Compulsive Reader talks

Anne Casey drops by to read from and talk about her latest book Seang (Hungering). Anne talks about how the book came about including how she found her "girls" at the Newcastle Industrial School for Girls, pathway to PhD thesis, importance of the mother tongue (Gaeilge, which she speaks so beautifully), the ongoing impact of the Irish famine, the connections between Irish and First Nation experiences of imperialism, the revival of lost history through poetics and much more. Towards the end of our conversation, Anne mentioned one of her poems "A City Girl" which was written after Henry Lawson’s ‘A Bush Girl’. We didn't have time for her to read the piece but Anne kindly shared an exclusive recording of Rosie McDonald's musical version, with Rosie on guitar and vocals, Jacqueline McPhee on violin and vocals, and Cliona Molins on harp and vocals. You can watch that here: https://youtu.be/kmtd75rHiZERead Elizabeth Walton's review of Seang here: https://compulsivereader.com/2026/02/17/a-review-of-seang-hungering-by-anne-casey/Visit Anne Casey's website here: http://www.anne-casey.com/Visit Prankqueans here: https://prankqueans.com/

In this guest interview between publicist David Carriere and author Zach Taylor, Zach reads from and talks about his new book ROCKSTAR: Echoes. They talk about the genesis of the book and the broader series, the ways that Zach, a NASA Engineer, manages to squeeze in writing time (even amidst the Artemis II launch), his inspiration for ROCKSTAR : Echoes, it’s ‘book-within-a-book’ format, his character voices, the book's themes, the struggles of women in the rock world, the influence of grunge music, the process of publishing a book and what it has been like for him, the impact of new media, asymmetrical warfare in music and how he's used that in the book, what’s coming in the series in general and a preview of the next book Mirrors, and lots more. Find out more about ROCKSTAR here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Rockstar-Echoes-Zach-Taylor/dp/B0G2PM5WQP/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0David Carriere has been a book publicist for almost four decades and is the author of PUBLICITY: 7 STEPS TO PUBLICIZE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. Find out more about David Carriere here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-carriere-10b1445/Find out more about Zach at his Instagram site: https://www.instagram.com/zachtaylorbooks/

The author of A Blink of Time's Eye reads from and talks about his most recent poetry book. We discuss how the book came together as a collection, the book's key themes like time, death, trauma, healing and the human condition, conversations between poems, readers, and selves, parenting, entropy, love, personal growth and gratitude. Find a copy of the book here: https://www.5islandspress.com/product-page/a-blink-of-times-eye

The author of The Victoria Principle joins us to read from and talk about his latest book. We talk about such things what drew him to fiction and why it gives him the "ick", the nature of genre and storytelling, collage, memoir, the real and the counterfeit, trickery, humour and lots more. You can get a copy of the book here: https://giramondopublishing.com/books/michael-farrell-the-victoria-principle/

Judith Nangala Crispín reads from and talks about her stunning new book The Dingo's Noctuary. Purchase a copy of the book here: https://puncherandwattmann.com/product/the-dingos-noctuary/Find out more about Judith here: https://judithcrispin.com/Find out more about the book’s publisher, David Musgrave, who Judith mentions in the conversation: https://davidmusgrave.com/Read my review of The Dingo's Noctuary here: https://compulsivereader.com/2025/11/18/a-review-of-the-dingos-noctuary-by-judith-nangala-crispin/

The author of Through the Trapdoor reads from and talks about her new short story collection. We cover such things as how the collection came together, the interconnectivity of the stories, the title and the many trapdoors in the book, some of the key themes especially migration, memory, transformation, and the epiphany. We also discuss the publication process, the book's illustrations, the short story form, and lots more. Through the Trapdoor is now available at Paperchain Bookstore: https://paperchainbookstore.com.au/book/through-the-trapdoor.do and will soon be available at Harry Hartog ANU (Canberra) and Harry Hartog Miranda (Sydney), and the National Library of Australia Bookshop.

