Podcast #12: Omar Musa

Wait Long By The River

Slam poet, artistic genius, Queanbeyanite, author, orator.

"It's a short life. I'm always very aware of mortality. That's just the way I'm built - I don't have a minute to waste."

Omar Musa is a Queanbeyan native ("2602, adds up to a perfect 10!") and proud of it. His latest book, which reached number 2 in Australia the week before we recorded the show, is called Here Come The Dogs, and it has been the focus of some very positive attention. We spent some time talking about the novel, but a lot of this podcast rolls out just how this kind of thing should - it's a flowing conversation, touching on slam poetry, mortality, Cicero, Malcolm X, Stanislawksi, making a life around a crazy workload, and the worst bookshop in Alice Springs.

This was our first live show outside of Melbourne - thanks a million to Meg O'Connell for coming up with the idea, pulling strings, finding a venue, and making it happen.