Adara Enthaler - More than Enough Said

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Slam poetry doesn't care if it's
perfect.

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It's time to slam.
It's the biggest poem I've got

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inside of her.
She was a thief.

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You love me to love a haunted
house yelling.

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Angry blood black nothingness
began to spin.

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Stupid.
Point of view.

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On to this day, I hate pork.
Chops I am the master of my

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thing.
I am the captain of my soul.

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For when your mouth is writing
cheques that your arse can cash,

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it's I think.
Therefore I slammed the podcast

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bringing you the best slam
poetry and spoken word artists

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from Australia and beyond.
My name is Andrew Rogerson and

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today my guest is a spoken word
poet living on Dara Wall Land in

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Wollongong and they are the host
of Enough Said Poetry Slam.

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She's featured at writers
festivals, folk festivals and

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poetry slams all across NSW, and
her writing has appeared in

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numerous anthologies from Baby
Teeth Journal and Heroin's

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Festival, as well as her poetry
scenes, Equidistant and

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Crowdsource poems.
She's performed in the Bankstown

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Poetry Slam Grand Slam in 2023
and 2024 and won in 2026 at the

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Sydney Opera House with her
team.

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And their name was.
In other words.

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We're going to hear plenty more
about this victory lap.

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Please welcome Adara and Tala.
Welcome to the show.

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Hi Andrew, lovely to be here.
Now I was just thinking about

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famous faces and names from
Wollongong and my mind kind of

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settled on Michael Theo from
Love on the Spectrum.

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Are you familiar?
Yes, actually I went to school

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for a couple of years with him.
I think I was.

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I might have been a year above,
but yeah, he's such a sweet

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dude.
Oh no way.

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Do you still see him around town
at all?

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Actually, yeah, a few weeks ago
I saw him at the North

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Wollongong rock pool he was
climbing in, having a snorkel

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with his dad.
It was very cute.

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Oh, wow, Good to know.
Oh, well, I hope wherever he is,

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he's doing well.
I know he's had his own

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adventures in the podcast space,
so I'm a big fan.

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Big fan, Michael.
Yeah.

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Dara, we would love to kick off
today's show with some of your

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wonderful spoken word.
I would love to.

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It is the rainiest nights that
we are truly alone.

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Nights when the roads are
canyons flooded mirrors for the

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streetlights.
Nights when I shudder to the

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kind of Thunder that seizes my
heart and a fist and reminds me

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we are only held together by
skin.

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That if we had a creator, they
forgot us.

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That the earth will devour us,
Faith to bone to marrow and in

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the interminable crawl of decay
and rebirth, we will not be

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remembered.
So if I pray tonight, it will be

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with your skin between my open
palms.

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I can't leave room for Jesus
when the air is this heavy.

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There is no Holy Spirit but
mine, and I can be holy enough

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for the both of us.
You smell like sandalwood.

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I mean, probably.
I don't actually know what

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sandalwood smells like, but
that's what romance novels say

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is sexy.
And I think you are very sexy.

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You call me beautiful and when
you say it, my hand doesn't go

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to my belly.
I don't hide behind a smile,

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hoping it's curved, distracts
you from the width of my thighs

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because you are already kissing
them.

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You say my body is a temple and
I say it's been a tourist

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attraction too long.
My columns are rubbed shiny from

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too many hands touching in half
baked blessings.

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My mosaics are cracked and
stolen.

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So remind me what it is to be
worshipped.

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Then you flecked at the door and
wait for entry to be granted.

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Sweep the refuse from my aisle,
script the pigeon shit from my

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ceiling and we will scrub the
altar clean together.

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Kneel at my feet and baby, I
will kneel at yours.

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Touch me back into existence and
see me as I am, brand new, not

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untouched, but unbroken.
Yes, thank you for.

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The clicks.
Cliques all around, of course.

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Of course it's a staple.
Do you reckon cliques came in

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because it's just an easier way
to clap while you're also, you

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know, holding a drink at the?
Same time.

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Do you think that's where it
comes from?

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It might be why it's continued.
I believe the origin has

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something to do with the
grassroots poetry slams being

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predominantly in sort of colored
neighborhoods in America.

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So they would have the cops
called on them if they were

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cheering too loud.
So they had to show their

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enthusiasm while not making too
much ruckus.

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But yeah, it's continues today
and I actually have a tattoo of

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it on my arm.
Oh, you do?

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Oh, that's fantastic.
Wow.

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So, yeah, definitely, definitely
a subversive thing.

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Loved the piece.
You know, we're getting a bit

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spiritual.
We're getting a bit sexy.

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It's all good things.
Now, Adara, I don't want to bury

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the lead here.
I would love to hear more about

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your team's recent victory at
the 2026 Bankstown Poetry Grand

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Slam at the Sydney Opera House.
Give us the play by play.

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It was a blast.
So for those who know how

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Bankstown's Grand Slam works,
you get randomly assigned into a

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group with usually three other
poets who also placed first to

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4th in the Grand Slam.
The pre in regular Bankstown

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poetry slams the previous year.
So I didn't know who I was going

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to get, but I got placed with
Jim Miller, Samantha and Noor

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and they were all so amazing.
There's actually 20 years of age

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between our youngest and oldest
member, but we found our common

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ground and we got to know each
other and we wrote together.

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And yeah, we drilled the hell
out of our palms.

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We made them really powerful in
their performance, made sure we

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had them memorized.
And then Sydney Opera House was

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so cool.
We all had our own dressing

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rooms with our team name on the
door and a drink bottle from

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Sydney Opera House with like the
logo on it.

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And the word shook is, which I
now carry everywhere with me

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just hoping someone asked me
about it.

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I'll be like, oh, this is from
hyper when I performed at see

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the Opera House.
No big deal.

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Oh, this little, this whole
thing.

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And yeah, the show was in the
concert hall, so seated 2000

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people.
And they came pretty close to

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selling it out.
I think I've performed to some

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big crowds, but that that was
definitely the biggest.

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So seeing all of those people
rising up in the stands in front

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of you is an experience I will
not soon forget.

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But since it went so well, I I
have the joy of currently being

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very poorly acquainted with
imposter syndrome.

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I'm not sure I remember who that
is a stranger from way back

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when.
Because, you know, I won.

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We won hell.
Yeah.

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One of the, I think, 2 biggest
poetry slam competitions in the

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country in terms of, you know,
audience sizes, there is that,

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there's the Grand Slam and
there's the Australian Poetry

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Slam national final, which is
also at the Opera House.

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So yeah, it was so incredibly
rewarding and we so enjoyed

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sharing that experience
backstage with all the other

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poets.
There was so much support and

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love and warmth, and I'm so
grateful to Banks Down's team

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for making that happen.
It's huge.

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Sounds like a dream.
I've I've got to get up there at

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at some point to to watch
because it just sounds like the

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the night of nights, you know,
along with the APS spine, as you

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were saying.
Get a bus together, drive

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through Canberra, pick up
Canberra poets.

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Yeah, yeah, we'll make it
happen.

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We'll make it happen.
And not, not your first time at

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the rodeo, obviously.
And I, I'm just stunned at, you

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know, it must take so much
trust.

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Like you said, you're you're
kind of randomly assorted to a

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team.
And is it like a a play where

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you have someone feeding you
lines if something does go a

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little bit awry on stage?
Or is it all all or nothing?

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Yeah, we, because I had already
done it twice before.

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I had seen what had gone wrong
and I had experienced some of

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what had gone wrong.
So we put plans in place to

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mitigate that.
So we had agreed if anyone

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forgets their lines, the rest of
us give it two or three seconds.

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And if that person is still
struggling, just jump in and say

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their line and then continue as
the poem goes.

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And yeah, we planned how many
seconds we wait for applause

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before we walk off because just
there are so many tiny little

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elements of performance that can
add to the impression of your

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performance.
So we didn't want any awkward

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moments where half the team
walks off and the other two are

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still standing there with
gormless screens enjoying the

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applause and then go, oh, no.
So we wanted to look

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professional from the moment we
stepped on stage to the moment

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we went to the other side of the
curtain.

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So yeah, we planned for all
eventualities and we got, we

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were very fortunate no one
forgot their lines.