Angela Costi joins us to read from and talk about her latest poetry book The Heart of the Advocate. We talk about many things including how the book came together, the hybrid nature of the book, the nexus between poetry and law, her use of language, point and counterpoint or strophe and antistrophe, layers of ekphrasis - including the book The Art of the Advocate by Richard Du Cann, her use of Greek Mythology, Philoxena or the love of strangers, and much more. Purchase the book here: https://liquidamberpress.com.au/product/the-heart-of-the-advocate/Find out more about Angela here: https://www.instagram.com/angelacostipoetics/A few of Angela's references:Jordie Albiston: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordie_AlbistonAlison Whittaker's Blak Work: https://www.magabala.com/products/blakworkMartin Espada: http://www.martinespada.net/Yiannis Ritsos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiannis_Ritsos

Bob Rich joins us to read from and talk about his new book, The Hole in Your Life: Grief and Bereavement. He talks about the narrative of the book which is a combination of personal and clinical experience, about the 7 magic bullets which underpin the book, about why he defines himself as everyone's grandfather and the nature of empathy, about the mess we're in and why, about universal love, his newsletter Bobbing Around, now in its 14th year, and lots more. Get a copy of The Hole in Your Life on the relevant Amazon site.

Katia Ariel reads from and talks about her new book Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch. We talk about her unique way of engaging with her subject, about creating biographies that are respectful, open, and true, about Ephraim's role in the community and the way in which Ariel universalises it, about ancestry and inheritance, grief, death and love, and lots more. Find out more about Katia Ariel and her books at: http://arielediting.com.au/Ferryman book page at the publisher's site: https://www.wilddingopress.com.au/shop/p/9781925893861

Ashley Kalagian Blunt joins us again to read from and talk about her book Cold Truth. We talk about such things as the Winnipeg climate which is such a feature in the book, along with other aspects of the city and fun facts, the relationships between characters, about becoming the cyber crime/tech noir queen, the optioning of her previous book Dark Web , the new book out very soon, Like, Follow, Die!, narrated by Claudia Karvan, and lots more including some of her upcoming events. Find out more about Ashley at her website: https://www.ashleykalagianblunt.com/Grab hold of Cold Truth: https://www.ashleykalagianblunt.com/cold-truthFind Like, Follow, Die!: https://www.ashleykalagianblunt.com/like-follow-die

Paris Rosemont reads from and talks about her new poetry book Barefoot Poetess . We cover such topics as how and why she began writing, the notion of poetic 'play', the balance between confession and performance, the joy of theatre and its relationship to poetry, her work-in-progress, and lots more. Find out more about Paris her website: https://www.parisrosemont.com/Buy a copy of Barefoot Poetess: https://www.westwords.com.au/product/barefoot-poetess/

Terri-ann White, founder of Upswell Publishing, reads from and talks about her own book Finding Theodore and Brina. We talk about how the book came about, how her relationship with the book and its characters have changed over time, notions of memoir, memory, writing place, on what can and can't be known, the power of stories, reclamation, The Swan River, time, and lots more. To obtain a copy of Finding Theodore and Brina visit: https://upswellpublishing.com/product/finding-theodore-and-brinaVisit Upswell: https://upswellpublishing.com/

In this episode, Phillis Levin, the author of six poetry collections, offers an in-depth look at her newest book, An Anthology of Rain, published by Barrow Street Press. A “poet’s poet,” Levin discusses her career, including her previous works such as Mr. Memory & Other Poems (Penguin) and her accolades, which include the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award, a Fulbright Scholar Award, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Phillis shares her creative process, her inspirations drawn from her childhood, and her experiences traveling around the world, including her time spent in Slovenia and Japan. She also reflects on the significance of poetry in different cultures and offers insights on the importance of “cleaning the palate” in her writing routine. The episode concludes with Phillis’s reading of the title poem, “An Anthology of Rain,” providing a glimpse into her intricate and profound poetic voice.About Phillis LevinPhillis Levin is the author of An Anthology of Rain (Barrow Street Press, 2025), her sixth collection, available in paperback and e-book. Phillis Levin is a singular poet known for her lyricism. Her fifth collection, Mr. Memory & Other Poems (Penguin), was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and received a starred review from Library Journal, which also named the book one of its Top Picks of the Year in Poetry. Phillis is also the editor of The Penguin Book of the Sonnet and the recipient of several prizes, including the Poetry Society of America's Norma Farber First Book Award for Temples and Fields (University of Georgia Press). A Guggenheim Fellow, Phillis has also received a Fulbright Scholar Award and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.Website: https://phillislevin.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/phillis-levin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillislevinpoet/ Amazon: https://a.co/d/2GDrKkv About Christi CassidyChristi Cassidy is the host of Moving Along (https://movingalongpodcast.com), a podcast about travel, relocation and life transitions. She has worked in book publishing as a publicist, licensing director and freelance editor (https://editmaven.com) for 35+ years. She has an M.F.A. in poetry from Columbia University. She lives in the Hudson Valley just north of New York City. 

