Épisodes

  • Shakespeare, Macbeth: The Scottish Play

    Shakespeare, Macbeth: The Scottish Play
    Dec 5 2025

    The Scottish Play

    In our final episode for 2025, and a double episode into the bargain, we discuss the work of probably the most highly acknowledged poet in the Western tradition – William Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, predominantly in iambic pentameter, as well many sonnets and other verse. His effect on literature, and culture in general is huge.

    We have elected to focus on his verse in one play, Macbeth, often regarded as ‘unlucky’ by performers but a source of great poetic riches, both concise in language and expansive in themes. We hope you will enjoy this episode, which is much longer than most of our pods but seems a necessary indulgence when dealing with ‘the bard.’

    Verse discussed in this episode:

    Macbeth | Act 1, Scene 1

    Macbeth | Act 1, Scene 3 (“Two truths are told” – “But what is not”. )

    Macbeth | Act 1, Scene 5 (“The raven himself is hoarse” – to cry “Hold, Hold!”)

    Macbeth | Act 1, Scene 7 (“If it were done” – “And falls on th’ other –“)

    Macbeth | Act 1, Scene 7 (“What beast was then” – ‘Have done to this”)

    Macbeth | Act 5, Scene 1 (“Out, damned spot” – “To bed, to bed, to bed!”.)

    Macbeth | Act 5, Scene 3 (“I have lived long enough” – “and dare not.”)

    Macbeth | Act 5, Scene 5 (“She should have died” – “Signifying nothing”.)

    William Shakespeare – Macbeth Act 5 Scene 8 (Final Scene) | Genius – (‘I will not yield” – “Hold enough”.)

    Announcements:

    We wish everyone season’s greeting and will see you again in March 2026. The Louis Joel Summer Program is packed with great activities and can be accessed via this link - Louis Joel Arts & Community

    Credits:

    Hosts: Peter Roberts, Colleen Murphy & Lesley Lamb

    Original music composed by Andrew Gilpin and Sam Price.

    Editor: Colleen Murphy
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    1 h et 21 min
  • The Kindness of Water-Helen Jarvis

    The Kindness of Water-Helen Jarvis
    Oct 28 2025
    The Kindness of Water – Helen Jarvis In our twelfth episode we discuss the work of one of our very talented local poets, Helen Jarvis, who has just released her first collection, The Kindness of Water, published by 5islands Press. Helen grew up in England and now lives in Melbourne/Naarm, where she teaches English. Her poetry has won many awards and has been published in journals and anthologies. Poems discussed in this episode: Compositor My father was a hand compositor. He filled each frame with characters in heavy metal fonts, from left to right, with the nick upwards, gauging the gaps between the words, ens and ems of white space to fit the forme. He loved the old serif fonts, born of prototypes hand chiseled with precision. He scorned their digital ghosts, that flex and shift to fit a screen, approximations that bear clean sharp lines, not the jag & blur of fresh ink. When I write, I am bound by the metallic tang and heft of hand-forged galleys, framed by his eye for cool white space, the hot metal in my veins an unholy alloy of Thames clay and the silt of the Yarra. And whether you hear my voice clothed in the centuries of grace that is Garamond or in the jaunty flapper rhythms of Eric Gill, you’ll glimpse the imprint of my father’s hands— their dance within the margins— that lends form to the body of my words. The poem ‘Washing my Mother’s Hair’ or ‘I Wash My Mother’s Hair’ is available on Island magazine’s website: https://islandmag.com/read/washing-my-mothers-hair-by-helen-jarvis Restless In my mother’s country, I trace the fleeting shades of childhood. Throats gulp plosives, pitched too high; I wonder how I’d sound if I had stayed. Out on the estuary, sanderlings serenade the wind, skim the goose-tide that wanes and sighs in my mother’s country, tracing fleeting shades through spiral casts of lug-worms, silt and clay. The streets flow polyester. Walking them, a spy, I wonder how I’d sound, if I had stayed. The lovely buildings crack with rain, decayed; department stores now reek of vapes and fries. In my mother’s country, I trace fleeting shades. My mother’s mind runs restless as the waves. Mired in unyielding time, the days slip by. I wonder how we’d sound, if I should stay. Down in the eel-grass, stints and dunlins wade. I wish her calm, between saltmarsh and sky. In my mother’s country, I trace fleeting shades— a daughter—wonder how I’d sound if I could stay. Piano Concerto No.2 An upstairs flat in Leeds—the broken bed, with Shostakovich playing, and the red and cobalt glass that throws splashes of light across your chest. This feeling that we might not ever move from here again. My arm at rest upon your hip, the piano calm, andante, settling sweetly on that long and lovely movement, following the strong triumphant wildness of the earlier score, awash with newness, and with something raw and tender that I don’t yet understand. Your breath, the dusty ceiling rose, your hand, its fingers curled in mine; so let me keep this record as the music dims, as sleep drifts in—the crackling stylus, your soft face, and evening shadows slipping into place. Announcements: The Fortnightly Pier Poetry Group, facilitated by Peter, has changed its meeting time to Wednesday evenings from 7. 00pm to 8. 30pm at the Louis Joel Arts + Community Centre (5 Sargood St, Altona). The next meeting will occur on 5 November. Come along if you love talking poetry. The Louis Joel Spring Program is now available by following this link - https://www.ljac.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FINAL-2025-LJAC-SPRING-Program-A4.pdf A veritable feast of activities are available. We would like to hear from you! If you would like to be interviewed about a poem or if you just want to share your love of poetry, send us an email on ljacpoetry@gmail.com. Constructive criticism and praise are welcomed. Currently we have a focus on a favourite poem you were taught at school or during your childhood. ----- Credits: Hosts: Peter Roberts & Colleen Murphy Original music composed by Andrew Gilpin and Sam Price. Editor: Colleen Murphy
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    38 min
  • Simon Says