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I had about a half second delay
that I hope only I noticed, but

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other than that I think we
pretty much nailed it.

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Yeah, clearly, clearly all the
hard work and all the trust and

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all of your experiences has paid
off.

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Fantastic.
Adara, I want to know what is

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your origin story, your starting
point of creating and sharing

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your work on stage?
How did it all come to be?

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When I was at university, I did
the creative writing major at

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UAW in Wollongong.
I started getting involved in

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all the literary things that I
could.

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So I got an internship with the
South Coast Writers Center.

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And then someone at some point
told me about and I said poetry

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slam, which has been running for
14 years this year.

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Wow.
So yeah, wild.

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And yeah, I think I was just
getting into writing more poetry

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through my degree and getting
feedback on that.

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And then went to the slam a few
times and just I got really into

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it.
And then I went, I don't know

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how long I was going before I
ever got up on stage, Maybe two

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or three years.
But the team back then was just

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so encouraging.
So whoever was on the door month

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to month would be like, are you
signing up to perform tonight?

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And I'd be like, no, no, maybe
next time.

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And I'd be like, OK, I'll ask
you again next month.

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And then eventually I sat down
and was like, I've been

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scribbling bits and pieces on
receipts and notebooks and in my

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phone for a little while now
let's sit down and see what I've

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got.
And then I put it all into one

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Word document and went, oh, I've
been writing about one thing for

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like a year and a half.
This is all one poem.

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So I smashed it all in together
and I performed it.

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And then for the very next
month, the Co founder of the

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Slam, Lauren Elizabeth, asked me
if I would like to come back and

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be one of the support features
for Bill Moran, who was coming

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over from the US to do it wasn't
featuring at the slam because it

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didn't line up, but they did an
additional show.

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So for me to hear that from
Lauren that they liked that

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first poem so much, they wanted
me to come back and do.

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I don't even know if I did a new
one or if I just did the same

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one.
I was like, oh, OK, I, I guess

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I'm not bad at this at the very
least.

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And then I just didn't really
stop from there.

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And I joined the team not too
long after that.

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And then COVID happened in 2020
and I ended up taking it over.

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And now I'm the host and
producer.

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And yeah, I just keep trying
things and enjoying them and I

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just keep on going.
Onward and upward.

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Yeah, so many people who I asked
this question of they will make

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reference to a person or a a
people who who came before them.

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Do you know what I mean?
And who gently or not so gently

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encourage them, you know, DOB
them in, wrote their name down

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on their behalf.
Are those the kind of people

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that you think of when you think
back of of your Yeah, you

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starting off in spoken word?
Yeah, definitely.

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So the person in particular who
was on the front desk of the

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slam encouraging me was my now
very good friends, Leo Luna, who

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also was the host before me.
They took on that role and then,

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yeah, sort of retired from the
team to focus on other things.

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But before they were even my
friends, they could just, they

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could see that I had this
excitement and urge to perform,

225
00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,400
but I just hadn't quite
developed the confidence in

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00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:58,280
myself to give it a go.
And they, yeah, they just kept

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00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:02,120
on encouraging me.
And yeah, it was actually their

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00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,080
hand that I used as a model for
my poetry slam tattoo, which I

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00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:06,800
didn't tell them about right
away because I didn't want to

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00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,480
make them cry.
But yeah, they're a very, very

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00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:14,320
special person and had a massive
impact on Enough Said slam and

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00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:16,640
on me as a poet.
Please tell me you did tell them

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00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:18,640
eventually about the Hampton.
I did, yeah.

234
00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:21,120
I had a few drinks in me and I
like, leaned over to them on the

235
00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:23,560
couch at a friend's house and
was like, you know, this is your

236
00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:25,000
hand, right?
And they were like, what?

237
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:25,920
No.
And then we both cried.

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00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,840
Did they did they hold it up?
You know against against your

239
00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:34,240
arm to compare.
Well, I had somewhat sneakily

240
00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,360
taken a photo of their hand
months earlier or possibly a

241
00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:40,000
year earlier to plan this
tattoo.

242
00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,040
But I sort of, we were out at
dinner at the time and I kind of

243
00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,520
understated it, like, Oh yeah,
I'm just trying to get, I'm, I'm

244
00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:48,360
gonna do a sketch myself.
I just want to get an idea of

245
00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:49,920
what it looks like.
I can't get a photo of my own

246
00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,160
hand from the right angle.
Can you let me just check I've

247
00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,040
got this right.
Yeah, that let me just take a

248
00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:57,360
photo.
So I didn't really let them know

249
00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:59,320
that that was what I was fully
planning on doing the entire

250
00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:01,160
time.
But then later after I told them

251
00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:02,640
they were like oh you sneaky
bitch.

252
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,280
And were there tears at the
time?

253
00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,920
Definitely, Yeah.
Yeah, that was really special.

254
00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,200
I'm always a big fan of, of
making sure that we actually,

255
00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,800
you know, vocalize when we've
been inspired by someone.

256
00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:16,400
I think it's, it's really
important.

257
00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:17,960
So I'm happy to hear that that
happened.

258
00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:20,920
Couldn't agree more.
So Adara, you you really picked

259
00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,840
up the mantle for an upset
poetry slam in 2020, and you've

260
00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:29,120
been carrying it ever since.
How did that transition come

261
00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,440
about?
Was that a natural slow process

262
00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:35,720
or was it quite sudden?
And also, how do you keep such a

263
00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,120
long running and regular show
feeling fresh?

264
00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:42,360
It was a wee bit sudden.
So I think at the end of 2019,

265
00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:46,800
Leo had told the team that they
were ready to leave, that, you

266
00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,680
know, had their chapter in the
poetry slam and they wanted to

267
00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:52,920
do other things.
The following year, our February

268
00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:56,680
slam, Elliot Cameron was going
to host.

269
00:13:56,680 --> 00:13:59,320
And then he said, oh, I'm
actually not feeling amazing.

270
00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,120
Would you mind Co hosting with
me in a couple weeks?

271
00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,400
And I said sure.
And then a week later we started

272
00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,920
getting the news about COVID
being really quite serious.

273
00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,920
So then we were like, oh, so if
you're feeling unwell, you

274
00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:13,760
probably shouldn't be on the mic
at all.

275
00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:15,680
And he was like, yeah, no,
totally.

276
00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:16,800
So you'll have to host by
yourself.

277
00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:22,520
And I was like, OK, sure.
And then 2020 was wild because

278
00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:24,840
we skipped March because that
was the month we all went into

279
00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:29,400
lockdown and everyone pivoted
was the keyword of of that year.

280
00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,840
And we run a year's worth of
online slams on Zoom, which was

281
00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,280
wild because I didn't have the
audience to feed off.

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00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:39,680
Everyone else was on mute except
me or a poet who was performing.

283
00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:46,200
So I had to dial my enthusiasm
up to about 100 times what it

284
00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,160
normally is when I'm sitting
alone in my bedroom in order to

285
00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:53,560
make it a show worth tuning into
from home, which was, I think,

286
00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:55,520
probably an important skill
development for me.

287
00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,880
But yeah, I really enjoy that
each slam sort of has its own

288
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,520
personality.
All of the hosts contribute in a

289
00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,400
very large way to what that slam
feels like.

290
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,960
So I've been able to sort of
take the energy that already

291
00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:16,560
existed of enough Said, being a
smaller slam with a large queer

292
00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,560
community.
And, you know, not too formal

293
00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,760
because we're already, we were
always in sort of smaller

294
00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:23,680
venues.
So we don't take ourselves too

295
00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,240
seriously, but we also put on a
good show.

296
00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,680
So each month, you know, I go
into the back and I do star

297
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:33,680
jumps to get my heart rate up
and get the energy pumping

298
00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:36,040
because you're not always
feeling it on a Thursday early

299
00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:39,200
evening.
And yeah, it gets a little bit

300
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,720
chaotic at times.
I'm definitely not afraid to

301
00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,720
embarrass myself on the mic for
the sake of a few laughs, but

302
00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:46,840
yeah.
And you've got to feel out the

303
00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,880
room because, you know, the
venue we're in right now fits

304
00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:54,800
60, but sometimes it's raining
and we have a slightly lesser

305
00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:57,560
known feature poet and we only
get like 30.