Andrea Goldsmith reads from and talks about her. new novel The Buried Life. We talk about the delicate dance between death and life in the book, about the characters and their arcs, the importance of friendship, Mahler, cheese, rapture, and lots more. Find more about Andrea's work at: http://andreagoldsmith.com.auGrab a copy of the book at: https://transitlounge.com.au/shop/the-buried-life/Compulsive Reader review: https://compulsivereader.com/2025/02/19/a-review-of-the-buried-life-by-andrea-goldsmith/

Dr Karen Pearlman, director of the new film Breaking Plates, talks about the making of her latest film, the inventive ways she engages with Cinemas First Nasty women archive, her use of dance, song, visual collage, slapstick, splicing, intertextually , feminist theory, humour, her excellent actors, on working with her talented family team, and lots more. More on Breaking Plates: http://physicaltv.com.au/breaking-plates/ Physical TV’s many projects http://physicaltv.com.au Cinema’s First Nasty Women Archive https://wfpp.columbia.edu/cinemas-first-nasty-women/ Breaking Plates will have its Australian Premiere on Saturday February 8, 2025, 1pm, at Dendy Cinemas Newtown, on the shorts program of the Antenna Documentary Film Festival. Info/Tix: https://tinyurl.com/BP-Antenna

Damen O'Brien reads from and talks about his latest poetry book Walking the Boundary. We talk about such things as the way the book came together as a collection, the joy (and horror) of wriggling creatures, inheritance, apocalypse, humour, and lots more. Find out more about Damen at his website: https://www.dameno.org/ Buy a copy of Walking the Boundary at: https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/walking-the-boundary/

PS Cottier and NG Hartland, authors of The Thirty-one Legs of Vladimir Putin, read from and talk about their new book, which won the Finlay Lloyd 20/40 publishing prize for fiction. We talk about some of the key themes in the book like identity, semblance, what's real and what isn't, the book's prescience in dealing with power dynamics and image, their writing process, characters, works-in-progress, and lots more. More information on The Thirty-One Legs of Vladimir Putin can be found here: https://finlaylloyd.com/product/the-thirty-one-legs-of-vladimir-putin-ps-cottier-ng-hartland/ PS Cottier's website: https://pscottier.com/

John Kinsella reads from and talks about his new short story collection Beam of Light. We talk about the use of furniture in this book, the connective themes, its malevolent undercurrent, the importance and beauty of a sentient landscape, his characters and their struggles against the colonial mindset, what poetry and fiction can do and why he might choose one form or another, and lots more. For more on John and his extensive body of work, visit: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kinsella_(poet)⁠ For more on Beam of Light visit: ⁠https://transitlounge.com.au/shop/beam-of-light-stories/

This was a special zoom session of poetry to mark the 10th anniversary of Girls on Key featuring Sophia Wilson, Mikaela Nyman, Kiri Piahana-Wong, Patricia Sykes, Nancy Holland-Shroder, and open mic readings from Anna Forsyth (GoK founder), Lou Steer, and Magdalena Ball (host) Video link: https://www.facebook.com/830439988/videos/1307289250655911/ Girls on Key: https://girlsonkey.wixsite.com/.../copy-of-girls-on-key... Sophia Wilson: https://sophiakwilson.wordpress.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluetree_poet/ Sea Skins: https://flyingislandspocketpoets.com.au/?s=Sophia%20wilson Mikaela Nyman: https://www.otago.ac.nz/.../otago.../robert-burns-fellowship https://www.read-nz.org/writers-files/writer/nyman-mikaela Kiri Piahana-Wong: https://www.anahera.co.nz/books/tidelines Patricia Sykes: https://www.spinifexpress.com.au/patriciasykes Nancy Holland-Schroder: https://www.instagram.com/nancylouiseholland/?hl=enhttps://www.aucklandacademyofdance.co.nz Lou Steer: https://www.facebook.com/lousteerartist/

