Before The Poem

In the fourth episode of Before the Poem, creator and host Rebecca Tantony interviews poet and performer Shagufta K Iqbal in a beautiful, searching journey that begins and ends with the water, tracing the currents of faith, the ways we drift from it, return to it, and find ourselves changed along the way. Together, they explore the many forces that shape our moments of doubt and uncertainty as well as those quieter moments of trust and devotion.

This is a conversation full of hope and curiosity, rooted in an appreciation of family: both the family we come from and the families we go on to make. Rebecca and Shagufta explore the power of poetry, both conscious and subconscious, how a book can reach us in direct and mysterious ways, revealing something we didn’t know we were carrying, and how the words we write, and the lives we lead, are shaped by the choices and influences we absorb along the way.

A gentle and affirming dialogue around the mysterious ways we find poetry and how we use it to journey with us through the ups and downs of the human experience. 

In the third episode of Before the Poem, Rebecca Tantony is joined by writer and historian Edson Burton for a conversation about influence, faith, multiculturalism, and the richness of growing up with nuance and variety. Together, they explore how these experiences can shape our relationship with belief and spirituality, and the importance of creating work that remains accessible, alive, and willing to evolve alongside us.

At the heart of this conversation is the idea that our humanity can be both a pathway to something greater and something extraordinary in its own right. Both writers talk about love and kindness as ways of showing up in relationship, and examine poetry as a space where our complexities and contradictions, the many versions of ourselves, can be explored, expressed and celebrated. Edson and Rebecca also consider the curious nature of art: how it can isolate us into our own inner worlds while simultaneously creating profound connection to another and how we create language on both the page and stage that is beyond the written word.

This is a beautiful, expansive conversation about what it means to be human, full of tenderness, curiosity and the kind of awe that can be found in the ordinary. A reminder that sometimes, through art, we find our way back to ourselves and our community in turn.

In the second episode of Before the Poem, Rebecca Tantony is joined by poet Tom Sastry for a conversation around myth-making, belonging, autonomy and what it means to inhabit the space between certainty and uncertainty. 

Together they consider the value of the middle path, and how recognising both difference and similarity can create a rich, generative place to reside. They discuss the editing process as both a solitary practice and one sustained through collaboration and they look at how journeys and the paths we walk through life echo the narrative models that shape our creative work.

The conversation moves through reflections on atheism, agnosticism, faith, and the search for essence and centre, while also examining the ways dogma, community expectations, and rigid belief systems can shape, and sometimes limit, our lives. 

Meandering, thoughtful, and full of unexpected connections, this episode celebrates nuance over certainty, inviting listeners to consider what becomes possible when we remain open to complexity, and to the space between self and other, belief and doubt.

In the first episode of Before the Poem, Rebecca Tantony is joined by poet, performer and writer Vanessa Kisuule for a conversation about ritual, creativity, and the mysterious forces that shape our work.

Together they explore the role of ritual and spontaneity in writing practice, the creative act of motherhood, and the parallels between making art and making life. They examine faith and questioning, beginnings and starting points, and the ways our deepest curiosities can lead us towards the page.

From moments of doubt to the giddy highs of writing and performing, they share reflections on what it means to feel guided by something beyond ourselves, and how we learn to trust those fleeting moments of inspiration.

A thoughtful, joyful and expansive conversation about creativity, devotion, and what comes before the poem.