    Simon Says
    Sep 15 2025

    Simon Says In our eleventh episode we discuss the work of one of our very favourite poets, the extraordinary American singer/songwriter, Paul Simon. From his enduring early work with Art Garfunkel to his stellar solo career, producing such iconic albums as Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints, Simon has produced lyrics known for their narrative quality, blending autobiographical details with broad universal themes of love, loss, social commentary and the search for meaning. We examine three of his lyrics written at different points of his near 70 year career, and it feels very much like being in the presence of genius.

    Lyrics discussed in this episode: America - America - The Paul Simon Official Site Graceland - Paul Simon – Graceland Lyrics | Genius Lyrics Wristband - https://www.paulsimon.com/track/wristband/

    Announcements: The Fortnightly Pier Poetry Group, facilitated by Peter, has changed it’s meeting time to Wednesday evenings from 7. 00pm to 8. 30pm at the Louis Joel Arts + Community Centre (5 Sargood St, Altona). The next meeting will occur on 24 September. Come along if you love talking poetry. As mentioned on the pod we are currently working to redevelop the Louis Joel Food Pantry – a resource for members of our community who, for whatever reason, are having difficulty accessing nutritional meals for themselves and their families You can support the Food Pantry by donating food items directly to the Louis Joel Centre or by placing items in the purple bin, located at Coles in Pier Street. The Louis Joel Sprig Program is ow available by following this link - https://www.ljac.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FINAL-2025-LJAC-SPRING- Program-A4.pdf A veritable feast of activities are available.

    We would like to hear from you!

    If you would like to be interviewed about a poem or if you just want to share your love of poetry, send us an email on ljacpoetry@gmail.com. Constructive criticism and praise are welcomed. Currently we have a focus on a favourite poem you were taught at school or during your childhood. ----- Credits: Hosts: Peter Roberts & Colleen Murphy Original music composed by Andrew Gilpin and Sam Price. Editor: Colleen Murphy
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    44 min
  • Lesbia Harford

    Lesbia Harford
    Jul 28 2025

    In our tenth episode we take a deep dive into the poetry of little known Australian poet, Lesbia Harford (1891 – 1927). John Kinsella, in the introduction to The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry, Kinsella J ed. Penguin, Melbourne, 2009 p 47 - 48 describes her as ‘the radical and unique Lesbia Harford, whose poetry of ambivalent sexuality, working class values and titled syntax would open the doors to modernism in so many ways.’ And he is right!

    We are very fortunate to be joined, in this episode, by the wonderful, and extremely knowledgeable Lesley Lamb, who has written a thesis on Harford’s contribution to literature, feminism and social justice.

    Poems discussed in this episode: Please note that while most of the links look identical they should take you to the nominated poem.

    Grotesque - Poetry Platform - the largest database of poetry, save it to read later!

