Thanks to Nicola Fern, Marketing Manager of ABC Radio National for the following information.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has partnered with ABC Radio National’s  Poetica program and the Australia Council for the Arts to bring listeners of their regular Poetica program ‘A Pod of Poets’. Eleven programs feature Australian poets speaking about their writing and reading some pieces to the audience.

Each of the forty minute podcasts can be found on the ‘A Pod of Poets’  website. The website also contains transcripts, photographs and biographical information on each poet. ABC Radio National is also broadcasting these programs on air on Saturdays at 3pm (repeats Thursdays 3pm) throughout 2009. The first program airs on Radio National on Saturday 14th February at 3pm. Podcasts are available now.

Poets featured include Robert Adamson, Les Murray, Joanne Burns, John Kinsella, Gen X-Y (Josephine Rowe, Craig Billingham, L.K. Holt and Aidan Coleman), Jayne Fenton Keane, Samuel Wagan Watson and Martin Harrison parts 1 and 2, Kathryn Lomer and Esther Ottaway, John Clarke and Jordie Albiston.   

The ABC intend to keep the ‘A Pod of Poets’ website live for an extended period of time.

This is a fantastic resource for students and teachers interested in and/or studying Australian contemporary poetry.