Sarah Temporal is a prize-winning poet, producer, and educator who runs the well-respected regional arts initiative Poets Out Loud. She joins us to read from and talk about her debut book Tight Bindings. Visit Sarah’s website at: https://sarahtemporal.com/ Watch videos of Sarah performing and order Tight Bindings: https://puncherandwattmann.com/product/tight-bindings/ Damien Becker’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seasaltskin?igsh=MWVqNDFkYzR0M3J1MA==

Patti Miller joins us to read from and talk about her book Writing True Stories which has just been extensively updated and extended. She talks about what has changed in the 30+ years since she started teaching Life Writing, the impact of technology, her best tip, her own work in progress, and lots more. Find out more about Patti and Writing True Stories at her website: https://lifestories.com.au Find a copy of Writing True Stories here: https://www.routledge.com/Writing-True-Stories-The-Complete-Guide-to-Memoir-Creative-Non-Fiction-Personal-Essay-Diaries-Biography-and-Travel/Miller/p/book/9781032765631

Julia Levitina reads from and talks about her new book The Girl From Moscow including such things as how the book came about, why fiction, how the book follows her own departure from the Soviet Union, the importance of 1983 as her setting, inherited trauma and her protagonists, antisemitism, the theatre, her work-in-progress and lots more. Find out more about Julia at her website here: https://www.julialevitinaauthor.com/

Omar Musa joins us to perform from and talk about his new album The Fullness. We talk about collaboration and his amazing collaborators, pushing into liminal spaces of multiple identities, leaning into grief and joy ("our lives given shape by shadows"), ego deflation, how some of the songs on The Fullness were created, the percussiveness of rap and its conjunction with poetry, the alchemical process of art, the dissolving of borders between artforms and nationalities, the resonance of the mother tongue, poetry as a language of feeling, the value of working on multiple projects at once, and lots more.  Listen to The Fullness: https://open.spotify.com/album/4KTsmsM6AlcoZbno4rlpax?si=91db8a8708684c52 Omar's website: https://www.omarmusa.com.au/

Kent MacCarter joins us to read from and talk about his new poetry book Fat Chance. We talk about Kent's process, about having written the "feel bad book of the year”, his journalistic process, the nature of Gossypiboma (retained medical objects), memoir, reverse ekphrasis, and lots more. For more information or to purchase a copy of Fat Chance visit: https://upswellpublishing.com/product/fat-chance Kent will be a guest at this year's Brisbane Writers Festival. For details about his two events, visit: https://bwf.org.au/2024/brisbane-writers-festival/artists/kent-maccarter

Robbie Coburn reads from and talks about his new book Ghost Poetry. Topics covered include the many ghosts that haunt the pages of the book, dreams and nightmares, the relationship between horses and people, subject and object, the subconscious, confessional poetry and the creative act/the artifice, horses, gothic country as a genre, and lots more. Where to buy the book: Upswell - Ghost Poetry (upswellpublishing.com) Robbie's website: Robbie Coburn

The author of Kin: Family in the 21st Century reads from and talks about her new book, about the many permeations of family both nuclear and otherwise, about the book's origins, some of her key themes and challenges including such things as donor privacy versus the rights of a child to know their origins, helping people start families vs the commodification of reproduction, future tech and the risk of Eugenics, and lots more. Find out more about Marina and Kin at: Marina Kamenev Marina's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamenevwrites

Award winning author Eugen Bacon reads from and talks about her latest book Serengotti. We discuss such things as the books themes including notions of privilege, racism, misogyny and the multiplicity of the self, the book's unique narrative voice, the protagonist Ch'anzu and other characters, on working through and beyond binaries and genres, on world and app creation, and much more. Find out more about Eugen at: https://eugenbacon.com Grab a copy of Serengotti at: Serengotti | Transit Lounge

Valerie Werder reads from and talks about her award-winning debut novel Thieves. In this wide-ranging interview we talk about such things as representation, semantics, spirituality, thievery and its many iterations, cognitive dissonance, the changing subjectivity and tenses, the art and cosmetic industries, connection and lots more. Find out more about Valerie Werder at her website: Valerie Werder | Thieves Get a copy of Thieves direct from the publisher here: Thieves: A Novel by Valerie Werder (fenceportal.org)

