Spoken Word

Our Beautiful Voices is a book of poetry from current and former refugees in Australia's detention centres. The poems will be read by the prize winning poet and actor, Ezra Bix. Produced by Di Cousens.Our Beautiful Voices is poetry by people incarcerated in immigration detention. Within the detention industry people are called by numbers, not names. This poetry celebrates individual histories, stories and identity. These poems are about survival, of resistance and reclamation of self.https://www.facebook.com/events/716772718441575/?ref=1https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152763075938479&set=a.10151467330988479.1073741826.669223478&type=1

Eric Beach is one of australia’s most unusual and accessible poets. His work has been performed all over the country on trams, ferries and even at the opera house. He has sung at jazz festivals and at railway stations. He is also a playwright and community writer. He has won the NSW premier literary award and the age poetry book of the year award.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QPRMUWtBcwhttp://www.poemhunter.com/eric-beach/  Eric Beach was born in Hastings, New Zealand, in 1947. In Australia Beach quickly established himself as an energetic and somewhat eccentric figure on the poetry scene, and was heavily involved in organising poetry festivals, workshops and readings, and contributing to small magazines. He was well known for his own poetry readings, and became renowned for writing his poems on scraps of paper which he kept crumpled in his pockets.  In 1977 he was one of the founding members of the Poets Union. Besides Melbourne, he also lived in Brisbane and Adelaide, and supported his family by working on the railways.In 1989, Beach moved to Hobart, where he continued his involvement with local writers’ groups and poetry workshops. In 1996, he published his major work, Weeping for Lost Babylon. As well as garnering much favourable critical attention, the book also won the Dinny O’Hearn Poetry Prize for 1996 and was joint winner of the Kenneth Slessor Prize the same year. His poems, sometimes experimental in form, and sometime using the forms of dramatic monologue and prose poems styles, often have a political emphasis. Besides poetry, Beach has also written a number of dramatic works.Poetry CollectionsLyrics & Blues ([Wellington, NZ]: [the Author], [1968])Henry Lawson Petfoods (Sydney: Fragment Press, 1974).Saint Kilda Meets Hugo Ball (St Lucia, Qld: Makar Press, 1974).In Occupied Territory (Cammeray, NSW: Saturday Centre, 1977).A Photo of Some People in a Football Stadium: Poems (Melbourne: Overland, 1978).[with Shelton Lea], Fond Far Wells (Poowong, Vic: Clough Press, [198-]).I Want to be Normal ([Glebe, NSW]: [the Author], 1993).Weeping for Lost Babylon (Sydney: Angus and Robertson and Paper Bark Press, 1996).Red Heart My Country (Lauderdale, Tas: Pardalote Press, 2000).Suggested Further ReadingEric Beach, ‘Oral/Aural Poetry,’ Off the Page Dummy Run (1990).Geoff Page, ‘Utterly From the Heart,’ Five Bells 3.8 (1996): 9–10.Myron Lysenko, et al., ‘Eric Beach, the Man who Talks To Going Down Swinging,’ Going Down Swinging no.14 (1994): 93–113.Michael Sharkey, ‘An Interview with Eric Beach,’ Overland no.111 (1988): 64–71.Michael Sharkey, ‘Beach’s Whimsy,’ Australian Book Review no.182 (1996): 54–55.