306
00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,360
So on those nights, you have to
kind of try a little bit harder

307
00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,440
to vibe up the audience and get
them to click and cheer and

308
00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:06,520
respond because they're just,
they're feeling a little bit

309
00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,440
more reserved.
So yeah, it's all just about

310
00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,960
kind of reading the energy of
the room and just making sure

311
00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,440
that everyone who's getting on
stage that night feels so

312
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,800
utterly taken care of by both
myself as the host and by the

313
00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,000
audience, so that when they get
on that mic, they're ready and

314
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,320
they know that everyone's
listening to them 100%.

315
00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,760
Sounds like you, you really have
to take that experience of those

316
00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,720
Zoom years if you like, where
you know, you had to be the

317
00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:35,400
loudest person for it to to come
across and, and sometimes using

318
00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,360
that to pep up the audience.
I think therefore I slam is

319
00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,760
brought to you by the slam fam
on Patreon.

320
00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,160
Yes, these are the generous,
beautiful, creative souls who

321
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:49,720
help keep the lights on here at
podcast HQ.

322
00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:52,800
And for less than the price of a
coffee a month, they get access

323
00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,280
to all types of exclusive
goodies, including bonus

324
00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,160
episodes, previews of upcoming
content, new poems and musings

325
00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:02,120
from me, and much more.
To become a member, you can head

326
00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:07,480
on over to patreon.com/ITT is or
click the link in the

327
00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:09,640
description.
Now back to the conversation,

328
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,880
Adara, just before we started
recording, you were well, we

329
00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,720
were both talking about our
dislike of people who Pike, who

330
00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,160
who say that they'll be there or
they'll go somewhere and then

331
00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:25,960
they don't show up.
I want to know what is the

332
00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,920
number one thing that makes an
event host?

333
00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:30,360
And you have so much experience
here.

334
00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:32,680
What's the number one thing that
makes an event host happy?

335
00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:34,240
What's the number one thing
people should do?

336
00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:36,760
Buy your ticket before the day
of.

337
00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,640
Yes, I'm begging you, I'm
begging you.

338
00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:43,360
I understand that we have been
in financial crisis and we are

339
00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:46,680
in an energy deficit.
We're all running low on spoons.

340
00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:51,200
But it makes it really hard for
events to plan in the short and

341
00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:53,240
long term if they just never
know how many people are going

342
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,000
to show up.
And with portrait stamps being

343
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,720
as cheap entry as they are, it
doesn't really hurt to buy a 5

344
00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:01,480
or $10 ticket and then decide on
the night not to go if you can

345
00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:03,480
afford it.
But yeah, unfortunately our

346
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:07,840
generation and the ones below
are all just not particularly

347
00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:09,920
catched up.
So we like to decide day of

348
00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:11,760
whether or not we have the
energy to go to something.

349
00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:17,800
But I would just urge people to
take into account that poetry

350
00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,160
slams give you energy.
They don't take your energy.

351
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,640
They give you so, so much.
It's such a nourishing

352
00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:28,280
experience to be vulnerable and
to have people be vulnerable in

353
00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,560
front of you.
So even if you're tired and

354
00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,960
exhausted and you have to rub it
in your couch cushions for 5

355
00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,880
bucks, it is so worth it every
time.

356
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,720
Surely everyone's got a couple
of bucks, you know, down the

357
00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,080
back of the couch or there's
there's some old ancient

358
00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:45,600
dolomite account, you know.
Sitting around, but someone.

359
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,840
'S still got a few a few dollars
in a.

360
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:49,640
Fiver in the centre console
that's.

361
00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,760
It, it's probably the same
reason why we're we're so

362
00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:57,960
encouraged to like pre-order
books or, or pre safe tracks

363
00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,440
like all that, all that pre
commitment I think is, is

364
00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,480
obviously so important,
especially when you're heading

365
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,240
something up.
But I guess it helps you plan,

366
00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:10,600
it helps you know what to expect
and it builds its own sense of

367
00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:12,120
momentum.
You know, the the more it

368
00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:13,600
builds, the more it builds, I
suppose.

369
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:15,520
It does.
And there's a lot of events out

370
00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:19,640
there that cannot go ahead
without minimum numbers.

371
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,760
You know, if they're hiring a
theater or a venue for their

372
00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:26,480
show and it costs X amount of
money and they only make X

373
00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,360
amount of money on ticket sales
ahead of time and they're a

374
00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,480
really small production, They
might have to cancel a few days

375
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:34,120
out.
And all of that preparation is

376
00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:36,000
for nothing.
And then day of everyone goes,

377
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,680
oh, where'd that show ticket
link go?

378
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:39,720
I was going to buy tickets to
that.

379
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:41,520
I was going to go.
And they're like, well, why?

380
00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:43,560
We posted every single day for a
month.

381
00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:44,920
Why didn't you buy tickets
before?

382
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:49,680
It's gone now, so just ahead of
time, we're begging you.

383
00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:51,560
We're begging you, we need your
spoons.

384
00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,160
Let's go Yeah, save up your
spoons for the slam.

385
00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,560
On that note, because you have
such extensive experience as an

386
00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,040
MC and, and not just at poetry
slams, but we're talking, you

387
00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,960
know, I, I heard that you'd,
you'd hosted some, some singles

388
00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,640
nights and some, some other
festival events and things like

389
00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,600
this.
I want to talk about the times

390
00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,200
when it, it goes all wrong.
Like what are the biggest live

391
00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:13,920
event disasters that you've had
to?

392
00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:16,920
Ride out or smooth over on stage
Is it?

393
00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,800
Is it, you know, crazy hecklers?
Is it terrible weather that

394
00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:22,240
blows the stage down?
What?

395
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:25,480
What is it?
I think the most challenging

396
00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:30,600
I've had recently was my poetry
slam team had a a few sets at

397
00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:32,440
the Illawarra Folk Festival in
January.

398
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:36,840
And that festival got some
absolutely torrential rain.

399
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:42,520
And for our second of three gigs
we were in sort of a Bush teepee

400
00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:47,120
tent outside with no mic or
electricity.

401
00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:52,560
So we had to basically shout our
poems over the rain.

402
00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:54,080
And I very quickly lost my
voice.

403
00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,520
It was holding on by thread for
our evening set, but by the next

404
00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:59,800
day it was gone.
So that was interesting.

405
00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,040
I learned who does and doesn't
have an outside voice.

406
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:05,840
So we're going to do a workshop
on that I think later this year

407
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,840
on, you know, projection
techniques in case that happens

408
00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,440
again at our regular slam.
I think the worst thing that

409
00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,480
ever happens is just that
sometimes we get a bit of a

410
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,720
dodgy poem.
Like someone will come on and

411
00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,520
they'll they'll try to preach to
the audience or they'll do this

412
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:23,920
really vicious poem about how
much they hated their ex-wife or

413
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,120
something.
Just a little bit too sexual.

414
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:28,680
You know, there's there's
nothing wrong with an erotic

415
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,240
poem, but just sometimes it's
not really everyone's vibe,

416
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,120
especially if it gets a little
bit sort of objectify Y.

417
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:38,960
So for those ones, I just try to
sort of gauge how the audience

418
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,280
is feeling as I'm listening to
if they're feeling the way that

419
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:45,200
I'm feeling about this.
And then usually when a poet

420
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,240
finishes and sits back down,
I'll try to say something that

421
00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,680
responds to that poem like, oh,
that's so great, that reminded

422
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,920
me of this or Oh my God, that
one line was amazing.

423
00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:56,280
Made me laugh.
And then I'll go to the judges.

424
00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,240
But for those awkward ones, I
will usually, unless they said

425
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,720
something heinous that I think
needs to very briefly and

426
00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,120
jokingly be called out in order
to release the tension in the

427
00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:06,640
room, I will usually just go
straight on to the judges.

428
00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,920
I'll be like, oh, right, thank
you, Glenn judges, what did we

429
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,400
think of that?
And then just just steamroll

430
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,200
past it so that we don't have to
dwell on the awkwardness.

431
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:18,800
Yeah, yeah, there's, there's
kind of two speeds with these

432
00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:20,880
things.
I guess a few thoughts when you

433
00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,680
were yelling your, your, your
poetry over the rain.