Beatriz Copello, author of No Salami Fairy Bread drops by to read from and talk about her newest poetry book. We talk about such things as the linguistic quality of the book, its structure, overall themes including migration, memoir, feminism, coming-of-age, the use of humour, why she chose verse, her new fantasy work-in-progress, and lots more. The book can be purchased here: https://www.ginninderrapress.com.au/store.php?product/page/2905/Beatriz+Copello+%2F+No+Salami+Fairy+Bread

Award winning filmmaker Samuel Lucas Allen talks about their new short film CUT. We talk about how the film came together as a project, the extraordinary cinematography, on working with their father, Richard James Allen (who has been on the show several times to talk about his own work), and the father-son relationship in general, Judaism, guilt, toxic masculinity, the acting team (including a well-behaved chicken), the film score by composer Sam Weiss, what's exciting them right now and lots more. Samuel's website: https://www.samuellucasallen.com/ Sydney premiere of CUT at JIFF: https://www.jiff.com.au/films/2023-shorts# Stills (including the one we talked about at the Sydney Jewish Museum) and other worldwide showings of CUT: http://physicaltv.com.au/cut-2023/

Esther Ottaway talks about and reads from her new book She Doesn't Seem Autistic. Through a number of poems, Esther talks about many of the key themes, rhythms, structures and concepts in the book, including masking, humour, her use of animals, on reclaiming clinical labels, the relationship between art and advocacy, and lots more. Find out more about Esther at: Home | Esther Ottaway, Poet (jimdosite.com) Purchase a copy of She Doesn't Seem Autistic: She Doesn't Seem Autistic - Puncher & Wattmann (puncherandwattmann.com)

Richard James Allen joins me to read from and talk about his latest book Text Messages from the Universe. We talk about many things including the book's deeply spiritual themes, its links with The Tibetan book of the Dead, the unique format of the book and how it relates to its matching film, what's exciting him at the moment, and lots more. Video version can be seen here: https://youtu.be/0lKl8XXydfs You can get hold of Text Messages from the Universe (at its ridiculously low price of $10) from: https://flyingislandspocketpoets.com.au/product/text-messages-from-the-universe-by-richard-james-allen/ For more about the film Text Messages from the Universe (available for screenings and readings, email [email protected]) visit: http://physicaltv.com.au/text-messages-from-the-universe/ For more about Breaking Plates (film in post production by Karen Pearlman: tax deductible donations gratefully received via Documentary Australia): https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/breaking-plates/ For more about CUT (film by Samuel Lucas Allen: coming soon) visit: http://physicaltv.com.au/cut-2023/ For the full suite of Richard's many projects, visit his website The Physical TV Company: http://physicaltv.com.au/

Soil scientist Alisa Bryce reads from and talks about her book Grounded. In this conversation we cover such things as how the book came about, Alisa's deep love of soil and both how important it is to all aspects of our lives, but also how fun and interesting it is, the importance of broad-reaching science communication and its relationship to academia, soil and the microbiome, why we have only mapped 2% of the underground world, on the comfort of how “the human story in the soil ends about 5-19 metres down”, the many chapters that might make it into her next book, her inspiration, and lots more. Find more about Grounded and Alisa at: alisabryce.com.au The Digsloo (fantastic children's poem/story by Alisa, referenced in our conversation): https://thedigsloo.com/ Mary Roach (major influence referenced in our conversation): https://www.maryroach.net/

Alan Fyfe joins us to read from and talk about his latest novel T, which shortlisted for the T.A.G Hungerford Prize (Australia) and the Chaffinch Press Aware Prize (Ireland), and was recently was shortlisted in The WA Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer.  Alan also reads from and discusses his debut collection, G-d, Sleep, and Chaos, forthcoming from Gazebo Books in 2024. Find out more about Alan and his work at Alan's website: https://alanfyfe.com Purchase a copy of T: https://alanfyfe.com/purchase-t-a-novel Contact Alan (as per his request!): https://alanfyfe.com/contact

Ashley Kalagian Blunt joins us to read from and talk about her new thriller Dark Mode. We talk about such things as her research, the Dark Web, her protagonist Reagan Carson, her fabulous plant store setting Voodoo Lily and dark flowers, what she's reading now, her work-in-progress (hint it's another thriller), and lots more.  Ashley's website: ⁠https://www.ashleykalagianblunt.com/⁠ Click here for more information on Dark Mode, the free book club pack, or to take Ashley up on her offer to come talk to your club:  ⁠https://www.ashleykalagianblunt.com/dark-mode⁠ James and Ashley Stay at Home podcast: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/james-and-ashley-stay-at-home/id1514919350⁠