Once again, The Rhonda Jankovic Competition for Poetry on a Social Justice Theme has been held, with 166 entries from across Australia. Kevin Brophy, well known poet and academic, was this year's judge, and the quality of the poetry was very high. In this broadcast can be heard almost all of the prizewinning entries, as well as the voice of Rhonda herself reading one of her own poems.What is social justice?Social justice relates to inequalities stemming from power relations, indifference or exploitation. It is associated with, for instance, economic conditions, political persecution, health, education, dis/ability, ethnicity, race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, and violence. Poetry Award entries may identify inequalities by observation and/or advocate solutions.  http://www.rhondajankovicliterarysociety.org/http://www.rhondajankovicliterarysociety.org/poetry-award.htmlRhonda Jankovic, an accomplished poet with publication credits in journals and several awards, was a passionate patron of emerging poets and a staunch advocate for people disadvantaged in society. After a childhood suffering abuse Rhonda was removed to an orphanage. But her new 'family' repeated the abuse, so Rhonda took to the streets of Christchurch (New Zealand) where she lived for Several years. At 18, fleeing her negative life, Rhonda scraped together a one-way fare to Sydney (Australia), bereft of further cash, accommodation or people meeting her. Witnessing Rhonda openly sobbing on the plane, a compassionate couple invited her to their home and assisted her with obtaining employment. Having left school at 14, Rhonda subsequently studies and gained entry into La Trobe University (Melbourne) where she reached postgraduate level researching Australian history. Rhonda pursued her advocacy for poets and social justice as producer/host of two Radio 3CR programs -  Spoken Word (poetry) and SUWA (focusing on issues facing homeless and similarly disadvantaged people).  She died of cancer in 2012 at the age of 49. To honour and continue her work the Rhonda Jankovic Society for Promotion of Social Justice through Literature was formed; it has posthumously published Rhonda's poetry collection Your Heartbeat in Mine and established the Rhonda Jankovic Poetry Award.About the SocietySoon after Rhonda died on 25 November 2012, a number of supporters - inspired by her laudable achievements, by the knowledge these were attained in the face of daunting hurdles, and also by her passionate commitment to both social justice and poetry - felt moved to initiate an ongoing tribute which would actively promote Rhonda's values. This led to Sponsors contributing to a Friends of Rhonda Fund, which largely paid for the production of Your Heartbeat in Mine, and also to the formation of the Rhonda Jankovic Society for Promotion of Social Justice through Literature. As of April 2013, the Rhonda Jankovic Society for Promotion of Social Justice through Literature Inc. became an incorporated association (Incorporated Registration: A0059242G).Objectives of the SocietyThe Society adopted the following objectives:Accept and manage sponsorships and donations for the purpose of promoting social justice through literature;Manage a Rhonda Jankovic Social Justice Poetry Award, the frequency of which will be determined, and;Subject to funding, contribute donations or similar supportive measures to causes in the spirit of Rhonda Jankovic's social justice philosophy.

La Mama Poetica is now curated by Amanda Anastasi, La Mama Poetica remains a night of some of the best spoken word and poetry that Melbourne has to offer, with a diverse selection of both emerging and established poets.http://lamama.com.au/2015-summer-program/la-mama-poetica-nighthttp://lamama.com.au/la-mama-programs/la-mama-poeticaPETER BAKOWSKI has been writing poetry for thirty-two years. He has published seven poetry collections: Thunder Road, Thunder Heart, In The Human Night, The Neon Hunger, The Heart at 3am, Days That We Couldn’t Rehearse, Beneath Our Armour & his most recent collection Personal Weather. His poems have appeared in over one hundred literary magaz…ines worldwide,http://bakowskipoetrynews.blogspot.com.auGEMMA WHITE has just released her first book of poetry, ‘Furniture is Disappearing’ with Interactive Press. This book was also awarded ‘Best First Book’ in IP’s Rolling Picks Awards for 2014. Gemma has also been published in The Age, Award Winning Australian Writing 2011 and Best Australian Poems 2013, among other places.http://lamama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/gemma-white.jpg http://www.theartofgemmawhite.comhttp://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word

Kabir lived 600 years ago in Varanasi, India. His poetry speaks of an inner truth, the breath inside the breath, the ocean inside the drop inside the ocean. He was revered by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs and his work is still memorised and recited all over India today. Dr Peter Friedlander of the ANU in Canberra has created a new translation of the poetry of Kabir and presents some of the poems and some of his insights into translating this unique poet mystic saint.

