22. How to Read a Poem

About this episode

This episode features a panel discussion on the intricacies of poetry, hosted by James Jiang with guests Willo Drummond and Hasib Hourani.

In this episode of Fully Lit Live , we bring you a panel discussion recorded at the Blue Mountains Writers Festival in November 2025. James Jiang , editor of the Sydney Review of Books , hosts Willo Drummond and Hasib Hourani for an exploration of how poems work - in the body, on the page, and in your ears. From a discussion of formative reading experiences to a shared close reading of Emma Lew’s Marshes , this conversation is an intimate encounter with poetry and its enduring value. If you’re a devoted reader of poetry, or someone who is yet to approach it, this episode is for you. GUESTS Hasib Hourani is a Lebanese-Palestinian writer, editor, arts worker and educator. His debut book, rock flight, won the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry and the Mary Gilmore Award, and was shortlisted for the 2025 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry. Willo Drummond is a poet and lecturer in creative writing. Her debut collection Moon Wrasse was shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and commended in the Five Islands Poetry Prize for a First Book of Poetry. James Jiang is a critic and scholar, and editor of the Sydney Review of Books…

People in this episode

Host: James Jiang

Guests: Willo Drummond, Hasib Hourani

Topics covered

• poetry
• reading
• literature
• panel discussion
• creative writing

Keywords

• poetry
• panel discussion
• reading experience
• Emma Lew
• literary awards

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sydney Review of Books, UTS Writing and Publishing Program

Books & works: Marshes, rock flight, Moon Wrasse

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