In this wide-reading and humorous interview, Irish poet, academic and journalist Oisín Breen reads from and talks about his new poetry book Lilies on the Deathbed of Étaín & Other Poems with Simon Whitby Brown.  Find out more about Oisin here: https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/oisin_breen By a copy of Lilies on the Deathbed of Étaín & Other Poems here: https://beirbuapress.com/2023/01/01/lilies-on-the-deathbed-of-etain-and-other-poems-by-oisin-breen/ Find out more about Simon Whitby Brown and his famous moustache here: https://twitter.com/lordhandlebar?lang=en

Meera Atkinson reads from her book Traumata and talks about her work, the ongoing relevance of Traumata, the difficulty and the necessity of the hybrid form,  on language, blood, the patriarchy, beauty and its commodification, the power of engagement with the past - personally and collectively, literature, poetry and much more. Find out more about Meera and her work at her website: https://www.meeraatkinson.com Two recent publications of Meera's: http://cordite.org.au/scholarly/writing-threat-and-trauma/?fbclid=IwAR0_Jw8QBcYTnoamuqiNNUt5_E2XTb58_Ontnasx4kGspZasq81mAF4ZR6w https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-reclaiming-artist-musician-anita-lane-from-the-despised-label-of-muse-188815

One of the two editors of Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine reads from and talks about her new anthology.  Kateryna Kazimirova talks about the project and how it came together, how she chose the 27 authors, the importance of art in wartime, the many styles of the work, on translation and collaboration, her project Craft Magazine, and lots more.  Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine is published by 8th and Atlas Publishing and can be purchased here: https://www.8thandatlaspublishing.com/product-page/voices-of-freedom-contemporary-writing-from-ukraine Editors: Kateryna Kazimirova and Daryna Anastasieva Craft Magazine: https://craftmagazine.net

Poet, performer, emeritus professor, and new media artist Hazel Smith reads from and talks about her new book Ecliptical. We talk about metapoetry, multimedia, humour, eclipses, emphasis, John Ashbery and Frank O'Hara, and lots more.    Visit Hazel's website here: http://www.australysis.com/hsmith.htm My review of Ecliptical here: https://compulsivereader.com/2022/10/31/a-review-of-ecliptical-by-hazel-smith/ To purchase a copy of Ecliptical in both hard copy and digital visit: https://shortaustralianstories.com.au/product/ecliptical/ We spoke about the multimedia piece "The Lips Are Different" which can be viewed and read about here: https://thedigitalreview.com/issue00/lips-are-different/begin.html For more of Hazel's multimedia work visit: http://www.australysis.com

Sara Kidd joins me to talk about her new cookbook The Vegan Cake Bible. We cover such things as how Sara became the vegan cake queen, why she's drawn to cake, the extensive process she went through to create a cookbook including doing all of her own photography, how she chose which cakes to include, her favourite cake (hint - see links below), her 'holy grail' cake she wants to veganise, on collaboration, her feelings about the future of veganism and the planet, on coming to terms with sugar, her vintage style, on living sustainably, and lots more.  Sara's website: https://sarakidd.com Sara's cooking class Patreon which we discuss: https://www.patreon.com/join/sarakidd/checkout?rid=3463991&&ru=undefined Sara's favourite cake (Swedish Princess Cake): https://youtu.be/q6vj5a_wBmE

Bastian Fox Phelan reads from and talks about their new memoir How to Be Between. We talk about such things as speaking about the self with all of its multitudes, finding a voice, gender norms, facial hair, their nature writing, motherhood, what's next and much more.  Find out more at Bastian's website: https://www.bastianfoxphelan.com/#

Beth Spencer talks about and reads from her new book The Age of Fibs.  Beth talks about how the book came come together, about the transformation of her work through proximity, on the incorporation of popular culture, the relationship between artefact, memory, memoir and fiction, the way identity is a construct, on trauma and hope, and lots more.    Visit Beth at her website: https://bethspencer.com Watch the video interview: https://youtu.be/Fr2_TD8VX6w Age of Fibs page: https://bethspencer.com/blog/books/the-age-of-fibs/