    Skirt Machinist - Poetry Platform - the largest database of poetry, save it to read later!

    All Day Long - [All day long]

    Periodicity - Poetry Platform - the largest database of poetry, save it to read later!

    Deliverance Through Art - Poetry Platform - the largest database of poetry, save it to read later!

    A Bronte Legend - Poetry Platform - the largest database of poetry, save it to read later!

    Announcements:

    The Fortnightly Pier Poetry Group at Louis Joel Arts & Community, facilitated by Peter, is on at 11am on Fridays with the next meeting occurring on 8 August, 2025 . Come along if you love talking poetry.

    We would like to hear from you!

    As part of our 'Hobsons Choice' segment, we would like to hear from you. If you would like to be interviewed about a poem or if you just want to share your love of poetry, send us an email on ljacpoetry@gmail.com. Constructive criticism and praise are welcomed. Currently we have a focus on a favourite poem you were taught at school or during your childhood
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    48 min
  • Tanka for the memories

    Tanka for the memories
    Jun 13 2025

    In our ninth episode we move away from European styles of poetry and examine a Japanese form – the tanka, a close relation to haiku. Rodney Williams, poet and editor of the journal Catchment – Poetry of Place returns as our guide to educate us about tanka and share some of his writing in that form.

    Hobson’s Choice also returns with a focus on poetry we were taught at school. Ann Pilkington and Anneliese Rosenmayer share their memories of poems they first encountered as students and still remember to this day!

    Poems discussed in this episode:

    Meg Merrilies | The Poetry Foundation

    Cargoes poem - John Masefield

    Tanka by Rodney Williams

    past the pier

    a cormorant surfacing

    well away

    from where it dived –

    your message safely home

    A bird-loving man: haiku and tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2013

    fingerlings

    break the lake’s surface

    in eights and tens

    with threats from beneath

    bedsheets twisted at dawn

    Fred the Rescue Cat: 70 tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2023)

    shimmering

    on the desert track

    a mirage

    her smile radiant

    for the man behind me

    A bird-loving man: haiku and tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2013

    on harvest

    potato bags stand full

    by red furrows. . .

    in fields far to the west

    long rows of white crosses

    A bird-loving man: haiku and tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2013

    hothouse

    butterflies –

    she smiles

    at a wink

    of blue wings

    Fred the Rescue Cat: 70 tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2023)

    Announcements:

    The Fortnightly Pier Poetry Group at Louis Joel Arts & Community, facilitated by Peter, is on at 11am on Fridays with the next meeting occurring on 27 June, 2025 . Come along if you love talking poetry.

    Email ljacpoetry@gmail.com to register your interest.

    Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre will soon be offering their wonderful Winter 2025 program. There are so many great things on offer – for details go to Louis Joel Arts & Community

    We would like to hear from you!

    As part of our 'Hobsons Choice' segment, we would like to hear from you. If you would like to be interviewed about a poem or if you just want to share your love of poetry, send us an email on ljacpoetry@gmail.com. Constructive criticism and praise are welcomed. Currently we have a focus on a favourite poem you were taught at school or during your childhood, but anything that strikes you is great. Get in touch!

    -----

    Credits:

    Hosts: Peter Roberts & Colleen Murphy

    Original music composed by Andrew Gilpin and Sam Price.

    Editor: Colleen Murphy
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    37 min
  • Mary Oliver

    Mary Oliver
    May 1 2025

    In our eighth episode, and our first of 2025, we take a deep dive into the poetry of acclaimed American poet, Mary Oliver (1935 – 2019) . Her work is inspired by long walks in nature but she takes a novel approach driven by an unquenchable curiosity and a refusal to bow to negativity or adverse circumstances.

    We also enjoy a fun quiz on the 10 greatest poets of all time. Who do you think should make this auspicious list?

    There is no Hobson’s Choice segment in this episode but we are collecting responses from the community regarding a favourite poem that they were taught at school and these will be aired in the future.

    Poems discussed in this episode:

    The Journey poem - Mary Oliver

    Starlings in Winter poem - Mary Oliver

    When Death Comes poem - Mary Oliver

    Announcements:

    The Fortnightly Pier Poetry Group at Louis Joel Arts & Community, facilitated by Peter, is on at 11am on Fridays with the next meeting occurring on 16 May, 2025 . Come along if you love talking poetry.

