, you will hear poet Benjamin Theolonius Sanders (IQ) talk about sport, music, lineages and the voice as an instrument. Benjamin Theolonius Sanders (IQ) is a native Memphis griot, professional teaching artist, intergenerational educator, intercontinental slam champion, dj photographer  and father. The former MC of the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival, an 8X Memphis Slam Champion & 2x Melbourne slam Champion, IQ is a haiku lover and typewriter devotee. In 2009 He was one of twelve guest artists at Womadelaide, where his poetry was translated into Indigenous language in collaboration with visual artists from the APY lands. IQ is the author of 11 chapbooks, 3 albums, 2 audio anthologies, and has been anthologised in various academic and commercial publications for the past 30+ years.  Normally referred to as Memphis Poet Laureate, IQ loves music, coffee, scrabble, teaching about poetry of all kinds, tennis, Memphis and Geelong. Presently the Poet Laureate of the Centre for Southern Folklore, IQ is a hypen-aided American, as well as Poet Laureate of legendary Memphis Jam band Freeworld. When his feet are not walking in M’town, IQ lives on Wadawurrung /Wathaurong country. Find IQ at www.poetiq.com Poems written and performed by Benjamin Theolonius Sanders (IQ) in this episode:Small latte and jamMaturityConversation PeacePlease my dear neighbour (haiku train)For What It’s Worth CreditsRecorded, produced and edited by Indrani Perera.Thank you to Benjamin Theolonius Sanders for sharing his poetry and to you for listening! 

On a lovely Tuesday evening on the 2nd of December, upstairs of the Alderman pub in Brunswick, Melbourne poets Dominique Hecq, Eugen Bacon, and visiting from York, Oz Hardwick collaborated on a special performance of their poetry. Today you will be listening to a partial recording from that evening. 

This is part 2 of a conversation with Grant Caldwell about his new book of haiku, The Soundless Sound, and about haiku in general.

Jennifer Mackenzie lives in Naarm/Melbourne, and is a poet and occasional editor and reviewer. The Wallace Line: A Poem follows her previoius collections, Borobudur and Navigable Ink, in a series of what has become the home of her Imagination, Indonesia. She has appeared at a number of conferences and festivals across Asia, and has launched The Wallace Line: A Poem at the 2025 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF), where she also appeared on a panel celebrating the festival’s lifetime achievement award to the Indonesian poet, Taufiq Ismail.The Wallace Line: A Poem is available here: https://transitlounge.com.au/shop/the-wallace-line-a-poem/ Production & Interview: Tina Giannoukos

‘I found myself inside myself’- from Cluster B, to AuADHD by Sarah St James. In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 20th November 2025, you will hear poet Sarah St James talk about performance, transitioning and representation.Content Warning: This episdoe contains references to mental health, drug use and suicide. Sarah St James- or ‘Sadie’- is a trans woman and spoken word poet. Originally born and raised in Meanjin, she has been based in Naarm since 2018. Her writing explores themes of identity, accountability and survival through the lenses of gender, sexuality and familial dysfunction. With a background in theatre, Sarah’s work lends itself best to live performance. She has been speaking her poems aloud since participating in ‘Ruckus’ poetry slams and ‘Roving Conspiracies’ open mic events in 2014.  Sarah’s writing has been published in the anthology In-Flux, trans and gender diverse reflections and imaginings. As well as Chaotic Musings Volume 3. Her first solo publishing venture was the hand bound anthology “The Brown Paper Diaries” soon to be available in print.Poems written and performed by Sarah St James in this episode:Cluster B, to AuADHDSitting With It Kalliope X FundraiserSunday 30th November 2025 in Thornbury.Featuring MANISHA ANJALI, ELENA GOMEZ and TONY BIRCH.Plus music from the THE BLACK SEA ENSEMBLE.Tickets available at https://events.humanitix.com/kalliopex-speaks. CreditsRecorded, produced and edited by Indrani Perera.Thank you to Sarah St James for sharing her poetry and to you for listening! 