434
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,400
It sounds kind of cool in a
primal kind of way to, you know,

435
00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:30,720
be be battling the elements.
But I'm guessing after a minute

436
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:34,440
or two, if you're doing a really
long piece, it's probably starts

437
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,280
to go after after a little bit.
It can do.

438
00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:39,960
Yeah.
I did it at least once before.

439
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,560
There was a sort of Co-op space
that I Co founded in beginning

440
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:45,680
of 2019 called Society City in
Wollongong.

441
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,760
It was like a secondhand
bookshop and a venue space.

442
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,520
And the night that we launched
it, with all of these things

443
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,240
happening inside, we had soapbox
poetry happening at the front.

444
00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:57,080
And again, torrential rain.
So myself and a few other poets

445
00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,960
had to take turns standing on a
milk crate shouting the poetry

446
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,920
into the rain.
And yeah, there is primal is a

447
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:06,960
good word for it.
There's something very visceral

448
00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:11,640
about having the elements
playing a very enthusiastic

449
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:17,200
backup to your poetry.
How do you go with, let's say

450
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:21,080
someone's gone, you know, a long
way overtime, like how do you

451
00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,600
deal with that?
Hasn't happened in too long.

452
00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,680
If they only go about a minute
or so overtime they just get

453
00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:28,600
docked points and we don't
really yank them off stage.

454
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,080
But there have been a few in the
past before I was a host.

455
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,960
It's usually an older person who
maybe didn't quite hear that it

456
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,080
is a strictly enforced time
limit that has like 10 pages of

457
00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:41,680
A4 paper stapled together and
just keep slipping through them.

458
00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:45,040
And yeah, at a certain point,
you have to go on and be like,

459
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:49,120
you kind of just listen for
something of a pause and then

460
00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:51,560
jump on and be like, hi, that
was so great, but you're out of

461
00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:53,960
time, sorry.
And they go, oh, oh, sorry.

462
00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:56,000
And then before they have a
chance to object and say, could

463
00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,800
I just finish, though, you just
sort of move closer to the mic

464
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,360
and go round of applause for so
and so everybody.

465
00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:03,760
Thank you so much.
And just bully them with

466
00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:06,320
relentless enthusiasm to get off
the stage.

467
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,920
It's less like the Oscar, you
know, where the the orchestra

468
00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,080
slowly, you know, rises.
It's more like vaudeville or

469
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:13,640
something.
Someone.

470
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:16,240
Starts, you know.
Clicking on the keys or or yeah,

471
00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:19,160
doing a little push or whatever.
If I had a shepherds crook I

472
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:20,920
would have it handy just in
case.

473
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,320
Yeah, so true, so true.
Here comes the barbershop

474
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:29,600
quartet, Long live enough said.
Poetry slam, you know, 14 years,

475
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:34,040
that's, that's extraordinary.
Having just experienced a local

476
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:38,880
event that was great, but kind
of came and went all in the

477
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:41,760
space of six months.
You know, 14 years is, is no

478
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,960
joke.
So looking forward to, to many,

479
00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,480
many more years.
Adara, I think it's time for

480
00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:48,640
peace #2.
What have you got for us?

481
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:53,760
Let's do it.
So intro to this one, Slams are

482
00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:56,600
a wonderful place for people to
talk about stuff that is a bit

483
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,160
heavier in what's going on in
the world.

484
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:02,680
And my city, Wollongong for a
long time had weekly and then

485
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:08,440
fortnightly Palestine protests.
And there were people who ran

486
00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,040
those protests who came to the
slam and became part of the

487
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,240
community.
It was so lovely to just have

488
00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:16,960
the space be a place for people
to talk about, you know, some of

489
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,040
the worst things happening in
the world and share it with

490
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:20,960
people who were there to just
kind of hold space.

491
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,080
So that was, this is my version
of that.

492
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:28,120
The Wollongong Palestine protest
marches past the courthouse, the

493
00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:31,480
cop shop, security guards and
boys in blue sauntering

494
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:36,240
alongside the chanting crowd of
kids, mums, teens and seniors,

495
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,320
prams and wheelchairs rolling
down Crown St.

496
00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:43,640
We use our hands and voices to
scream our anger of a genocide

497
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:48,160
in our lifetime, one of several
of the fragile excuses of our

498
00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:51,880
government to not intervene.
Years of dribble dribbling from

499
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,080
the Lily livid lips of our
elected politicians pussyfooting

500
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,360
around the point.
In the past two years of

501
00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:01,680
Wollongong Palestine protests,
I've watched a woman's two sons

502
00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:06,040
grow up joking rainbow calls to
action and climbing trees.

503
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,880
That family has been there week
after week, and I can't help but

504
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:14,240
wonder how many Palestinian kids
would be their age, their

505
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,840
height, their level of joy if
Zionists with guns hadn't taken

506
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:22,960
away their chance to grow.
The urge to give up is strong,

507
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,680
to let the blanket of
indifference rise over my head

508
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,920
and believe there is nothing
that I can do.

509
00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,800
But every time it is the hands
and voices at rallies that

510
00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:37,640
remind me it is not hopeless
that we can carve a better

511
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,440
world, even if it takes every
breath in our bodies when the

512
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:45,800
people band together a matter of
time before the fascists fall.

513
00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:52,120
Thank you, Adara.
I, yeah, I don't know what to

514
00:26:52,120 --> 00:26:57,360
say apart from like, you know,
it, it's, it, it's going to be

515
00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:00,840
so interesting to see like how
we look back on this part of

516
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,160
history in terms of all, all the
things that are happening around

517
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,200
the world.
And, and particularly, I mean, I

518
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,360
know in certain states of, of
Australia, it's gone so far that

519
00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:13,160
there are certain phrases and
certain iconography that you

520
00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:16,000
just, that you just can't use.
And it's just, it just doesn't,

521
00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:17,680
yeah.
It just doesn't seem like the

522
00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,600
right response at all.
Like, yeah.

523
00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:23,520
But it's great to know that
there's, there's people in your

524
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,480
neck of the woods because, you
know, I see, I see plenty of, of

525
00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:28,480
demonstrations going on all the
time in Melbourne.

526
00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,320
But to know that there's people
in solidarity all around the

527
00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,600
world doing similar things, it's
really great.

528
00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:35,160
Yeah, No, I.
Agree.

529
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:39,120
Wollongong is not a large city.
So it was really three years ago

530
00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:40,520
now.
Except wrote that poem a year

531
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:41,400
ago.
Yeah.

532
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:45,120
To see 150 or so people showing
up every week for a long time

533
00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:49,000
was it was really bolstering to
have that.

534
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:50,000
And.
Yeah.

535
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,280
And poetry slams I'm so grateful
for because they're one of the

536
00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,320
few art forms where absolutely
no one is going to tell you that

537
00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:57,280
you shouldn't put politics in
your art.

538
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,280
That's an insane thing to say to
a poet.

539
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,880
It's never.
No one's going to say that out

540
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,440
of poetry's land.
So it's a good, safe place to

541
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:07,960
talk about the things you need
to talk about that you feel like

542
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:12,440
no one in else in your life or
in your workplace is discussing.

543
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,120
Do you think all?
Art is is political.

544
00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:17,720
And when we say political, I
don't necessarily mean, you

545
00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:19,880
know, things that are happening
in the world.

546
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:23,640
I just mean figuring out how we
all live together in this big

547
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:25,320
wide world.
That's what I kind of mean by

548
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:27,120
political, I suppose.
Yeah, I think.

549
00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:29,880
Nothing happens out of context.
Everything is informed by

550
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,920
something.
So even something as simple as a

551
00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,680
child's drawing of their house
and their family is political

552
00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:42,080
because a child in Palestine
would not draw the same thing

553
00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:43,560
right now.
They would Draw Something else.

554
00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:46,920
So there is inherent privilege
in the life of that child who

555
00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,760
lives in a safe home where the
worst thing that's ever happened

556
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:52,880
to them was broccoli.
And that is political.

557
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,760
Politics are in everything.
I don't think anything, even a

558
00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,840
pretty oil painting of a yellow
flower, exists only in the

559
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:02,520
context of, well, isn't it
pretty?

