PODCAST

Sweetman Podcast

Simon Sweetman

Conversations with creative people. simonsweetman.substack.com

arts performing arts

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22:32

Poetry Reading: “Happy” First Birthday to ‘The...

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/11/08

This time last year we launched my second book of poetry, The Richard Poems.The launch was at the clothing and barber store, That Was Then This Is Now, not only a magical place to get a great haircut or some snazzy threads, but also to launch a book:Emily Writes delivered an amazing speech:And I had a ramble too of course:There’s even a playlist attached to the book — scan the QR code on the back of the book for your own listening copy:It was a great afternoon for a special wee book. And now, a year

2:29

Cockleshells

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/10/14

Sounds Good! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Most people think the “Mary, Mary, quite contrary” thing is just a rhyme — a cute little bounce off the name. And maybe there’s that thing in there too where it’s giving a quick character assessment of the child, the idea that the wee girl making a tiny, temporary flower arrangement in a sandpit is stubborn or flashes moods or just isn’t always listening. But hang

14:04

Poetry Reading: “The Death of Music Journalism” Turns...

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/10/11

It’s been five years since we launched my first book of poetry, The Death of Music Journalism. I did a little audio podcast at the time sharing some of the story behind the writing of the poems, the making of the book, and reading some of the work. I thought for its fifth birthday, I’d share a reading of five poems that I don’t think I’ve ever read out from the book before. A range of the content — from toxic masculinity, to family and friendships and memory, all framed by music. And of course the

3:22

Short Story Live Reading: Bumper Boats

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/08/16

Here’s a reading of a short story (which might also be a poem, depending on how you hear it) called Bumper Boats.You can read below an earlier version of this — there are some slight changes in the reading vs. this text version linked here:Anyway, I’m enjoying exploring this — it’s meant to be a single sentence, which obviously presents challenging when reading, so here’s an earnest first attempt.Thanks for reading Sounds Good! ! This post is public so feel free to share it.Sounds Good! is a

25:49

Podcast: Thinner — We All Float Down Here

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/08/13

We are back with the 11th episode of We All Float Down Here — A Stephen King podcast. Our third of 2025 is our first “Richard Bachman” episode. King famously wrote a bunch of books as Richard Bachman, later publishing them under his own name as “The Bachman Books”, including the standalone volume of ‘Thinner’. So we’re talking about that in the publishing chronology (1984) and also the 1996 film adaptation. The podcast goes out on YouTube first and foremost — so we’d love you to like and subscribe

8:03

Short Story Read Live: Say The Thing (July)

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/07/23

Here is a podcast recording of my short story ‘Reverie Gone Astray’, from the third ‘Say The Thing’ spoken word evening, recorded, July 23, 2025.You can listen to it here on Substack, or wherever you get podcasts — Amazon, Spotify, Apple, etc.Sounds Good! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Thanks for reading Sounds Good! ! This post is public so feel free to share it.Start writing today. Use the button below to

33:15

Podcast: The Talisman — We All Float Down Here

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/07/17

We are back with the eleventh episode of We All Float Down Here — A Stephen King podcast. Our third of 2025 is King’s first collaboration, The Talisman, written with fellow horror scribe, Peter Straub. There would be a sequel close to 20 years on, and King is working alone on a second sequel right now (R.I.P. Peter Straub).The podcast goes out on YouTube first and foremost — so we’d love you to like and subscribe over there.Sounds Good! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and

4:46

It Was Better When Things Were Not So Bad

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/07/08

You can read the text below — and/or click on the arrow above to listen to the podcast of the story (also available on Sweetman Podcast on Spotify, Amazon, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts)Michaela remembers when things were different. She is thinking this while winding the spool of tape from her cassette back into itself with a trusty pencil. Who even uses pencils these days she thinks as she slots the tape into the stereo’s open deck and though the sound crumbles into place at first, soon

3:14

Poetry Reading: Open Mic - Poetry in Motion,...

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/07/02

Here’s three brand new poems from me at the regular Poetry in Motion open mic at the Fringe Bar in Wellington.My first time reading there in a couple of months. I debuted three new poems which you can click on below for text versions if you’d like to read them first, or after, or read along with the recording: .They are called The Centre-Right is Ick, Strange Hours, and Rip Me Apart Like A Shark in the Shallows: So make of that what you will — just trying to keep my hand in reading poems, as I’m

4:30

Audio or Video Story: Click

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/06/10

Just mucking around with stories — so these are two different readings of the same story. The audio and video are separate recordings, so you can listen to the audio above on its own, or with reading the story below. Or you can watch the video. Or any combo…Click:They’d met at a café. First impressions were awful. But by coffee number three, things had reset. She’d spilled a drink on his lap. He laughed it off. She blushed and grinned. It was already a story.The click was instant. Like a fridge

