No-one can read a poem like the person from whose pen it flowed. There is something of the writer’s heart, life and soul in the words. They know the unwritten pauses, the emotional shifts, the hidden emphasis that bring the words to life… and yet, most of the time, we read a poem without the writer’s voice to guide us to understanding.
While that can be a good thing, allowing us to read through the lens of our own experience and bring our own emotions to the words, it is a real privilege to listen to a poem as it was meant to be heard.
Poet and author, Frank Prem, has kindly agreed to be my guest and share recordings of some of his work…
Click the arrow to listen to the recording
Frank Prem has been a storytelling poet for forty years. When not writing or reading his poetry to an audience, he fills his time by working as a psychiatric nurse. . He has been published in magazines, zines and anthologies, in Australia and in a number of other countries, and has both performed and recorded his work as ‘spoken word’. . He lives with his wife, musician and artist Leanne Murphy, in the beautiful township of Beechworth in northeast Victoria (Australia).
Find and follow Frank
Website Website Audio Seventeen Syllable Poetry
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Small Town Kid is the experience of regional life as a child, in an insular town during the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, remote from the more worldly places where life really happens, in a time before the internet and the online existence of social media.
It is a time when a small town boy can walk a mile to school and back every day, and hunt rabbits with his dog in the hours of freedom before sundown. He can hoard crackers for bonfire night and blow up the deputy school master’s mailbox in an act of joyous rebellion.
It is a time when a small town teenager will ride fourteen miles on a bicycle for his first experience of girls, and of love. A time when migrating from a foreign country to a small town means his family will always feel that they are strangers, while visitors to the town are treated like an invading host.
It is also the remembrance of tragedy for inexperienced friends driving on narrow country roads.
This collection of poems and stories shares the type of childhood that has mostly disappeared in contemporary times. Come and revisit it here, in the pages of a Small Town Kid.
Buy your copy at Amazon Australia, Amazon UK and Amazon.com
Amazon Reviews of Small Town Kid:
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“Tell me a story!
If you are a writer, artist or photographer…If you have a poem, story or memoirs to share… If you have a book to promote, a character to introduce, an exhibition or event to publicise… If you have advice for writers, artists or bloggers…
If you would like to be my guest, please read the guidelines and get in touch!
A lovely reading by Frank Prem, Sue. He has a lovely reading voice.
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I agree, Robbie.
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Thank you, Robbie. I enjoy reading very much.
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It’s nice to know more about him; I loved his voice. So much depth in voice.
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He has another post lined up for next week too 🙂
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Wow, that’s great.
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Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed.
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Sue, thank you for your wonderful support. It’s a great pleasure to share this reading with your blog followers.
Thank you, again.
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Lovely to have you over, Frank 🙂
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Pingback: Guest author: Frank Prem ~ A poet reads… — Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo | Frank Prem Poetry
You wrote a magnificent post, Sue…Frank, you have the gift for reading your poetry.
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Hélène, thank you. To be able to read my work is a wonderful thing.
To have you enjoy hearing it is even better.
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🙂
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It is a pleasure to read your work Frank.
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🙂
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Hélène, thank you. To be able to read my work is a wonderful thing.
To have you enjoy hearing it is even better.
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Enjoyed.
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Thank you rivrvlogr. I’m delighted.
Cheers,
Frank
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Sue, this is a wonderful reading by Frank Prem. I’ve read the book and loved it.
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Sue, so wonderful to hear Frank reading from his book here at your blog. I read the book and loved it.
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It was a pleasure to have Frank over 😉
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🙂
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Thank you, Jade. It’s lovely to be able to indulge myself doing a thing I enjoy, to find that others enjoy it as well. Nice.
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I heard some of your other readings on soundcloud and enjoyed them also. You have a voice well-suited to reading.
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Just as well, Ms Jade. Just as well!
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Thank you for introducing Frank!
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I’m glad he came over too 🙂
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🙂
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Hi Jennie. Nice to meet you. Glad you’ve enjoyed the reading.
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I did, Frank. Nice to meet you, too.
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Fabulous post. I enjoyed listening to your readings Frank. You should narrate your own audio books you’re gifted with a wonderful reading voice. I enjoyed your writing. :). Thanks Sue ❤
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❤
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Hiya Debby. I suspect that might happen a little down the track. I’m so preoccupied in trying to master Indie Publishing 101 that there isn’t a lot of space in my head for what would be a major undertaking, I think.
The time will come, though.
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No kidding, because we don’t have enough to do! Lol 🙂
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Just reading Small Town and it is captivating.. you have a way with words Frank…
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Hi Sally.
Thank you. I’m delighted you;re enjoying the book. Memoir is an odd thing. In my case I wrote because all of that childhood had disappeared and I feared it would be forgotten altogether, and yet, whenever I look around, I still see familiar traces that can momentarily confuse me with their vividness.
A strange thing.
Cheers and thanks for visiting for a listen.
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It is funny how people still retain their recognisable features. I was gone for 35 years except for short visits before returning to my home town to care for my mother and immediately bumped into an old school friend and we knew each other immediately..
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Memory is a wonder, Sally.
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I love your voice.
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Thank you, Valentina. It’s a pleasure to read them and I’m delighted you enjoyed.
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Hi Frank I really enjoyed listening to you reading it certainly brings home your point hearing you speak your poetry and give us some background.💜
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Hi Willow.
Sorry it’s taken so lomng to respond.
I really enjoy such readings and look forward to doing some more. It was lovely of Sue to host these.
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It’s always good to hear a voice 💜
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Sue is always very generous 💜
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What a great idea to introduce and read some of one’s poetry like this. Most enjoyable. Thanks for sharing Sue. Well done, Franky boy! 😀
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My pleasure, Kevin. Thank you for listening.
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