Compulsive Reader talks
Compulsive Reader's author interviews, book chat, literary discussions, readings and more. It's an audio haven for book lovers! Recent and upcoming guests include Terry Denton, Marion Halligan, Sir Ken Robinson, Emily Ballou, Sofie Laguna, Matthew Riley, John Banville, Felicity Plunkett, Mark Coker, Peter Bowerman, Eric Maisel, Ramona Koval, Tim Flannery, Carl Zimmer, Gail Jones, Jane Smiley, Frank Delaney, Ben Okri, and many more.
Episodes
Kent MacCarter joins us to read from and talk about his new poetry book Fat Chance. We talk about Kent's process, about having written the "feel bad book of the year”, his journalistic process, the nature of Gossypiboma (retained medical objects), memoir, reverse ekphrasis, and lots more.
For more information or to purchase a copy of Fat Chance visit: https://upswellpublishing.com/product/fat-chance
Robbie Coburn reads from and talks about his new book Ghost Poetry. Topics covered include the many ghosts that haunt the pages of the book, dreams and nightmares, the relationship between horses and people, subject and object, the subconscious, confessional poetry and the creative act/the artifice, horses, gothic country as a genre, and lots more.
Where to buy the book: Upswell - Ghost Poetry (upswellpublishing.com)
The author of Kin: Family in the 21st Century reads from and talks about her new book, about the many permeations of family both nuclear and otherwise, about the book's origins, some of her key themes and challenges including such things as donor privacy versus the rights of a child to know their origins, helping people start families vs the commodification of reproduction, future tech and the risk of Eugenics, and lots more.
Award winning author Eugen Bacon reads from and talks about her latest book Serengotti. We discuss such things as the books themes including notions of privilege, racism, misogyny and the multiplicity of the self, the book's unique narrative voice, the protagonist Ch'anzu and other characters, on working through and beyond binaries and genres, on world and app creation, and much more. Find out more about Eugen at: https:/...
Valerie Werder reads from and talks about her award-winning debut novel Thieves. In this wide-ranging interview we talk about such things as representation, semantics, spirituality, thievery and its many iterations, cognitive dissonance, the changing subjectivity and tenses, the art and cosmetic industries, connection and lots more.
Find out more about Valerie Werder at her website: Valerie Werder | Thieves
Beatriz Copello, author of No Salami Fairy Bread drops by to read from and talk about her newest poetry book. We talk about such things as the linguistic quality of the book, its structure, overall themes including migration, memoir, feminism, coming-of-age, the use of humour, why she chose verse, her new fantasy work-in-progress, and lots more.
The book can be purchased here: https://www.ginninderrapress.com.au/store.php?product/...
Award winning filmmaker Samuel Lucas Allen talks about their new short film CUT. We talk about how the film came together as a project, the extraordinary cinematography, on working with their father, Richard James Allen (who has been on the show several times to talk about his own work), and the father-son relationship in general, Judaism, guilt, toxic masculinity, the acting team (including a well-behaved chicken), the film score ...
Esther Ottaway talks about and reads from her new book She Doesn't Seem Autistic. Through a number of poems, Esther talks about many of the key themes, rhythms, structures and concepts in the book, including masking, humour, her use of animals, on reclaiming clinical labels, the relationship between art and advocacy, and lots more.
Find out more about Esther at: Home | Esther Ottaway, Poet (jimdosite.com) Purchase a copy of ...
Richard James Allen joins me to read from and talk about his latest book Text Messages from the Universe. We talk about many things including the book's deeply spiritual themes, its links with The Tibetan book of the Dead, the unique format of the book and how it relates to its matching film, what's exciting him at the moment, and lots more. Video version can be seen here: https://youtu.be/0lKl8XXydfs
Soil scientist Alisa Bryce reads from and talks about her book Grounded. In this conversation we cover such things as how the book came about, Alisa's deep love of soil and both how important it is to all aspects of our lives, but also how fun and interesting it is, the importance of broad-reaching science communication and its relationship to academia, soil and the microbiome, why we have only mapped 2% of the underground worl...
Alan Fyfe joins us to read from and talk about his latest novel T, which shortlisted for the T.A.G Hungerford Prize (Australia) and the Chaffinch Press Aware Prize (Ireland), and was recently was shortlisted in The WA Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer. Alan also reads from and discusses his debut collection, G-d, Sleep, and Chaos, forthcoming from Gazebo Books in 2024.
Ashley Kalagian Blunt joins us to read from and talk about her new thriller Dark Mode. We talk about such things as her research, the Dark Web, her protagonist Reagan Carson, her fabulous plant store setting Voodoo Lily and dark flowers, what she's reading now, her work-in-progress (hint it's another thriller), and lots more.
Ashley's website: https://www.ashleykalagianblunt.com/
In this wide-reading and humorous interview, Irish poet, academic and journalist Oisín Breen reads from and talks about his new poetry book Lilies on the Deathbed of Étaín & Other Poems with Simon Whitby Brown.
Find out more about Oisin here: https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/oisin_breen
By a copy of Lilies on the Deathbed of Étaín & Other Poems here: https://beirbuapress.com/2023/01/01/lilies-on-the-deathbed-of-et...
Meera Atkinson reads from her book Traumata and talks about her work, the ongoing relevance of Traumata, the difficulty and the necessity of the hybrid form, on language, blood, the patriarchy, beauty and its commodification, the power of engagement with the past - personally and collectively, literature, poetry and much more.
Find out more about Meera and her work at her website: https://www.meeraatkinson.com
Two recent publ...
One of the two editors of Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine reads from and talks about her new anthology. Kateryna Kazimirova talks about the project and how it came together, how she chose the 27 authors, the importance of art in wartime, the many styles of the work, on translation and collaboration, her project Craft Magazine, and lots more.
Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine is published by...
Poet, performer, emeritus professor, and new media artist Hazel Smith reads from and talks about her new book Ecliptical. We talk about metapoetry, multimedia, humour, eclipses, emphasis, John Ashbery and Frank O'Hara, and lots more.
Visit Hazel's website here: http://www.australysis.com/hsmith.htm
My review of Ecliptical here: https://compulsivereader.com/2022/10/31/a-review-of-ecliptical-by-hazel-smith/
To purchase a c...
Sara Kidd joins me to talk about her new cookbook The Vegan Cake Bible. We cover such things as how Sara became the vegan cake queen, why she's drawn to cake, the extensive process she went through to create a cookbook including doing all of her own photography, how she chose which cakes to include, her favourite cake (hint - see links below), her 'holy grail' cake she wants to veganise, on collaboration, her feelings about the fut...
Bastian Fox Phelan reads from and talks about their new memoir How to Be Between. We talk about such things as speaking about the self with all of its multitudes, finding a voice, gender norms, facial hair, their nature writing, motherhood, what's next and much more. Find out more at Bastian's website: https://www.bastianfoxphelan.com/#
Visit Beth at her website: https://bethspencer.com
Michelle Cahill, author of Daisy & Woolf, joins me at Woollahra Gallery to read from and talk about her new book, writing through Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, the burden of the canon, giving a voice to marginalised characters, literary decolonisation, the complex relationship between real life and fiction, intertextuality, the conjunction of place against time, and lots more.
Visit Michelle's website: https://miche...
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