2:55

New Music: New Coat

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/05/22

I haven’t made a bit of music for a while. Some would say I never have — including after hearing any of the pieces. Fair enough.With that in mind, here’s my most recent. A wee piece I call New Coat. I guess I tried to address the question no one was asking — what would happen if Moby and Robert Miles collaborated after they’d both been hit in the head a bit?My (“musical”) answer is above. Sounds Good! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a

6:04

A video short story: Boil The Combs

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/05/20

I always knew when my grandfather had come home too boozed, or sometimes it was even on a night when he’d just drift in his chair. The whiskey had done a number on him again. There’d be some noise and then my grandmother would shout out, “Boil the combs!”Grandad was a good sort otherwise. He made me a go-kart out of old boxes, but when the other kids could go much faster, he took the engine from his leaf-blower and hid it under the hood. He said, “put your foot on this button and just ease off if

30:55

Podcast: The Eyes of the Dragon — We All Float Down Here

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/05/18

We are back with the tenth episode of We All Float Down Here — A Stephen King podcast. Our second of 2025 is the King’s first YA title, The Eyes of The Dragon, and since there’s no film version, as yet (and unlikely to ever be), and because it’s related — age-wise, we also dip into his graphic novelette, The Cycle of the Werewolf, and its ropey film adaptation, Silver Bullet.The podcast goes out on YouTube first and foremost — so we’d love you to like and subscribe over there.Sounds Good! is a

3:49

New Music: Dark Winds

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/04/30

I haven’t made a bit of music for a while. Some would say I never have — including after hearing any of the pieces. Fair enough. With that in mind, here’s my most recent. A wee piece I call Dark Winds. Might use it for some spoken word at some point, but for now, here it is.Sounds Good! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Thanks for reading Sounds Good! ! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full

3:10

Audio + Typed Story: The Day Harrison Died

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/04/22

When George Harrison died, I helped move a friend from her flat in Elizabeth St to her new place then in Tasman St. From Mt Vic to Mt Cook sounds like the title to a down-scaling book but this was just how it was back in 2001. We scrubbed the walls to get the smoke stains off from where the pictures had been and all the while the radio was playing Beatles songs.I was on the heavy lifting, helping the removal men when they arrived. I was lifting tables and chairs, computer desks and various things

2:52

Poetry Reading: Open Mic - The Office, Newtown,...

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/03/23

It was my first time reading at The Office in Newtown, a regular get-together for some, but a new venue for it.I read two new poems — including one so new I wrote it the morning of the day I read it. The other is a couple of weeks old, both were new to being read aloud.They have a musical guest and a guest-poet but the first half of the programme is all-comers on an open mic. So check it out above to hear my two new poems.Sounds Good! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and

4:23

Poetry Reading: Open Mic - Poetry in Motion,...

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/03/13

Here’s three brand new poems from me at the regular Poetry in Motion open mic at the Fringe Bar in Wellington.Where all of last year and even into early this year I have been rehearsing and showcasing material from The Richard Poems, this was my first time in years reading brand new material. So the three poems captured here are being read for the very first time.They are called Worlds Colliding, Ex/Terminate and Shake What Ya Mama Gave You. In the case of Ex/Terminate, I haven’t even uploaded it to

2:33

Video: Some Brand New Poetry Readings Direct To Camera

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/02/18

I’ve mentioned my little book, The Richard Poems a bunch here. Launched in November last year. I’ve shared a few (audio) readings along the way to publication — and then a couple that have come out since the release: But there at the top you have a video poem, I’m reading Summerslam, 1988 — a piece from early in the book. A scene-setter I guess. I also will include here a bonus video of a handful of poems from the book — being read for the first time, and as you’ll see (and hear) chosen on the fly:

3:44

Final Sneak-Peek Rehearsal Clips from “DICK: Reading...

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/02/16

The final rehearsal for our show “DICK” is in the can — here’s a couple of sneak-peek clips; we were in the main room at Photospace Gallery today, where we’ll be delivering the show this Friday, Feb 21, 7.30pm. A reminder to buy your tickets online from The Fringe website — it’s $10 and that money goes to Women’s Refuge. There are no door sales on the night. Get full access to Sounds Good! at simonsweetman.substack.com/subscribe

4:39

Poetry Reading: NZ Society of Authors Open Mic (Feb...

Sweetman Podcast ·

2025/02/12

I popped along to the New Zealand Society of Authors — Wellington’s first event of 2025, an open mic at Undercurrent bookshop. There were all sorts of readings from all sorts of readings, including from novels and short stories and memoir and children’s books, and poetry. For my five-minute set, I read four poems from my latest collection, The Richard Poems. And you can listen to the recording here.It was also — of course — a chance to plug the upcoming show: Thanks for reading Sounds Good! ! This

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