Michelle Cahill, author of Daisy & Woolf, joins me at Woollahra Gallery to read from and talk about her new book, writing through Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, the burden of the canon, giving a voice to marginalised characters, literary decolonisation, the complex relationship between real life and fiction, intertextuality, the conjunction of place against time, and lots more.  Visit Michelle's website: https://michellecahill.com 2016 Interview with Michelle on Letter to Pessoa: https://anchor.fm/compulsivereader/episodes/Interview-with-Michelle-Cahill-on-Letter-to-Pessoa-e2s73u

Lorna Munro or Yilinhi is a Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman, multidisciplinary artist, poet, performer, radio and podcast host. She joins me today in the lead-up to the Sydney Writers' Festival to read some of her poems and talk about her work, her collaborations with Ancestress and Eric Avery as Poetribe, the power of spoken word, speaking language, decolonialisation in art, Yala Gari, the poet-in-residence program she created with Red Room for students, pushing boundaries, her new Red Room collaboration Fair Trade with January Rogers, and lots more.  The Sydney Writers Festival session is on May 21st from 2-3pm at Carriageworks Track 8 - details here: https://www.swf.org.au/festivals/festival-2022/how-to-write-a-river-a-sky-a-seed/ You can hear tracks from Poetribe here: https://soundcloud.com/poetribe At the same Soundcloud link first song on the Sovereign Trax March is Yilinhi's collaboration with Ancestress "Speak the Truth" More about Eric Avery: https://ericavery.com.au More about Red Room's Fair Trade: https://redroompoetry.org/projects/fair-trade/ More about January Rogers at Twitter: https://twitter.com/janetmarieroger Video version of this session: https://youtu.be/GMINfk4xS28

Kristina Darling interviews Nick Courtright about his new book The Proofs, the Figures: Walt Whitman and the Meaning of Poems. In “Song of Myself,” Walt Whitman wryly remarks about one’s being “proud to get at the meaning of poems,” a comment highlighting the long-fraught problem of poetic interpretation and the pride-worthy intellectual labor required to elucidate the meaning of a text. Using Whitman’s own “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” an eight-line poem published in 1865, as its case study, The Proofs, the Figures: Walt Whitman and the Meaning of Poems  investigates the chief methods available to readers when they embark on literary meaning-making, while also highlighting the challenges innate to such a task. With examples ranging from the critical and scholarly to the popular-cultural and survey-based, investigating interpretive prospects for “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” confirms that “to get at the meaning of poems” is a project of infinite opportunity both rewarded by and afflicted with the impossibility of absolute comprehension. By employing an array of formal, historical, mediational, and psychological techniques, Dr. Courtright confronts the lasting question of “what counts” or is relevant as evidence for an interpretation, while casting a wide net for the resources and methodologies that can be brought to bear not just on this single text or author, but on all texts and for all authors. Dr. Courtright’s book has already earned strong praise for its engaging prose and thought-provoking analysis.  Dr. Matt Cohen, Co-Director of the Walt Whitman Archive and author of The New Walt Whitman Studies (Cambridge UP), says, "The Proofs, the Figures has all of Nick Courtright's usual hallmarks: humor, trenchant readings, sustained skepticism, and a tactical leveraging of critical voices both old and new."   Similarly, Dr. Chad Bennett, author of Word of Mouth: Gossip and American Poetry  (Johns Hopkins UP) and Your New Feeling is the Artifact of a Bygone Era  (Sarabande), praises Courtright as a critic and thinker: "I appreciate, as always, Nick Courtright's lively and accessible writing, engagement with audience, and the ambition of this project. I'm impressed by how much ground he covers." A scholar-practitioner, Dr Courtright is also the author of The Forgotten World, Let There Be Light, and Punchline, a National Poetry Series finalist.  He is the Executive Editor of Atmosphere Press. His poetry has appeared in The Harvard Review, Kenyon Review, Boston Review, The Iowa Review, AGNI, Gulf Coast, and The Southern Review, among dozens of others, and essays and other prose have been published by such places as The Huffington Post, The Best American Poetry, Gothamist, and SPIN Magazine. With a Doctorate in Literature from the University of Texas, he lives in Austin with the poet Lisa Mottolo and their children, William and Samuel.  Find out more about Nick Courtright at: https://nickcourtright.com Kristina Marie Darling is a poet, essayist, and critic. She holds a doctorate from the Poetics Program at S.U.N.Y.-Buffalo, as well as an M.F.A. from New York University.  Find out more about Kristina Marie Darling at: https://kristinamariedarling.com