560
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:03,960
Everything has surrounding
context.

561
00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:06,400
That makes it political in one
way or another.

562
00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,000
And I don't think that detracts
from the beauty.

563
00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:14,000
It just it informs the art.
Yeah, well said.

564
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:15,920
Well.
Said well, we've talked about

565
00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:20,800
the the many hats that you wear
Adara, and you also have this

566
00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:24,560
role as the marketing
coordinator for red dirt poetry

567
00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:27,200
festival right there in the
middle of the of the red centre

568
00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:27,960
there.
Mm hmm.

569
00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:30,560
My newest hat I'm very.
Excited your newest hat, OK.

570
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:33,760
There you go.
I wanna know how do you go about

571
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,680
drumming up interest in spoken
word and presenting it to new

572
00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:39,240
audiences?
Because I've definitely been in

573
00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:42,520
situations, I'm sure you do as
well, where you're, you're

574
00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,080
talking about your involvement
with spoken word with someone

575
00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,760
who has no context for that.
And I have trouble pitching

576
00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:51,880
exactly what it is or what is
appealing about it.

577
00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:56,360
I I find it hard to vocalize.
So what do you do as a marketing

578
00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:59,720
coordinator to present this
beautiful thing to the world?

579
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,160
Yeah, it is a.
Really lame thing to have to try

580
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,920
to describe.
It never sounds as cool as it is

581
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:11,680
when you try.
Annoyingly, video content is, I

582
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:16,320
think, the best tool that lovers
of weird niche things have at

583
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:19,160
their disposal to show how cool
something is because you just

584
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,080
can't picture it without seeing,
you know, the energy of a room.

585
00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,280
Because almost every single
person in the world, they go to

586
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:28,080
poetry slam once and they leave
and go, that's really cool.

587
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,160
And they really, they're
genuinely surprised because they

588
00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:31,440
didn't think poetry was for
them.

589
00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:33,080
They thought it was that thing
that they were forced to learn

590
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,760
about in school.
Poetry slams usually try their

591
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:40,440
done just to have, you know, a
camera volunteer and try to take

592
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,360
content for reels and TikTok
just to try to show people who

593
00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:45,680
are outside of this community,
this is what it looks like.

594
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,800
Look how much fun we're having.
And and look, this this poetry

595
00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,800
slam has professional videos of
people who've performed.

596
00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,360
So if you're a performer, you
could do that.

597
00:30:56,360 --> 00:31:00,040
So there are yeah, there are two
main angles for marketing poetry

598
00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,600
slams and similar events.
And 1 is, do you really like

599
00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:05,760
being on a microphone?
Do you have things to say?

600
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,360
This is a place for you.
You will have an opportunity to

601
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,840
do that here.
And the rest of it is, you know,

602
00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,880
do you just love art and
vulnerability and events with a

603
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:18,840
lot of audience interactivity?
Like it is not a sit down, shut

604
00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:21,160
up type of event.
Poetry slams, you know, we're

605
00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,880
clicking and we're booing the
judges, not the poets.

606
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:29,240
And we're and we're Ming and I,
I encourage everyone in my slam

607
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:30,640
to Heckle me as much as
possible.

608
00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,760
Exactly.
We hiss the judges, we yell at

609
00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:36,200
the judges.
And it's genuinely a really,

610
00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:38,920
really fun time.
So yeah, trying to find ways to

611
00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:42,640
show people what it looks like
from the inside is I have found

612
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,040
the the best way to sort of
encourage people along.

613
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:47,200
It's it's the same as a shop
front.

614
00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:49,120
You know, if you can't see what
the shop looks like and you have

615
00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:52,120
to go up a set of stairs and up
several floors, it's a bit

616
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:54,040
intimidating.
But if you if it has a glass

617
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:56,320
window right out front, you can
peek inside before you step

618
00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:57,800
through the door.
You're like, oh, yeah, that

619
00:31:57,800 --> 00:31:58,880
looks safe.
That looks fun.

620
00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:00,720
I'll go in there.
And that Venn.

621
00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:05,280
Diagram of, you know, people who
are interested in arts and

622
00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:08,880
people who are interested in in
I guess the context that slam

623
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,120
poetry happens in is probably
larger than we think.

624
00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:14,720
I guess it's just about finding
the right people, you know, and

625
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,760
and going to where they are and
being able to communicate that

626
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,120
like it's it's just something,
you know, I'm.

627
00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:24,120
I'm still trying to figure out
so it's good to get some some

628
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:27,520
input there.
What can we expect from Red Dirt

629
00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:31,080
Poetry Festival 2026?
It's coming up in August, I

630
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:31,840
believe.
Is that right?

631
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:35,000
It is yeah.
The. 20th to the 23rd, I think

632
00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:38,160
there is a massive array of
artists.

633
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:40,720
I cannot say who they are, but
they're coming from all over the

634
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:44,440
country.
Red Dirt has a partnership with

635
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:48,200
some writers coming over from I
think Chile and maybe also

636
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:52,240
Spain, coincidentally, that are
getting involved in one or two

637
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,280
of the events.
We're going to be activating

638
00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:57,800
Alice Springs Airport with some
interactive poetry stuff.

639
00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:00,600
So as soon as people land in
Alice Springs, they can find out

640
00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:04,640
about the festival and read some
lines by, I hope this isn't a

641
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:05,440
secret.
I don't think so.

642
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,760
Read some lines by the poets who
are performing and yeah, there's

643
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:12,600
there are things under the
stars.

644
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:14,920
It's all over.
It's daytime, it's nighttime.

645
00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,880
There's a school program.
There will be a heat.

646
00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:20,120
The Central Australia heat for
the Australian Portrait Slam

647
00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:22,280
will be happening during the
festival as well.

648
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:27,160
The one winner of that will go
along with the Darwin heat to

649
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:29,720
the national final at Sydney
Opera House later in the year.

650
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,200
Yeah, it's going to be great.
It's a lot.

651
00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:34,720
Amazing.
We'll have some more information

652
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,880
and some links to the website in
the episode description.

653
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:40,720
Hey, quick, Pep.
Talk.

654
00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:43,600
If you're enjoying the episode,
I'd love it if you could leave a

655
00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:48,080
rating review, comment or like
wherever you're listening right

656
00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:49,760
now.
You know how this works.

657
00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:52,520
Every little bit of digital
interaction helps people to find

658
00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:54,840
the show and keeps the poetry
flowing.

659
00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:57,880
And if you want to do something
extra special, please share the

660
00:33:57,880 --> 00:33:59,920
episode with someone who you
think will vibe with it.

661
00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:01,880
That also helps with all of the
above.

662
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:04,720
Thanks so much for listening.
And now back to our guest.

663
00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:11,719
I want to change gears.
Now Adara and talk about Zenes

664
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:16,239
and the magic of Zenes, which is
not something I'm super familiar

665
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:17,679
with.
I've certainly had other guests

666
00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:21,600
on who are Zen connoisseurs and
and I've got some more people

667
00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:23,600
coming on who are Zen
connoisseurs.

668
00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:25,400
You're grabbing the collection
right now.

669
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,120
I am literally.
I I ran a workshop recently, so

670
00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:30,600
I have, I have some choice
scenes right here.

671
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:33,320
Joe will hold up as I am
speaking for the people.

672
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,040
Yeah, Who can hear me?
I I can describe a few.

673
00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:38,280
Yeah.
Can you tell?

674
00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:41,239
Us what designs bring to the
creative table that

675
00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:45,000
differentiates them from from
books or other kinds of poetry

676
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,360
collections or anthologies
because you've chosen to release

677
00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:51,719
some collections as scenes.
Yes, yeah.

678
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:56,760
So the amazing thing about Zanes
is that the most accessible form

679
00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:00,200
of publishing it is available to
anyone with access to a printer

680
00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:03,600
and maybe a stapler if they need
one, maybe disappearance

681
00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,320
scissors.
It is the most immediate way to

682
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:09,400
get something that you created
into your own hands, and then

683
00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:11,200
it's everyone else's hands as
well.

