Southword Poetry Podcast
The Southword Poetry Podcast is produced by the Munster Literature Centre. Each episode, a guest poet talks in depth about their latest work and shares a few of their poems. We also hear a poem from a recent issue of the literary journal Southword. Sarah Byrne hosted the 2022 season. Clíona Ní Ríordáin hosted the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Poets were selected by the hosts, Patrick Cotter and James O’Leary. The Munster Literature Centre is a grateful recipient of funding from the Arts Council of Ireland and the Arts Office of Cork City Council.
Southword Poetry Podcast
Isabelle Baafi: Chaotic Good
(00:00) – Clíona Ní Ríordáin and Patrick Cotter discussion
(06:39) – Isabelle Baafi interview
(40:41) – Southword poem, Aching Embouchure by Ellen Zhang
Isabelle Baafi is the author of Chaotic Good (Faber & Faber / Wesleyan University Press, 2025), which is a Poetry Book Society (PBS) Recommendation, and Ripe (ignitionpress, 2020), which won a Somerset Maugham Award and was a PBS Pamphlet Choice. Her writing has been published in Granta, the TLS, The Poetry Review, Callaloo, The London Magazine, and elsewhere. She is a Ledbury Poetry Critic and an Obsidian Foundation Fellow. She edits at Poetry London and Magma.
This week's Southword poem is 'Aching Embouchure' by Ellen Zhang, which appears in issue 45. You can buy single issues, subscribe, or find out how to submit to Southword here.