In today's program Ela Fornalska's guest is Jeltje. A vast array of ground is covered, including influences, the migrant experience and being a migrant poet, politics and poetry, sound poetry and Jeltje's new collection 'Princes by night'.http://islandpress.tripod.com/ISLAND.htm

George O'Hara is a poet, musician and recorder of other poets and musicians. He has produced several cds of poetry, ukulele songs and electronica over the last few years of his own and others work. He loves reading and listening to all types of music as well as creating music. He has performed with the Melbourne Ukulele Kollective and at a number of music festivals including the Australia Day Parade.This show produced by Santo Cazzati. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M3Yb1874AEhttps://www.facebook.com/events/435375449840291/The feature poet, George O'Hara plays ukulele and writes poems. Then combines the poems and ukulele playing to create... ukupoleelems. He has performed with the Melbourne Ukulele Kollective at several music festivals and also spent some time just being at several music festivals. With stories of love, loss, more love, a little bit more loss and insightful armchair political commentary George adds just the right amount of humour to spice things up a bit.

Ela Fornalska is a poet, language teacher and emerging broadcaster. She had a hiatus from the Melbourne poetry world to live and work in Germany and complete post graduate study on her return. She is now back and a brand new member of the 3CR Spoken Word team of presenters.Ela has performed her work around Melbourne, as well as being published by various literary journals, some of which include ‘mod_piece’, and the bilingual Australian/Austrian journal ‘Gangway’, where her German language poetry has been published. In March 2015, she will have a poem published in the ‘Australian Rationalist’. In the past she had a poem published in ‘Love & Fear: A Poetry Anthology’ as well as having a poem recorded on the ‘Poetry for Peace’ CD, in 2003. Ela has also performed as a feature poet at readings such as ‘Babble’, ‘The Lentil Bash’ and ‘Passionate Tongues’ among others, as well as performing her work at the Overload Poetry Festival in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, and at the ‘Montsalvat National Poetry and Song Festival’ in 2005. She has appeared on the former community television poetry program Red Lobster and has worked and performed collaboratively, including with visual artists. In the past, she also created her own zines, some of which are her ‘Word Play’ series and ‘Vitamin D Sunshine’.She is a keen haiku poet, who completed a year of haiku where she wrote a haiku for each day of an entire year in 2005. She is currently undertaking this haiku endeavor again, in 2015. Ela is also a singer and has been a member of various groups.http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A70433?mainTabTemplate=agentWorksBy

Ela Fornalska’s first guest on Spoken Word is Elizabeth ‘Lish’ Skec. Her latest collection of poetry is Breath. Today we will be in conversation with Lish about her poetic life and hear some special selections from Breath which showcase her diversity as a poet.  Facebook page for Breath: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Breath/284331441740862Amazon page for Breath: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0646919334/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_ChFDtb1Y63HW3H6Shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD8s1KwXXSI

Amy Bodossian, quirky, kinky, passionate, colourful, philosophical, spontaneous, unpredictable from one moment to the next, is captured in this studio appearance with Santo Cazzati. The most prosaic conversations between them somehow slip unobtrusively into fine art of the fringe variety. Amy reads her poems about chasing love, her childhood, chasing love, the life of an artist, chasing love, and...chasing love again.Her website is :-amybodossian.comCritically acclaimed Cabaret starlet Amy Bodossian has been captivating audiences with her uniquely irreverent and whimsical blend of song, spoken word and comedy for over ten years. She is also an actor who is represented by Australia’s leading talent agency, Profile Talent Management.Born into the culturally fertile landscape of Adelaide, South Australia – home of the true eccentric – Bodossian studied drama at Flinders Uni, majoring in the gutter and the stars. She quickly became an underground spoken word legend with her raw, poignant, and often comical style of performance poetry. In 2008 she won the SA Young Women Writers’ Award.Since moving to the cultural concrete wonderland of Melbourne in 2009 she has appeared on ABC’s Spicks and Specks, performed at the Woodford Folk Festival, the Falls Festival, The Big Day out, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Melbourne Fringe, The Adelaide Fringe, and headlined at all of Melbourne’s major poetry evenings.