684
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:15,400
It's so accessible.
So I'm not yet to brave the

685
00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:19,360
process of sending my work into
publishers and trying to get a

686
00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:22,640
book deal sounds awful, but I
can still share my work with

687
00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:24,920
people, which is really lovely
because when you perform for

688
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:27,440
people who've never heard you
before, you get people coming up

689
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:29,200
to being like, do you have your
stuff anywhere?

690
00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,680
And if you haven't been
published, you're like, I don't

691
00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:33,200
know, I got some videos on my
Instagram.

692
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:37,000
But if you have a Zine, you can
say, well, I have this little

693
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,720
thing for $5 in my bag.
And yeah, they're just, it's

694
00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:45,280
such a sort of community LED art
form where people just, they

695
00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:48,440
make the dumbest stuff.
So mine are obviously poetry

696
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,920
scenes with a little bit of art,
some partnerships with artists

697
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:55,080
because I did not have a visual
bone in my body.

698
00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:57,360
But then people make super silly
stuff as well.

699
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:02,040
Like this one says little things
that remind me of you, and it

700
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:03,960
like folds out like an
accordion.

701
00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:06,200
So they didn't even have to say
for that one.

702
00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:09,680
I have a little one that's like,
the size of a matchbook that's

703
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:12,720
like a little poem through
space.

704
00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:14,320
They can be.
Yeah.

705
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:17,440
So my ones are more A5.
So I have, you know, about

706
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:20,280
10:00-ish poems in each of them.
But a lot of scenes are just one

707
00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:24,280
single poem or collections of
art or comics or funny jokes.

708
00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,120
Like here are the weirdest AO3
tags that I have been able to

709
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:30,360
find, which is the fan fiction
website.

710
00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:33,160
Or like, here are a bunch of
drag names that I thought would

711
00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:36,160
be funny.
Or here is Tinder, if it was

712
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:39,560
entirely 4 gnomes.
And a lot of it's personal as

713
00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:40,880
well.
You know, there's a lot of like,

714
00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:44,440
you know, I've been on tea for a
year and this has been my

715
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,120
experience.
Or like, you know, last year my,

716
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:50,800
my nan died and I ate 433 pieces
of toast.

717
00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,880
And it's just that experience.
Like it's just so it, it's

718
00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:56,960
completely open.
You can do literally anything.

719
00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:59,280
If you're not good at drawing,
you can collage.

720
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,400
You can just cut bits out of
magazines and things that you

721
00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:04,760
find at op shops and do it that
way.

722
00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:08,320
It's just it's so so accessible
sometimes the.

723
00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:11,720
Art form reminds me a little bit
of like the little illustrations

724
00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:15,440
that Andy Griffith's, you know,
national children's book author

725
00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,800
treasure I used to do in the
margins of all the Terry Denton

726
00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:19,960
books.
You know, there'd be little,

727
00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:23,480
little flip cartoons or, you
know, just stupid little one

728
00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:25,800
liner puns or whatever.
So wholesome.

729
00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:29,680
I saw this video.
By Struthless again, another

730
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,680
Australian slash New Zealand
creator.

731
00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:36,680
He was recommending Zine making
as a replacement for doom

732
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:39,760
scrolling.
As in he was saying that to make

733
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:42,600
a small Zine, even if you
haven't finished it, to actually

734
00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:46,360
rub a bandit around your phone
so that every time you go to

735
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:49,600
pick up your phone, instead, you
pick up the Zine and you do a

736
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:51,800
little bit of work on it.
I thought that's that's really

737
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:53,160
neat.
I mean, he's, he's another

738
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:55,480
massive advocate, so I love
that.

739
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,800
That's such a good idea.
That's the solution to some of

740
00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:01,400
the world's problems, I think.
Do you have any grand?

741
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:04,600
Visions for what some future or
ultimate scenes might be for

742
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:06,520
you?
Or does it look like more

743
00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:08,240
collections?
I would really like to try.

744
00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:11,400
My hand at collage, I keep
defaulting to just flicking

745
00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:13,680
through art books and then
pulling out existing art.

746
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:15,960
And then I have all these pages
of things that I can't really do

747
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:17,800
anything with because they're
already completed.

748
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:22,120
So I really want to try the art
form of cutting things out and

749
00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:24,800
rearranging them in interesting
ways and then using that as a

750
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:29,000
backdrop for poems.
The Zine fair that I run is this

751
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:32,000
Saturday, which will be already
happened by the time this

752
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,720
episode comes out.
But yeah, I've got two days to

753
00:38:34,720 --> 00:38:38,280
finish a few things and then go
to Officeworks and stand in line

754
00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:41,680
at, you know, 9:00 PM and piss
off all the employees by

755
00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:43,680
printing off everything at the
last possible minute on Friday

756
00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:45,920
night.
Just one more thing.

757
00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:47,240
Just one more thing.
Sorry, Sorry.

758
00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:48,240
I just I.
Meant for that to be double

759
00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:50,800
sided, sorry.
Could you just really quickly so

760
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:54,480
you're about to be.
Immersed in the absolute the the

761
00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:57,000
Zine cinematic universe, I
absolutely.

762
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,360
Am yeah, My, a couple of friends
and I run it.

763
00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:02,520
It's in its fourth year,
Strangefold Zine Fair at

764
00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:05,080
Wollongong Town Hall, and it's,
yeah, it's so lovely.

765
00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:10,040
We've got, I don't know, 60-70
odds tables, tablers coming

766
00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:12,480
from, you know, Sydney.
Sometimes we get people from

767
00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:15,720
Central Coast and Blue Mountains
and yeah, they'll be laying this

768
00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:19,880
stuff out on their tables.
And the people of Woolongong can

769
00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:23,720
have a walkthrough and buy
things for as little as $0.50 or

770
00:39:23,720 --> 00:39:26,880
more dollars.
Help me make my rent and go home

771
00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:29,240
with, you know, these tiny
little snapshots of people's

772
00:39:29,240 --> 00:39:30,920
lives.
And there are, and we're setting

773
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:32,960
up a workshop in the room next
door as well, So.

774
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:35,520
And there's a competition so
people can try their hand at

775
00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:37,800
making their regimes and and
winning stuff.

776
00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:41,040
And yeah, it's an amazing way to
spend a few hours.

777
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:43,000
I love it so much.
Wow.

778
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,360
Well, can't.
Wait to to see the highlights.

779
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:48,680
Once it's all once it's all
wrapped up, just quickly

780
00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:53,680
pivoting back to the longevity
of of Enough Said as an event.

781
00:39:54,240 --> 00:39:57,720
I'm usually not super good with
hypotheticals, which is why I

782
00:39:57,720 --> 00:39:59,360
like to ask them rather than
receive them.

783
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:02,200
So here's one for you.
If Enough Said Poetry Slam

784
00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:06,680
closed its doors tomorrow for
some reason, what is the one

785
00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:10,200
thing that you hope the Enough
Said community takes with them

786
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:12,640
that proves?
That the work and the time

787
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:14,400
they're mattered.
Well, hopefully we're not

788
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:16,840
calling.
That down into the universe, and

789
00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:20,600
I said should run for another 16
years at least so we can make it

790
00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:23,440
an even 30.
But I would say I would.

791
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:28,840
I really want everyone who comes
to the poetry slam to understand

792
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:33,520
and accept in their heart is
that everyone has the right to

793
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:36,120
take up space, especially on a
microphone.

794
00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:38,480
You know, a lot of people go
through the world constantly

795
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:41,200
apologizing for themselves and
even when they get to the poetry

796
00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:43,320
slam and they've wanted to do
this for so long and they

797
00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:45,600
finished the poem and they
memorized it, but they don't

798
00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:47,080
trust themselves.
So they have the book in front

799
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:50,120
of them and they do the poem and
then nervous.

800
00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:52,880
And then they get off stage as
quickly as they possibly can

801
00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:54,960
with this little shrug as soon
as the poem is over.

802
00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,440
And that's OK to be nervous.
But I just, I really want

803
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:00,680
everyone to understand that they
have every right, as much right

804
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:04,600
as anyone else, to get up on a
stage and share their work.

805
00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:06,280
They don't have the right to be
on every stage.

806
00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:10,560
Because you perform once doesn't
mean you get to go to every

807
00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:12,280
event ever and be like, I'm
amazing.

