Talking to Tricia Dearborn was a really good reality check for a stress bunny writer like myself. We covered everything from routine to writing last lines, along with Tricia’s connection to chemistry, favourite poets like Vicki Feaver, and definitions of ecopoetry.

Tricia brings us Maggie Nelson’s poem ‘Green’ from Something Bright, Then Holes (check out Maggie’s interview on creativity here). This links up with one of Tricia’s new poems that’s about to appear in Cordite’s Confession issue. Then we get a sneak preview of ‘Hydrogen’, forthcoming in The Canberra Times.

Towards the end we chat about two more poems – Mapping the Cactus and The Quiet House – and Tricia’s ideas on feedback, writers groups, and the potential of a nice, messy draft.

R D Wood spoke to me from his vantage point in Kerala about the idea of Australia, the house of poetry, the ethics of being a writer and whether politicians can be poetic (and poets Machiavellian). 

We also talk about his poem In the Desert – its creation and the response it received – along with Ted Strehlow’s Songs of Central Australia. There’s a lot to learn about Strehlow and Indigenous Australian song poetry, but Robert’s articles on Jacket2 are a great place to start.

Finally, Robert reads a poem from Oceania and talks about his decision to share his books Land Mass and Tidal Charts online.

Reeling from the US election while in New York City, I reflect on the poems, books and poetic communities that suddenly became essential this week:

Rob Wilson’s Free Will and the Clouds received plenty of love when it came out, for good reason. Today I chat with Rob about how he comes up with his bizarre titles, why he teaches The Red Wheelbarrow to prisoners, and what he does to support his writing.

We also listen to a poem by Rob’s friend Ben Frater – To kill the Prime Minister – and hear about the dark fairytale hidden inside Rob’s poem Superman goes crazy.

Jill Jones describes herself as a ‘poet person living quietly in Adelaide‘. Today I look into her poem Back at work after the flu (from her 1993 book ‘Flagging Down Time’). What does it say about the work poets do and the way this work happens alongside an ever-present day job?