A powerful poem by Abdul Hammoud, directed by Charles Williams, filmed by Aaron Farrugia

Checkpoint 303 releases 13 new tracks in May, in collaboration with Palestinian singers Jawaher Shofani and Wardeh Sbeit and poet Jihad Sbeit.

It feels good to be writing about two Australian spoken word long-play releases in the same week. And particularly good to be writing about a release from a storyteller who  tells the heart of this country, and who is taking storytelling to a whole new level.

The first time I saw Joel McKerrow perform live he was onstage alone belting out the poem Ugly Words, which features as the coda of this new long-play album, Welcome Home, with an urgency that surged and waned multiple times, from a tongue-in-cheek slyly self-knowing beginning to climactic shouting torrents of words that made it seem he might leap from the stage headlong into the audience, gather them all up and lead them on a poetic revolution through the streets. 

Here’s a snapshot of now, in Melbourne’s vibrant live spoken word scene.

Accra-based poet, musician and filmmaker GhaliLeo released this video a few days ago, influenced by African-American jazz, hip hop, metaphysics and neocolonialism