808
00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:17,280
Put me on your run sheet.
But yeah, it's, it's an amazing

809
00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:21,760
place to be able to share what
is important to you to share,

810
00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,120
whatever that may be.
And it doesn't have to be

811
00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:25,400
perfect.
It doesn't.

812
00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:27,480
You don't have to have been
doing it for years before you

813
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:29,880
ever get up on a poetry slam
stage.

814
00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:31,800
You can just try it.
And the audience is going to be

815
00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,360
right there with you no matter
where you are.

816
00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:38,520
You know, at another slam, it's
a different but similar energy

817
00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,600
at any poetry slam.
And they're just there.

818
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:43,320
They're there for you, and
you're there for them.

819
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:45,280
Wow, what?
What a vision.

820
00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:47,000
I'm getting fired up here.
This is great.

821
00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:51,800
Speaking.
Of collage As we were before, I

822
00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:56,280
now want to add your answer to
the collage of our overarching

823
00:41:56,440 --> 00:42:00,920
creative analogy for season 3.
So if your creative work is a

824
00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:06,240
color or or shade in the color
spectrum, what is it and why I

825
00:42:06,240 --> 00:42:10,240
think it?
Would be a very, very deep plum

826
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:14,040
sort of color I want.
I want the pink tones in there

827
00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:18,200
for the femininity.
I want the closeness to blood

828
00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:21,960
for all of the the visceral kind
of topics that I often talk

829
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:23,720
about.
A lot of my poems come, you

830
00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:26,720
know, from the body and they
talk about things that happen,

831
00:42:26,720 --> 00:42:29,640
you know, in US and to us.
And I want the femininity.

832
00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:32,840
And also my hair is pink so I
feel like I couldn't pick a

833
00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:34,320
color that wasn't somewhere on
that spectrum.

834
00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:37,720
Deep, deep plum.
Yeah.

835
00:42:37,720 --> 00:42:40,120
And it's, you know, it's a bit.
Sexy, and so is my poetry, for

836
00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:43,880
the most part.
Very nice, very nice.

837
00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:47,960
Now moving on to the segment
which we've nicked, we've stolen

838
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:49,520
it.
We've we've been a bit of a

839
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:53,160
klepto from a diary of a CEO.
This question comes from my

840
00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:56,960
previous guest, Andrew Horner,
who asks, do you think social

841
00:42:56,960 --> 00:43:01,200
media platforms are diluting
artists authenticity with the

842
00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:03,880
pressure to constantly create
content?

843
00:43:04,520 --> 00:43:06,800
I don't know if that's.
Happening to poets specifically,

844
00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:10,960
I definitely think it happens.
Overall, I think a lot of us,

845
00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:14,440
maybe less so now, I think Gen.
Z is doing a better job of just

846
00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,960
kind of shit posting whatever.
But millennials in particular,

847
00:43:17,960 --> 00:43:22,360
we were teenagers for the most
part when Instagram came out.

848
00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:27,640
And so for a long time, a lot of
us were going into every fun or

849
00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:30,280
interesting experience thinking
about how we could get a good

850
00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:34,800
photo of it for social media.
And I and A lot of others are

851
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:37,040
still sort of training our way
out of that.

852
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:41,720
But it's also a helpful tool.
Unfortunately, the pages that

853
00:43:41,720 --> 00:43:46,560
you see on Instagram that are
entirely screenshots or images

854
00:43:46,560 --> 00:43:49,680
of poems tend not to do all that
well because people respond to

855
00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:52,080
faces more than anything else.
That's something I've learned

856
00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:55,480
over the years as a marketing
coordinator is that you take the

857
00:43:55,480 --> 00:43:57,880
most beautiful photo of the
world, but it still won't do as

858
00:43:57,880 --> 00:43:59,440
well as a photo with someone's
face in it.

859
00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:01,240
That's just what people respond
to the most.

860
00:44:01,880 --> 00:44:05,200
So unfortunately, it means that
a lot of us have to make our

861
00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:08,680
face our brand.
You don't have to, but it is a

862
00:44:08,680 --> 00:44:11,680
tool that you can utilize to get
people to pay attention and then

863
00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:15,720
go into the comments or swipe to
the next image and look at your

864
00:44:15,720 --> 00:44:19,720
poetry that way.
Social media can be a bit of an

865
00:44:19,720 --> 00:44:22,960
accountability machine as well
if you like, you know, if you

866
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,400
are not performing as often as
you'd like to or you're just not

867
00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:27,880
interested in performing at all,
you know, a page poet doesn't

868
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:29,800
have to be a spoken word poet
and vice versa.

869
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:34,040
It can be a journal.
A lot of people can treat social

870
00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:37,000
media like a digital journal and
a place to share what they've

871
00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:40,440
written immediately with the
world and not wait for it to be

872
00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:43,200
published somewhere.
So it has pros and cons.

873
00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:47,320
Basically as someone who's.
Kind of dipped my toe into some

874
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:53,000
of the newer platforms, so like
a blue sky and an upscrolled and

875
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:55,600
stuff.
I'm always amazed at these newer

876
00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:58,040
platforms.
They're so much quieter just in

877
00:44:58,040 --> 00:45:01,640
terms of, of, of visual noise.
And you know that that's going

878
00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:05,400
to change in the future.
You know, who knows how long

879
00:45:05,400 --> 00:45:08,480
they're going to stay in that
state or, or if they're going to

880
00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:10,480
rise or fall.
I mean, I guess we'll see.

881
00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:13,680
But I'm always interested.
Like I would gladly pay.

882
00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:16,000
This is my stance on social
media in a nutshell.

883
00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:20,560
I would gladly pay for social
media if it helped me spend less

884
00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:24,920
time on it, which of course is
not what it's currently designed

885
00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:27,000
to do.
It's designed with all the

886
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:29,640
little hooks and everything
that, that, that we know it it

887
00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:30,880
has, right?
Yeah.

888
00:45:30,880 --> 00:45:34,240
It's the addiction.
Machine It's interesting to hear

889
00:45:34,240 --> 00:45:37,240
that that's how it's going on
the new platforms 'cause I I

890
00:45:37,240 --> 00:45:41,040
work in events so platforms that
are not location based have no

891
00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:44,440
benefit to my work so I haven't
really bothered with any of the

892
00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:46,720
new ones but it's it's nice to
hear that they are more

893
00:45:46,720 --> 00:45:49,480
conversational than anything
else and they haven't yet been

894
00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:52,880
completely taken over by
advertising and algorithms yeah

895
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:55,480
it's.
There's no, there's no AI junk

896
00:45:55,760 --> 00:45:58,560
there yet.
Like I said, it's just, it's a

897
00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:01,640
stark contrast.
But whether it stays that way or

898
00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:05,520
whether they live and die by
that sword, we'll, we'll see.

899
00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:09,000
I guess you just got to find the
the flavour that that suits you

900
00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:14,400
now Adara, you get a chance to I
guess buy a brick in the house.

901
00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:18,560
That is, I think therefore I
slam what question do you want

902
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:22,480
to leave for my next guest sight
unseen, so.

903
00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:26,880
Happening back to do something I
just said, there is spoken word

904
00:46:26,880 --> 00:46:32,320
poetry and there is page poetry.
How much do you think these two

905
00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:36,400
forms of poetry can and should
overlap?

906
00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:41,240
Should the page poet go to
poetry slams and learn from

907
00:46:41,240 --> 00:46:44,000
spoken word poets so that they
can read their work when they

908
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:47,680
have book launches?
Should the slam poets try to get

909
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:50,520
their work published in literary
journals or can they attain

910
00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:53,760
legitimacy without that?
What do you think?

911
00:46:54,240 --> 00:46:56,200
Can they exist together without
each other?

912
00:46:56,800 --> 00:46:58,760
How do they work?
Is it the chocolate and?

913
00:46:58,760 --> 00:47:00,560
Peanut butter of literature?
Who knows?

914
00:47:00,960 --> 00:47:02,600
Or is it?
Is it the oil and water?

915
00:47:02,680 --> 00:47:06,000
We'll we'll find out next week.
Very good.

916
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:09,640
I appreciate that Adara.
Now, before you wow us with your

917
00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:13,040
third and final piece, we'd like
to know that if if people want

918
00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:16,400
to learn more about you and what
you're up to see some of your

919
00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:19,160
work, where's the best place for
them to to go?

