In this episode, poet and creative writer, Susana Molinolo shares:

What it’s like being born into the Spanish language and then being torn between it and English, and how the dictionary became her survival tool.

How reading saved her life.

Her favourite books: from the vivid murder in Crime and Punishment to her love of cookbooks, and of course, poetry.

How the word ‘Wednesday’ starter her down the path of connecting words with colours, sounds and textures.

What it was like to have words and feelings just spill out, until one day she woke up and realized ‘this is poetry I’m writing!’

The movie theatre’s now gone, but then, like now, nibbled burnt barbecue cobs litter the sidewalks and the afternoon is sometimes large, orange, the curious sun watching us with all its lips.

Her creative process which involves nature, waiting, listening, capturing every word, and always trying to look beyond what the eye can see.

How her love of walking has helped her bring her writing to another level, and how she has come to understand that nature has been teaching her what her gifts are.

How she will carry a word around in her head and mouth for days, waiting to see where it wants to go.

Always trying to write simply, so it’s easy for people to read her poetry.

She shares some words that fascinate her: periwinkle and condone.

How she credits Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird for inspiring her to never let a word escape.

The importance of honouring the wish to be a writer by showing up, every moment of every day.

She shares and reads from some of her favourite poets’ works, Sharon Brammer and Elien Bass. And finally, she reads her award winning poem, The Naaz.

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