AustLit

'Poetica was a weekly poetry program broadcast on ABC Radio National from 1997 to 2014. The program was founded and hosted by the poet and broadcaster Mike Ladd. While there has been a long history of poetry on ABC radio since the 1930s (see Poetica’s program for the 75th anniversary of ABC Radio, broadcast on 30 June 2007 – the transcript is available online), Poetica was different to most other radio poetry programs, not just in Australia but in the world. It was a sonically complex program, featuring readings of poems – sometimes by actors, and sometimes by poets – embedded in rich soundscapes, typically made up of nature recordings, music from commercially released albums (or sometimes commissioned specifically for a show), digital sound effects, and framing commentary from poets and their peers. Other English-language radio and podcast poetry shows tend to focus on voice exclusively – readings by the poet, with discussion – so Poetica was unusual in its aesthetic make-up.' (Introduction)