920
00:47:20,080 --> 00:47:21,760
I.
Have a website

921
00:47:21,760 --> 00:47:27,440
itisadaraandtala.com and I post
my major accomplishments there,

922
00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:31,600
but I update my Instagram more
often, which is at the Poet

923
00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:34,840
Adara.
So anytime I have a gig where

924
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:37,680
I'm performing or emceeing or
doing typewriter poetry or

925
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:40,040
whatever it may be, I will post
it there.

926
00:47:40,360 --> 00:47:41,680
And that's where you can find
me.

927
00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:42,800
Fantastic.
And.

928
00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:45,680
Again, we'll have all the links
for that in the show

929
00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:49,280
description.
Adara, would you mind playing us

930
00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:51,280
out with your final piece for
today?

931
00:47:51,960 --> 00:47:52,920
It'll be my.
Pleasure.

932
00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:56,320
It's a bit of a longer one.
I wrote it only a few weeks ago

933
00:47:56,760 --> 00:48:01,320
for International Women's Day,
and it's called Ode to the Trans

934
00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:05,840
Girls.
Owed to the trans girls waking

935
00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:09,920
up smelling of petrichor, the
smell before rain prophesying a

936
00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:14,440
downpour of change, a blossoming
warmth, The scent of things to

937
00:48:14,440 --> 00:48:17,680
come.
Owed to the trans girls whose

938
00:48:17,680 --> 00:48:20,600
hair smells like burned gum
leaves from the harm reduction

939
00:48:20,600 --> 00:48:24,040
burning they are undertaking.
Sifting through the underbrush

940
00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:26,920
of their genders, spotting the
parts that no longer serve and

941
00:48:26,920 --> 00:48:30,640
scorching them away.
A careful destruction of fallen

942
00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:34,440
foliage to prevent future
catastrophe and allow new growth

943
00:48:34,440 --> 00:48:37,880
to shoot forth.
Owed to the trans girls who have

944
00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:41,480
shown me their changing bodies,
sending selfies of arched backs

945
00:48:41,480 --> 00:48:44,840
in underwear, asking for
recommendations for their brand

946
00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:47,760
new hips and whether their
sports bras need an underwire.

947
00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:52,480
Owed to the trans girls who have
come out to me at midday pub

948
00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:57,000
lunches and Instagram DMS, have
swum through my castaway clothes

949
00:48:57,000 --> 00:49:00,520
and gone home with a curvy girl
starter pack wardrobe to go with

950
00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:03,480
their new pronouns.
I'm sorry you can't have my

951
00:49:03,480 --> 00:49:06,360
bras.
You have perky runway tits and I

952
00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:09,600
have checked baggage.
But if your boobs aren't growing

953
00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:12,960
as fast as you'd like, let me
take you out for fried chicken

954
00:49:12,960 --> 00:49:16,000
or mapo tofu.
Maybe the extra estrogen will

955
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:17,840
help.
I wish I could give you some of

956
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:21,240
mine and then we could both fit
into AD cup, but I'll go bra

957
00:49:21,240 --> 00:49:25,600
shopping with you anyway.
An ode is a love letter from a

958
00:49:25,600 --> 00:49:29,320
poet, but everything a poet
writes is a love letter to

959
00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:33,520
something, and MTF transition
looks an awful lot like a love

960
00:49:33,520 --> 00:49:37,920
letter to womanhood, to
girlhood, to the intersection

961
00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:40,160
and overlap of feminine and
masculine.

962
00:49:40,160 --> 00:49:43,320
Ode to the trans girls who
taught CIS women like me that

963
00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:47,480
there is no one way to be a
woman, that we need no pregnancy

964
00:49:47,480 --> 00:49:51,920
nor unwavering softness to be
part of this divine sisterhood.

965
00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:56,920
Who showed all my CIS sisters
with facial hair and infertile

966
00:49:56,920 --> 00:50:01,400
wounds and broad shoulders and
long necks that they are so, so

967
00:50:01,400 --> 00:50:04,480
beautiful.
Go to the trans girls whose

968
00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:07,000
safety pinned together their
style with such chaotic

969
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:09,920
precision that my best friend
has to run up to you on the

970
00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:13,560
street to compliment you, and we
see that fear in your eyes

971
00:50:13,560 --> 00:50:15,160
before you realise what she's
saying.

972
00:50:15,160 --> 00:50:18,640
I'm so sorry you have reason to
be afraid, but I promise you're

973
00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:22,080
safe with us.
Owed to the black trans girls at

974
00:50:22,080 --> 00:50:24,720
the Stonewall riots throwing
bricks at hateful cops on the

975
00:50:24,720 --> 00:50:28,240
frontline, and to the drag kings
at Sydney Mardi Gras protesting

976
00:50:28,240 --> 00:50:31,000
genocide.
We must protect the dolls as the

977
00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:33,280
dolls have protected so many
others.

978
00:50:33,800 --> 00:50:36,040
Ode to the trans girls who had
to burn their Harry Potter

979
00:50:36,040 --> 00:50:38,320
novels when their author told
them they were destroying what

980
00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:41,280
it means to be a woman.
I promise you a middle-aged

981
00:50:41,280 --> 00:50:44,200
British lady in a mould covered
castle is not the authority.

982
00:50:44,800 --> 00:50:49,160
This is an ode to the girly
pups, the hypothems, the skater

983
00:50:49,160 --> 00:50:51,480
butchers.
Ode to the girls wearing cat

984
00:50:51,480 --> 00:50:54,440
ears and Metallica Tees, the
girls buying power tools at

985
00:50:54,440 --> 00:50:58,280
Bunnings, the blue head lesbian
emo tea girl DJs and the cottage

986
00:50:58,280 --> 00:51:01,600
called crafty housewives.
Ode to the girls packing heat in

987
00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:03,640
their mini skirts.
Dicks bigger than the men.

988
00:51:04,160 --> 00:51:07,080
Reddit deciding who can and
can't call themselves a woman.

989
00:51:07,680 --> 00:51:11,000
Owed to the girl.
Trans girls who saw the TV glow,

990
00:51:11,440 --> 00:51:14,040
who felt something in their rib
cage vibrate so hard they

991
00:51:14,040 --> 00:51:17,880
couldn't ignore it any longer,
made a knife of their insistence

992
00:51:17,880 --> 00:51:21,600
and cut their way out of cages
made of flesh owed to the trans

993
00:51:21,600 --> 00:51:25,480
girls who, in my hours of self
hatred, of bitter resentment of

994
00:51:25,480 --> 00:51:28,640
what it means to be a woman in a
misogynistic world of men,

995
00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:31,840
showed me that it must be worth
all this pain if you would go

996
00:51:31,840 --> 00:51:37,240
through so much to become one.
A writer from Salem, MA said

997
00:51:37,240 --> 00:51:41,160
that God made trans people for
the same reason God made wheat

998
00:51:41,160 --> 00:51:44,920
but not bread, and fruit but not
wine, so that humanity could

999
00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:48,600
share in the act of creation.
And I don't believe in God.

1000
00:51:48,600 --> 00:51:54,120
But if that is the case, then I
am a holy witness to the trans

1001
00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:57,600
girls on day one or day 10,000
of girlhood.

1002
00:51:57,960 --> 00:52:01,880
You do not need my personal
welcome to a worldwide community

1003
00:52:01,880 --> 00:52:04,680
of women.
You were one from the moment you

1004
00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:08,600
realised it, but by God you have
it anyway.

1005
00:52:09,240 --> 00:52:14,840
Wow, Adara and Tala, the pride
of Wollongong.

1006
00:52:14,960 --> 00:52:18,160
Enough said.
Poetry slam, Red Dirt Poetry

1007
00:52:18,160 --> 00:52:20,120
festival.
Check out all the things.

1008
00:52:20,120 --> 00:52:23,440
Thank you so much for thinking
with us and slamming with us

1009
00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:24,680
today.
Thank you, Andrew.

1010
00:52:24,720 --> 00:52:25,440
This.
Was beautiful.

1011
00:52:34,120 --> 00:52:35,960
Wait, your big fans?
What's that all about?