Spoken Word

One of the earliest Spoken Word shows from the first year of the programme, 2009, panelled by our founder, the late Rhonda Jankovic. Santo Cazzati introduces Michael Reynolds, the convenor of the long running Passionate Tongues gig in Brunswick, tireless and selfless photographer of poets in action, and general patient nice guy of our scene. We hear poems by both of them and they talk about the scene as it was then, its gigs, its personalities, outstanding and memorable events.

Beowulf is an ancient epic poem written in Old English. Dr Felix Nobis has translated this epic and performed it theatrically. The story is one of heroes, Vikings, Danes, monsters and dragons, and also chivalry and clan. Felix is interviewed by Di Cousens.

A programme of crazy and spontaneous interaction between 3CR Spoken Word presenter Santo Cazzati and guest poet Paul Skec. Amidst the general philosophical prattle and weird noises emanating from the mouths of these two are observations on science, the Croatian language, the immigrant experience, Paul's wife Lish and their two twin children. Paul Skec is one of the ghoulish presences on Melbourne's grassroots poetry scene, always there skulking in the backround somewhere.

Susan Fealy has just released her first book of poetry, Flute of Milk. It has been ten years in the making, after her poems have been included in many journals and anthologies in Australia and the US. She has a careful and distinct style of reading her poetry, which is most appropriate to the refinement and thoughtfulness of her composition. The issues she deals with in her poetry include love, loss, gender and aesthetics. These and other issues are discussed by the poet and 3CR Spoken Word presenter Santo Cazzati.

Susan Fealy has just released her first book of poetry, Flute of Milk. It has been ten years in the making, after her poems have been included in many journals and anthologies in Australia and the US. She has a careful and distinct style of reading her poetry, which is most appropriate to the refinement and thoughtfulness of her composition. The issues she deals with in her poetry include love, loss, gender and aesthetics. These and other issues are discussed by the poet and 3CR Spoken Word presenter Santo Cazzati.

Amy Bodossian performs poetry from her new book, Wide Open, and talks about life. Amy is a cabaret artist and poet.

Ian McBryde recently released his book of poetry We The Mapless. It is a retrospective of work from many of his previous books AS WELL AS containing new poems. His imagery is very striking, very disturbing - and very brief. He has a live reading style to match, which is heard in this programme to great effect as he caresses the 3CR microphones with his distinctive vocal cords.

Laura’s first job was with the prestigious British supermarket Sainsburys. She tried to make friends with her co-workers (for she had few at school), but since most of them were into So-Solid-Crew and Arsenal she found that she had more in common with the numerous bottles of condiments and tinned non-perishables that she was stacking. From there she left her half-cockney/half-posh conservative town of Welwyn Garden City to seek music, arts and literature in the industrial city of Manchester. There she joined the Manchester University Creative Writing Society who brought out an anthology called ‘Tiny Minds’. There are not many copies of this book in circulation, but literature archaeologists believe that there is one copy in her parent’s garage, despite Mr and Mrs Fisher being unable to locate it. Laura then went on to live in Sheffield briefly and after she went Bristol for a duration, giving her an accent that is difficult to pin down and changeable depending on what mood she’s in. In Bristol she dedicated herself to a civic job unrelated to poetry where she joined a big, nation-wide team that served every member of the British public. The skills acquired in this role are appreciated on a global scale and this led Laura to the city of Melbourne. Alone and far away from home, Laura missed her many English friends. She thought particularly of the condiments and non-perishables from her long ago first job and their struggle to get from the storeroom onto the shelves. She started writing poems to tell their stories. Laura has also been inspired by nature, the universe, the perspectives of animals and the difficulties that arise when animals choose to poo in places that are inconvenient to humans. She is also working on her novel ‘Autumnal Equinox’ which combines Celtic folklore with contemporary characters struggling in a grossly unequal, class dominated society.

ani Abdile, a Somali Australian refugee, performs her poetry from her new book, I Will Rise