Hi and welcome to episode 267 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T and Yeastie Boys and thanks to you readers and listeners.
Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual platforms (this site, soundcloud, iTunes/Apple) you can get to Sweetman Podcast on Spotify – follow it there and have it saved in your Spotify library. It’s on most of the podcast platforms besides the ones mentioned here.
This week’s conversation is with Sam Duckor-Jones. He is both a poet and sculptor. He makes things. He’s always liked to. As his website says, his preferred media are poem and clay. In his poetry books, plural, you’ll see drawings by Sam as well as the words of course.
We first met late last year when we shared the stage at a book event for a reading and panel discussion as part of Featherston’s Book Town. We’ve since read again at the book store, Book Haven (where we have both served time, and customers. Though at different times entirely. And we’re due to share the floor once more – next month – at Shrodinger’s Books in Petone for National Poetry Day.
Before all of that, I’d read – and loved – Sam’s first book, People From The Pit Stand Up, a most mercurial work. And I’d seen a couple of showings of his work in galleries. I was impressed and intrigued.
This conversation would have happened anyway, but is nicely timed with the recent arrival of Sam’s second book of poems, Party Legend. And you’ll hear him read a couple of poems from that book. A brilliant collection, which steps up and away from the debut.
We talked about making and creating, about borrowing from overheard conversations to write poems and about reading in public. We also talked about checking out, and feeling bad, about finding one’s self, through the work and needing the work to carry on with living. We talked about his difficult years, and the more celebratory last decade. We talked about his time at the IIML and many other things. And I loved this chat, and how deep it went. We took some time. And we got there.
I hope you like this chat too.
This is episode 266 of Sweetman Podcast. My conversation with Sam Duckor-Jones.
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