The Poems We Made Along The Way

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns is joined by Toria Garbutt at the Contains Strong Language festival for the podcast’s first live episode. They talk about having friends that ground you, using pop culture in poetry, and Toria comes up with a theme tune for the lightening round.

Toria Garbutt is a poet and educator. Since bursting onto the scene in 2014,Toria has been a regular tour support for Dr John Cooper Clarke, most recently on his ‘Luckiest Guy alive tour' on which Toria performed her first European date. In 2016 Toria released her Debut album 'Hot plastic Moon’ via spoken word label Nymphs and Thugs and in 2018 her first poetry collection ‘The Universe and Me' published by Wrecking ball press.

Books and other things

Another Time In Space: https://wreckingballpress.com/product/another-time-in-space/

Hot Plastic Moon: https://www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page/liam-bates-monomaniac

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-seven-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

Hitchhiking with Drunken Nuns Ep 2 – The one where I force Garbutt to learn to sew: https://videopress.com/v/qpXHT1wb

The Verb with Toria Garbutt 2024: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0021kg1

Toria’s website: https://www.toriagarbutt.net/

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Website: www.poemswemade.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Liam Bates about how we might define friendship, popular song lyrics being published in poetry anthologies, and self-consciously informal citations. Listen on to find out more about all of that.

Liam Bates is a poet and researcher. He’s written two pamphlets Monomaniac and Working Animals, as well as his debut collection Human Townsperson all published by Broken Sleep Books.

Books and other things

Human Townsperson: https://www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page/liam-bates-human-townsperson

Monomaniac: https://www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page/liam-bates-monomaniac

Working Animals: https://www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page/liam-bates-working-animals

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-seven-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

Character Building poetry film: https://videopress.com/v/qpXHT1wb

Interview with Liam Bates: https://www.brokensleepbooks.com/post/interview-with-liam-bates

David Graeber interviewed by Charlie Rose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVDkkOAOtV0

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk     

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Ellora Sutton about the importance of physical space when building communities, how good poetry requires precarity, and the connection between grief and surrealism.

Ellora Sutton is a poet and critic. She is the poetry reviewer for Mslexia and her debut collection Little Bitch is published by VERVE Poetry Press. Her two previous pamphlets Antonyms for Burial and Artisanal Slush were also published by VERVE.

* Contact your MP to challenge changes to the EHRC: https://writetheletter.bimini.workers.dev/ *

Books and other things

Little Bitch: https://www.vervepoetrybookshop.com/product-page/little-bitch-by-ellora-sutton

antonyms for burial: https://www.vervepoetrybookshop.com/product-page/antonyms-for-burial-ellora-sutton

Artisanal Slush: https://www.vervepoetrybookshop.com/product-page/artisanal-slush-ellora-sutton

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-seven-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

Poet Interview: Ellora Sutton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrwTeE7qDdo

A conversation between Ellora Sutton and Imogen Wade: https://poetrylondon.co.uk/on-girlhood-from-hello-kitty-to-the-virgin-mary/

Phoebe Stuckes interview Ellora mentions in the episode: https://poetrysociety.org.uk/competitions/the-geoffrey-dearmer-prize/2019-2/phoebe-stuckes-interview-im-deadly-serious-when-it-comes-to-writing/

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk     

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Shannon Kuta Kelly about synaesthesia, how music influences poetry, and the process of embedding lizards.

Shannon Kuta Kelly is a poet and musician based in Belfast. She is a fellow at the Seamus Heaney Centre and her debut collection The Tree is Missing is published by Faber and Faber.

Books and other things

The Tree Is Missing: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571395576-the-tree-is-missing/

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-seven-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

Words That Burn podcast interview with Shannon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg8PuoEOxO4&t=97s

Ecolit review of The Tree Is Missing: https://ecolitbooks.com/2026/05/04/shannon-kuta-kelly-the-tree-is-missing-book-review/

Macha Press website: https://www.machapress.com/

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk     

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Shauna M. Morgan about prose vs prose poetry, indo-jamaican identity, and accountability to community.

Shauna M. Morgan is a poet, scholar, and teacher of creative writing and Africana literature at the University of Kentucky in the United States. Ground Provisions is her debut collection published by Peepal Tree Press.

Books and other things

Ground Provisions: https://www.peepaltreepress.com/books/ground-provisions

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-seven-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

Interview with Mosaic Magazine: https://mosaicmagazine.org/shauna-morgan-interview/

Prompt to Page podcast interview: https://jesspublib.org/prompt-to-page-with-shauna-m-morgan/

Kentucky Writers Roundtable: https://soundcloud.com/radiolex/kentucky-writers-roundtable-3

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk     

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Sasha Debevec-McKenney about British stand-up comedy Stewart Lee, taking a break from writing, and approaching drafting poems like a puzzle.

Sasha Debevec-McKenney’s poems have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books and The Yale Review. She was the 2020–2021 Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow at the University of  Wisconsin and is currently a creative writing fellow at Emory University. She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and lives in Madison, Wisconsin. Joy Is My Middle Name, her debut, won the 2026 Dylan Thomas Prize.