Today (13 Nov 2025), we are presenting are sumptous smorgasbard of poems read by poets featured at the event - Big Verse: The Readings Poetry Gala. This is happening 14th November at 8pm at the All Nations Church in Carlton. Get your tickets from the Readings website.The blurb says Big Verse will transport you through the rambunctious and politically charged world of contemporary Australian poetry.

This is part 2 of a conversation with Grant Caldwell about his new book of haiku, The Soundless Sound, and about haiku in general.

Di Cousens OAM is a poet and photographer based in Melbourne. Past poetry publications include Days Pass Without Name, Free Text Space, House Red and The Freedom to Be. She is also the author of academic articles and a book in Tibetan studies. Her poetry has been published in journals and anthologies and her photographic portraits of poets are used in publications and websites. For 11 years she has been one of the producers of community radio 3CR's Spoken Word program. Di studied poetry writing with Judith Rodriguez and is a member of Melbourne PEN. She was Melbourne PEN's delegate to the PEN International Congress in Pune, India, in 2018, and was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2023 for service to the Buddhist community. Her chapbooks can be purchased here: https://www.dicousens.com/shop Production & Interview: Tina Giannoukos

George Vassilacopoulos was born in Greece and migrated to Australia in 1974. He taught philosophy at La Trobe University, and has published books and articles on (European) philosophy, Indigenous sovereignty, and (Greek Australian) history. Ashpoems  (re.press, 2025) is his fifteenth poetry collection, the first in English.Ashpoems is available here: https://re-press.org/title/ashpoems/?srsltid=AfmBOoobU2Q4UL6HNTKlwSCdsG3...(link is external) Produced & Presented by Tina Giannoukos  

‘where the lazy susan spins tirelesslycarrying the love you put on plates’- from Photograph by Lynette Natasha In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 16 October 2025, you will hear poet Lynette Natasha talk about politics, performance and playwriting. During the podcast, Lynette Natasha talks about Cartograpgy of the Void by Chris Abani.Lynette Natasha is a poet and writer whose work explores relationships with family, others, ourselves and the world. Born in Malaysia to a bicultural family and currently living in Naarm/Melbourne, her poems are shaped by the act of living between worlds — how do we become who we are while holding on to traditions, how do we live with so much beauty and brutality, and how do we balance grief with the gloriousness of living. Poems written and performed by Lynette Natasha in this episode:FatherSilenceNew LeafPhotograph NoteSpoken word and poetry come from the heart and touch on all the topics peculiar to the human condition. As such there may be content in this show that could cause distress. Please practice self-care when listening and seek help if you need it. CreditsRecorded, produced and edited by Indrani Perera.Thank you to Lynette Natasha for sharing her poetry and to you for listening! 

Grant Caldwell talks to Di Cousens about his new book of haiku, The Soundless Sound. This is Part 1 of 2 interviews.

George Vassilacopoulos was born in Greece and migrated to Australia in 1974. He taught philosophy at La Trobe University, and has published books and articles on (European) philosophy, Indigenous sovereignty, and (Greek Australian) history. Ashpoems  (re.press, 2025) is his fifteenth poetry collection, the first in English.  Ashpoems is available here: https://re-press.org/title/ashpoems/?srsltid=AfmBOoobU2Q4UL6HNTKlwSCdsG3issjeRIik2huau3lyynmTfVl_MfqE Presenter: Tina Giannoukos  

‘I am her beloved carrion.’- from Vulture my love by Maree Gladwin. In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 18 September 2025, you will hear poet Maree Gladwin talk about writing poems in a second language,  teaching poetry, women in science, ecology and lesbian feminist poets.Maree Gladwin is a queer poet, musician and artist who lives in Naarm (Melbourne) on Boonwurrung Country. Her poems in English and French have appeared in several anthologies but mostly she enjoys reading them to friends and family, and to gatherings of the Moat Poets group of which she is a member.Poems written and performed by Maree Gladwin in this episode:The London busLove letter to the universeTree loveVulture my love NoteSpoken word and poetry come from the heart and touch on all the topics peculiar to the human condition. As such there may be content in this show that could cause distress. Please practice self-care when listening and seek help if you need it. CreditsRecorded, produced and edited by Indrani Perera.Thank you to Maree Gladwin for sharing her poetry and to you for listening! 