    Email ljacpoetry@gmail.com to register your interest.

    Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre are currently offering their wonderful Autumn 2025 program. There are so many great things on offer – for details go to Louis Joel Arts & Community

    We would like to hear from you!

    As part of our 'Hobsons Choice' segment, we would like to hear from you. If you would like to be interviewed about a poem or if you just want to share your love of poetry, send us an email on ljacpoetry@gmail.com. Constructive criticism and praise are welcomed. Currently we have a focus on a favourite poem you were taught at school or during your childhood.

    -----

    Credits:

    Hosts: Peter Roberts, David Tredinnick & Colleen Murphy

    Original music composed by Andrew Gilpin and Sam Price.

    Podcast Coordinator: Colleen Murphy

    Editor: Colleen Murphy
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    47 min
  • A roaring fire and two glasses of red

    A roaring fire and two glasses of red
    Nov 14 2024
    The Louis Joel Poetry Pod aims to be a forum for discussion about poetry, what people like and what they don’t and why. A strong emphasis is placed upon making poetry accessible and fun with a diverse range of writers, forms, media etc. Each podcast will have interviews with poets, with people who convene poetry appreciation groups, with editors or producers of poetry magazines and perhaps most importantly with members of the community outlining some of their favourite poems or song lyrics, and why etc. The latter is a segment we are calling Hobson’s Choice as it reflects our little beachside community in Altona in the Hobson Bay area just to the west of Melbourne, Australia’s CBD. In our seventh episode we return to where we began, with Dave and Col interviewing Peter and taking a deep dive into three poems. Whilst this tends to be a serious adventure there is a place for humour – perhaps a different way of looking at some pertinent topics around diversity and a close examination of the part a certain piece of furniture plays in all our lives. This episode, unlike the last, is free of venereal disease. Following this we are fortunate enough to be able to interview noted West Gippsland poet, Rodney Williams. He also provides three important poems of his as well as some genuinely educative insights into certain forms of poetry – most notably the triolet and the villanelle. Rodney and Peter have been great friends for decades and during that time have spent countless hours reading and discussing poetry, frequently with a glass of red in hand and a roaring fire. Hobson’s Choice returns with an interview with Eloise Wilson who reads a poem from one of our favourites! We would like to hear from you! As part of our Hobsons Choice segment, we would like to hear from you, even while we are on a break! If you would like to be interviewed about a poem or if you just want to share your love of poetry, send us an email on ljacpoetry@gmail.com. Constructive criticism and praise are most welcomed! Poems discussed in this episode: West by Peter Roberts https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2024/09/04/poem-west/ The Spectrum Strikes Back by Peter Roberts https://beatnikcowboy.com/2023/08/10/peter-roberts/ Bed by Peter Roberts ...the near approach a bed may show of human bliss to human woe. Samuel Johnson 1/. It is said that those who hate to go to bed fear death and those who hate to get up fear life. Still, he didn’t move in the laser sun of the morning. Her words had stung him. ‘Don’t you get sick of saying thank you! Try doing something for yourself!’ He had wanted to be a moving target instead of a sitting duck. The bed wrapped its tentacles around him – like a refuge or a gaol. 2/. This was the moment she adored as the opiates kicked in. She was blind-sided by the diagnosis, shattered by the prognosis. The large window afforded her a view of the world in all its hues – moving slower, but vivid in a way she never imagined. She was fortunate it seemed . Managed pain, comfy bed. Her children were conceived here in joy. She wanted to do it all again! 3/. It just felt so disparate, so wonderful. To be sure he had fantasised for many years about this evening, but convinced that it would never occur. They had met sometime prior, but when the invitation came he was shocked, elated, and full of trepidation in one moment. After they departed he snuggled under the covers, a letter placed in an envelope, finally sent. Case Moth by Rodney Williams In a brotherless boyhood I felt enthralled each time I found the covering to a case moth holding on tight to some fence or shed adhered and suspended as a caterpillar set to poke a gleaming black helmet – head out of its cocoon only sometimes if I were lucky glimpsing that fat grub its moth seldom seen as well sporting white wings spotted dark this larva at times demeaned when labelled as a bagworm its casing camouflaged with twigs that it could grow itself from this expanding sheath brown as any shrub-bark with so much of its lifespan spent in such a state its best days coming before it matured hiding itself while prominently disguised as a youngster perhaps like me I’d wonder... From Muir Woods to Walhalla https://www.mascarareview.com/rodney-williams/ Beneath stage lights by Rodney Williams I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be’ - T.S. Eliot, ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ It’s not my place to invent soliloquy Outside lines in a script, I don’t improvise Beneath stage lights I’m given a me to be In no cutting-edge shows, far more repertory With bit-parts in classics again dramatised It’s not my role to present soliloquy At best an understudy there’s no envy Despite hoping when young for signs in the skies Under spotlights it’s now cameos for me An old hand in the corps of this company With its proscenium arch I don’t surmise It’s not my part to vent in soliloquy The dressing-room mirror ...
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    1 h et 6 min
  • Children’s poetry – a world of rhymes, exquisite rhythms and fantastical characters

