Spoken Word

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 Produced & Presented by 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 Produced & Presenteb by 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. Producer & Presenter: Tina Giannoukos