Di Cousens talks to Peter Bakowski about his new book, Necessary Wonder.

Robbie Coburn is a poet and author of the young adult verse novel The Foal in the Wire (Lothian/Hachette Australia, 2025). His poetry collections are Ghost Poetry (Upswell, 2024), And I Could Not Have Hurt You (Kiddiepunk, 2023), The Other Flesh (UWAP, 2019) and Rain Season (Picaro Press, 2013). He has also published several chapbooks and zines.His poems have been published in Australian and overseas journals including Meanjin, Island, Westerly, and Poetry (Chicago), and anthologised in Oystercatcher One  (5 Islands Press, 2024), To End All Wars (Puncher and Wattmann, 2018) and Writing to the Wire (UWAP, 2016).He has been featured at The Wheeler Centre and La Mama Poetica, appeared as a guest at literary festivals including the Sydney Writers’ Festival, Canberra Writers Festival, Newcastle Writers Festival and Perth Poetry Festival, and run poetry workshops for youth mental health organisation Headspace.He grew up on a farm in Regional Victoria and now lives in Melbourne. Production & Interview: Tina Giannoukos

‘A ceasefire breaks like a paper chainthey killed a forest to make.’- from Crisis Talks by Hayley Ricketson. In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 21 August 2025, you will hear poet Hayley Ricketson talk about politics, performance and playwriting.Hayley Ricketson is a poet, playwright and probably writes most from the impetus that the personal is political – and the political is personal. She discovered spoken word poetry when living in London and has been a Slam finalist in London and Melbourne, and is currently lucky enough to be part of the Melbourne Slamalamadingdong Poetry Team. Playwriting is her love language but overall she loves creative writing and expression in all its forms, particularly when it’s communicating something honest, human and maybe a bit funny. Poems written and performed by Hayley Ricketson in this episode:Crisis TalksSweet NoteSpoken word and poetry come from the heart and touch on all the topics peculiar to the human condition. As such there may be content in this show that could cause distress. Please practice self-care when listening and seek help if you need it. CreditsRecorded, produced and edited by Indrani Perera.Thank you to Hayley Ricektson for sharing her poetry and to you for listening! 

For much of the last four decades, Mark Roberts has been involved in writing, criticism and publishing. In 1982, he established P76 magazine with Adam Aitken and has been involved in small press publishing ever since. In 2011 he set up the on-line journal Rochford Street Review, one of the leading and most long-lasting independent cultural journals in the world.Mark was the winner of the 2016 Byron Bay Poetry Prize and runner up in the 2013 Joanne Burns Award. He was longlisted in the Joanne Burns Award in 2014 and 2019, and the Liquid Amber Poetry Prize in 2023.The Office of Literary Endeavours (Five Islands Press, 2025) is Mark’s third book, after Stepping out of Line (Rochford Street Press, 1986) and Concrete Flamingos (Island Press, 2016).  Production and Interview: Tina Giannoukos

Omar Sakr is a poet and writer born in Western Sydney to Lebanese and Turkish Muslim migrants. His previous book of poetry, The Lost Arabs, won the 2020 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Poetry. In this interview he speaks to Di Cousens about his new book, The Nightmare Sequence, which reflects on the war in Gaza.

Angela Costi is a poet and writer with a background in social justice, law and communityarts. Since 1994, her creative gatherings, including plays, short fiction and essays, have been published, produced, broadcast and translated. She has a number of poetry collection including Honey & Salt (5Islands Press, shortlisted Mary Gilmore Prize 2008), and most recently, The Heart of the Advocate (Liquid Amber Press, 2025). Her chapbook Adversarial Practice (Cordite Poetry Review, 2024) was commended in the Wesley Michel Wright Prize.She won the University of Canberra’s Health Poetry Prize 2024. In 1995, she received atravel award from the Australia National Languages Board to study Ancient Greek drama inGreece. She was writer-in-residence at the former Kensington Public Housing Estate on the Relocated project.She is known as Αγγελική Κωστή among the Cypriot Greek diaspora, her ancestry. She lives on the land of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation.The Heart of the Advocate is available here: https://liquidamberpress.com.au/product/the-heart-of-the-advocate/Production & Interview: Tina Giannoukos