Books and other things

Joy is my Middle Name: https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/books/joy-is-my-middle-name/

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-seven-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

Sasha’s poem I Went Out to See All The Downed Trees: https://poetrysociety.org.uk/poems/i-went-out-to-see-all-the-downed-trees/

Interview with The Rumpus: https://therumpus.net/2025/12/29/in-praise-of-confessional-poetry-and-being-known-a-conversation-with-sasha-debevec-mckenney/

Interview with Lithub: https://lithub.com/poet-sasha-debevec-mckenney-on-writing-rituals-maximalism-and-how-to-surprise-an-audience/

Interview with Litro: https://www.litromagazine.com/arts-and-culture/sasha-debevec-mckenney-joy-is-my-middle-name-dylan-thomas-prize/

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk     

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Galia Admoni about how being a secondary school teacher has impacted her as a poet, writing collaborative poetry books with previous guest Wendy Allen, and The Auto-destructive art movement.

Galia Admoni is a poet, teacher and musician. She’s had numerous books published including Sad Boys Are Not My Kink published by Dunlin Press, Immediately After and then Later published by Black Cat Poetry Press, and most recently SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE PRESSED RECORD published by Strange Region. She is co-host of the Loose FM show Line Breaks alongside Anna Kibbey and Sarah O’Connor.

Books and other things

SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE PRESSED RECORD: https://www.strangeregion.com/somebody-should-have-pressed-record  

Sad Boys Are Not My Kink: https://dunlinpress.bigcartel.com/product/sad-boys-are-not-my-kink  

Art Sundays (by Galia Admoni and Wendy Allen):  https://www.salopress.com/store/art-sundays-galia-admoni-wendy-allen/

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-seven-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

Line Breaks Loose FM show: https://soundcloud.com/loosefm/line-breaks-w-anna-kibbey-1

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk     

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Daljit Nagra about keeping writing as a hobby, taking creative risks, and mentors that were important for his development as a poet.

Daljit Nagra is a poet, Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University, and radio presenter on the weekly Poetry Extra on Radio 4 Extra. He is the author of six books including Look We Have Coming to Dover!, British Museum, and most recently Yiewsley, all published by Faber and Faber.

Books and other things

Yiewsley: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571396559-yiewsley/

indiom: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571372256-indiom/

Look We Have Coming to Dover!: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571352340-look-we-have-coming-to-dover/

British Museum: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571333745-british-museum/

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-seven-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

Poetry Extra BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06qdjcn/episodes/player

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk     

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Carl Phillips about the eroticism of line breaks, developing titles of poems, and poetry as a place to explore uncertainty.

Carl Phillips is the author of seventeen books of poetry, most recently Scattered Snows, to the North (Carcanet, 2024). Then the War: And Selected Poems 2007-2020 (Carcanet, 2022) won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize. Phillips has also written three prose books, most recently My Trade Is Mystery: Seven Meditations from a Life in Writing (Yale University Press, 2022). After more than thirty years of teaching at Washington University

Books and other things

Scattered Snows to the North: https://www.carcanet.co.uk/9781800174337/scattered-snows-to-the-north/

Then the War And Selected Poems 2007-2020: https://www.carcanet.co.uk/9781800172296/then-the-war/

Wild is the Wind: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374538248/wildisthewind/

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-six-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way              

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

2017 Craft Talk Carl Phillips Palm Beach Poetry Festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uq7vBGN54w

Pulitzer-winning poet Carl Phillips on his work and the power of poetry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_g8UcovyTI

Carl Phillips talks about his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGcHbi0iDLE

The Life of a Poet: Carl Phillips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMm0FHh7ik4

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk     

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Shara McCallum about the ethics of art, the difference between subject and theme, and how we can use form as a way to bare content.

Shara McCallum is a poet and professor at Penn State University. She has written numerous books which included The Face of Water, No Ruined Stone, and most recently Behold. All published in the UK by Peepal Tree Press.

Books and other things

Behold: https://www.peepaltreepress.com/books/behold

No Ruined Stone: https://www.peepaltreepress.com/books/no-ruined-stone

Madwoman: https://www.peepaltreepress.com/books/madwoman

The Face of Water: New and Selected Poems: https://www.peepaltreepress.com/books/the-face-of-water

You can also use our affiliate link for Bookshop to find most of the books by most of the guests from the show. They are organised into lists for each series. If you use this link, we get a fraction of the money you spend: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/series-six-the-poems-we-made-along-the-way              

We’d also recommend enquiring with your local bookshops or libraries as well.

Things to read/watch/listen/etc in relationship to this interview:

Shara McCallum on Writing in Community: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42BLvgz2PDM

Shara McCallum on Her Writing Process & Finding Models: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFHDzkr5hY4

Shara McCallum reads at the 2014 Dodge Poetry Festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_5ShBVCsHc

Conversations with Writers: Shara McCallum--Poetry is Not Dead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzcIdJ-ylls

The Usual

Make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing and if you enjoyed this episode consider sharing it with a friend or anyone else you think might also like it.

Theme tune: Joe Chesterman-March who can be found here: https://joecm.co.uk     

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThePoemsWeMade

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThePoemsWeMade

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.