Australian poetry and the 'deep speech' of place

The Australian landscape comes up again and again in Australian poetry — it's part of what makes poetry from this place so distinctive. So, how does the contemporary Australian poetry scene engage with the land, and how has it shaped the art and spirituality of Australian poets?

GuestsLaurie May is a poet, a spoken word performer and a poetry educator based in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, and the Executive Director of Red Dirt Poetry.

Laurie May’s poetry recommendations are:

• I am the Desert, by Marie Elena Ellis I Am The Desert by Marie Elena Ellis - Red Dirt Poetry
• Home Between the Cedar Trees, by Jihad Yassine Home Between the Cedar Trees by Jihad Yassine — Guest House Publishing
• Trials of Hope, by Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes Trials of Hope (የተስፋ ፈተና) - Fremantle Press
• A Savage Turn, by Luke Patterson Luke Patterson debut poetry collection is utterly lawless - ABC listen
• The Harbour, by Dimitris Tsaloumas The poetry of Dimitris Tsaloumas - ABC listen

Laurie’s Top100 Books recommendations are:

• Seven Little Australians, by Ethel Turner
• Looking for Alibrandi, by Melina Marchetta
• Trials of Hope, by Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes

Mark Tredennick OAM is an Australian poet and essayist based outside of Bowral in New South Wales. He has received the Newcastle Poetry Prize, the Blake Poetry Prize, the Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize, the Calibre Essay Prize and the Wildcare Nature Writing Prize. You can read a selection of his poems and essays on his website.

Mark Tredennick’s Top 100 book recommendation is Creekwater Journal, by Robert Gray (1974)

More from Soul Search

• The Zen masters of haiku - ABC listen
• Poetry that soars — from Rumi to Australia - ABC listen
• Big questions in books — Ancient Chinese poetry and the nature of existence - ABC listen

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