Jessica Au’s first novel, Cargo, was published by Picador in 2011 and was highly commended in the Kathleen Mitchell Award for a writer under 30. She is the former deputy editor of Meanjin, and is currently an associate editor at Aeon. Her new book Cold Enough for Snow won the inaugural Novel Prize and was published by Giramondo, New Directions and Fitzcarraldo Editions in February 2022, and translated into fifteen languages. She joined us today to read from and talk about Cold Enough for Snow. During the interview we talked about such things as the way she conveys interiority, about the mother-daughter relationship in her book and the philosophic tension between the way they see the world combined with the tenderness that exists between them, on elegy, perception, ekphrasis, memory, migration and many other key themes that this beautiful book encompasses.   Cold Enough for Snow (and more information about the book) can be found here: https://giramondopublishing.com/jessica-au-a-note-on-cold-enough-for-snow/ Jessica's website: https://www.jessicaau.com Compulsive Reader's review of Cold Enough for Snow: http://www.compulsivereader.com/2022/02/21/a-review-of-cold-enough-for-snow-by-jessica-au/

Charles Freyberg reads from and talks about his latest book of poetry The Crumbling Mansion and chats with me about performance and the power of memorisation, bringing characters to life, Kings Cross and its importance in his work, on nostalgia and ecological loss, on breaking binaries, his new work-in-progress and much more.  You can find some excerpts from Charles' latest show in the links below: Trickster Spirits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIrN39Voqfk Vanessa Up the rickety darkened stairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djopxXq434w

KA Rees is a writer of poetry and short fiction. She has been published by Margaret River Press, Cordite, Australian Poetry, Overland, Review of Australian Fiction, Spineless Wonders and Yalobusha Review, among others. She received a Varuna fellowship for her manuscript of short stories, she was shortlisted for the 2016 Judith Wright Poetry Award, was the recipient of the 2017 Barry Hannah Prize in Fiction and runner-up in the 2018 Peter Cowan Short Story Award, and the national winner of the 2019 joanne burns Microlit Award. Her debut poetry collection, Come the Bones was published late last year as a Flying Island Pocket Book, and is the subject of today’s conversation.  KA reads a number of poems in the collection and talks about how the book came together as a collection, the relationship between the individual poems and the book, her current Sydney Observatory residency and much more.   Find out more about KA Rees and connect with her (and message her to get an autographed copy of Come the Bones!) at Twitter: https://twitter.com/perniciouskate and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kateamber01/?hl=en

On its one-year anniversary, we've re-aired, with permission, James Bradley's wonderful conversation with Beth Spencer from Climactic's ArtBreaker.  James and Beth Spencer spoke about James' new book Clade, about climate fiction, and about the imperative for art and the conversation is even more relevant today and deserves a replay.  Original publication is here: https://www.climactic.fm/show/art-breaker/james-bradley-author-of-clade-on-climate-fiction/ And do please check out the Climactic network - they do terrific work. Artbreaker's main page is here: https://www.climactic.fm/show/art-breaker/ James Bradley's website is: https://cityoftongues.com Beth Spencer's website is: http://bethspencer.com/blog/

Beth Spencer in conversation with Kit Kelen about his creative practice as poet, artist, publisher, collaborator, academic, mentor, musician and blogger. Kit reads selections from some of his many books intercut with original guitar tracks. They discuss Holden cars, bushfires, coal-addiction, and the role of place in his work -- as a writer who uses a lot of Australian idiom, colloquialisms and reference to landscape in his poetry, and who has also been widely translated. The process and benefits of translation, the role of habits and doodling, the disruptive power of humour in creative and political practice, and the importance of community and friendship. Links: The Daily Kit blog - www.thedailykitkelen.blogspot.com www.kitkelen.com - art and writing Originally premiered on Climactic's Artbreaker: https://www.climactic.fm/show/art-breaker/beth-spencer-on-artbreaker-kit-kelen-on-creativity-habit-and-disruption/ (republished with permission)