The Paradox of Poetry with Sarah Holland-Batt and Kelli McGraw

Teaching poetry is a balancing act—can we nurture intellect and emotion while tackling curriculum and student pushback? Sarah Holland-Batt and Kelli McGraw explore the challenges of teaching poetry—how it tests us, yet sparks creativity, deep thinking, and meaningful connections.

Sarah Holland-Batt is an award-winning poet, editor and critic. Her books have received a number of Australia’s leading literary awards, including the Stella Prize for her most recent book, The Jaguar, and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry for her second volume, The Hazards. She is also the author of a book of essays on contemporary Australian poetry, Fishing for Lightning, collecting her poetry columns written for The Australian. She is presently Professor of Creative Writing at QUT, and also serves as Chair of Australian Book Review, and a member of the Council of the National Library of Australia.

Kelli McGraw is an English teacher and academic, working as a senior lecturer at QUT and part-time teacher at Kelvin Grove State College. Currently teaching secondary English education and poetry at the university, her prior experience includes growing up and teaching in Southwest Sydney, NSW. Kelli researches the fields of English curriculum studies, teacher identity, digital literacy, and poetry education. She is the Editor of AATE’s scholarly journal Australian Journal of English Education.

Show notes: 

Sarah’s next read is Tintinnabulum by Judith Beveridge.

Her website is https://www.sarahhollandbatt.com/

Kelli’s next read is Emily Wilde's Map of the Overlands or the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett.

Her website is https://kellimcgraw.net/

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