Emily Ballou and Bluegrass

"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain..."

Ryan catches up with American/Australian poet Emily Ballou just before her event at the SPL. They discuss what it's like to be a poet abroad, the influences on her work and her recent collection, The Darwin Poems. We're also treated to 'Bluegrass', a poem by Ryan, with musical accompaniment by Jed Milroy.

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First published 20 November, 2009

Emily Ballou

Emily Ballou is an Australian poet, novelist and screenwriter, currently residing in the UK. Her first two novels, Father Lands and Aphelion, were published by Picador Australia. Her first picture-book, One Blue Sock (illustrated by Stephen Michael King), was published by Random House. Her verse-portrait of Charles Darwin was published by University of Western Australia Press in April.  

• Emily Ballou's website

About Jed Milroy

Jed is a rambling roving musician. Sometime guitarist for Psychadelic Popsters the Aliens. Manic Banjo Player for The Homecoming String Band. His own songs are fingerpicked acoustic guitar rants and sweet melodies about wild places and people.

• Jed Milroy on Myspace

We recommend...

	The Darwin Poems by Emily Ballou The University of Western Australia Press, 2009 Emily Ballou's beautifully imagined verse-portrait of Charles Darwin's life saves the man from the legend, bringing to light a fragile and deeply-felt humanity. SPL shelfmark 3.Bal
	The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson edited by Thomas Herbert Johnson Little, Brown & Company, 1988 A collection of all of Emily Dickinson's 1775 poems, which enables readers to see her work as a whole, the complexity of her personality, the fluctuation of her moods, and the development of her style. SPL shelfmark 3.Dic
	The Oxford Book of American Poetry Chosen and edited by David Lehman USA: Oxford University Press Inc, 2006 Ryan and Emily have fond memories of the American poetry of their childhoods. This kaleidoscopic book will help you meet new favourites. SPL shelfmark ref 2.73

Find out more...

• Search SPL catalogue and borrow these items

Also in this podcast ...

Emily Dickinson's 280: 'I felt a Funeral, in my Brain...'

• Read about the Darwin papers in Cambridge University

With thanks to...

• Colin Fraser at Anon magazine for podcast production
• Ewen Maclean of The Hale Clamjamphrey for the incidental music
  

Image: Donkey photograph by Flickr user Malias. Published under Creative Commons.