    Children’s poetry – a world of rhymes, exquisite rhythms and fantastical characters
    Oct 13 2024
    The Louis Joel Poetry Pod aims to be a forum for discussion about poetry, what people like and what they don’t and why. A strong emphasis is placed upon making poetry accessible and fun with a diverse range of writers, forms, media etc. Each podcast will have interviews with poets, with people who convene poetry appreciation groups, with editors or producers of poetry magazines and perhaps most importantly with members of the community outlining some of their favourite poems or song lyrics, and why etc. The latter is a segment we are calling Hobson’s Choice as it reflects our little beachside community in Altona in the Hobson Bay area just to the west of Melbourne, Australia’s CBD. ----- In our sixth episode we look at Children’s Poetry. This proves to be a fascinating journey with some wonderful rhymes and rhythms, but it also takes us to some dark places that we didn’t fully anticipate. On our way we hear a wonderful recording of a very young David Tredinnick tackling A A Milne, an unlikely connection to the Doobie Brothers and even, a slightly unwelcome, brush with Syphilis. ‘So were going on a Bear hunt, it’s going to be big one, be we’re not scared…. or at least Colleen and Peter aren’t, Dave conversely…. Hobson’s Choice returns with an interview with young brother Miles and Albert who read some of their favourite children’s poems Poems and Lyrics discussed in this episode: Otto The Loyal Long Dog Book by Lizzie Walkley Jack and Jill - Wikipedia Little Boy Blue by Eugene Field Disobedience by A. A. Milne The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear Wynken, Blynken and Nod by The Doobie Brothers Sunday Morning Coming Down lyrics by Kris Kristofferson Magic by Miles Kendall Thompson You may not believe in magic you may believe fairies aren't real but if Santa didn't exist then presents wouldn't have a deal! If the easter bunny was a myth the world wouldn't have chocolate eggs! you wouldn't run outside with excitement in your legs! If the tooth fairy wasn’t so real you wouldn’t want to lose your teeth you wouldn’t want adult ones hiding underneath So, let's say together "I believe in them now!" magic happens to those who trust and you don't need to know how! We would like to hear from you! As part of our 'Hobsons Choice' segment, we would like to hear from you! If you would like to be interviewed about a poem or if you just want to share your love of poetry, send us an email on ljacpoetry@gmail.com. Constructive criticism and praise are welcomed. ----- Credits: Hosts: Peter Roberts, David Tredinnick & Colleen Murphy Original music composed by local Altona residents, Andrew Gilpin and Sam Price. 'Hobsons Choice' Guest: Albert and Miles Podcast Coordinator: Zoe Jones Editor: David Tredinnick ----- Announcements: We were saddened this week to hear of the passing of the great Kris Kristofferson, who we regard as one of the great lyrical poets of country, or indeed, any music. We pay a bit of a homage to him by reading the lyrics of his fabulous song, Sunday Morning Coming Down. Certainly not Children’s Poetry but magnificent, nonetheless. The Fortnightly Pier Poetry Group at Louis Joel Arts & Community, facilitated by Peter, is on at 11am on Fridays with the next meeting occurring on 18 October. Come along if you love talking poetry. Email ljacpoetry@gmail.com to register your interest. Full Spring program of the Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre Programs & Events can be found here: 2024 Spring Program This will be the second last Louis Joel Poetry Podcast for 2024 as we take a break in December and January 2025. We will return in 2025, and the pod will then be available on Spotify and Apple. ------------------------------ This Podcast has been supported by: Louis Joel Arts and Community 5 Sargood Street, Altona admin@ljac.com.au
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    46 min