The Persian and The Poet: Recent Episodes
Cameron and Ramak share poems of love and wonder in English and Farsi
Cameron and Ramak share poems of love and wonder in English and Farsi!
Who is this 'Persian' and this 'Poet'?
Ramak Bamzar is a conceptual photographer studying her Masters in Fine Arts at RMIT. She has always had a love for poetry and she's 'The Persian' of this duo, having moved to Melbourne from Iran 10 years ago.
Cameron Semmens is 'The Poet' of this team with 28 years experience on the stage and the page, with 24 books to his name. As well as being relentlessly poetic Cameron also does book design, well-being facilitation and dabbles in fine art.
Their websites: www.ramakbamzar.com www.webcameron.com
Join the celebration!
Launching Cameron‘s brand-new book:
'A Complete Anthology of My First Kisses + other suites and sequels – a life in poems 1974 to 2024'.
Published by Wattle & Willow Books, Oct 2024.
Champagne is popped!
Poems are shared:
4 from the book and
1 fresh Farsi translation of one of Cameron's poems.
Ramak interviews Cameron:
Why does this book exist?
Why be so vulnerable in your art?
Why poetry?
Poem 1:
'A poem with late night whiskey on an anniversary' by Cameron Semmens.
Music: 'He died for all of us' by Hildur Guðnadóttir & Rutger Hoedemaekers from the album: Trapped (Original Television Series Soundtrack).
Poem 2.
'A poem with a hint of champagne on a wedding day' by Cameron Semmens.
Music: 'I remember everything' by Hildur Guðnadóttir & Rutger Hoedemaekers from the album: Trapped (Original Television Series Soundtrack).
Poem 3.
'Jewel of The Mythic Hollows' by Cameron Semmens.
Music: 'Aether' by Hildur Guðnadóttir from the album: Without Sinking
Poem 4.
The Farsi translation of 'Jewel of The Mythic Hollows':
جواهرِ درههای اسطورهای
Translation by Ramak Bamzar with assistance from ChatGPT A
Music: 'Aether' by Hildur Guðnadóttir from the album: Without Sinking
Poem 5.
'Jewel of Unknown Value Found in The Pocket of an Op-shop Suitcase' by Cameron Semmens.
Music: 'Aether' by Hildur Guðnadóttir from the album: Without Sinking
Theme music:
'Dastgahe Homayun, Pt 2' from the album ‘Iran – Masters of Traditional Music, Vol. 1 (Persian Music)’.
Additional music, beneath or between conversation:
'A Warm Welcome' by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
'He died for all of us' by Hildur Guðnadóttir & Rutger Hoedemaekers from the album: Trapped (Original Television Series Soundtrack).
'I remember everything' by Hildur Guðnadóttir & Rutger Hoedemaekers from the album: Trapped (Original Television Series Soundtrack).
'Aether' by Hildur Guðnadóttir from the album: Without Sinking.
Production and editing by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
For all things ‘The Persian and The Poet’, go to :
https://www.facebook.com/thepersianandthepoet
or https://www.instagram.com/the_persian_and_the_poet/
On the one year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, Ramak and Cameron discuss 'Pro Femina' – Ramak's brand new work on display at The Art Gallery of Ballarat as part of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale... as well as the impact of Mahsa's death and its implications for so many people.
Theme music: 'Dastgahe Homayun, Pt 2' from the album ‘Iran – Masters of Traditional Music, Vol. 1 (Persian Music)’.
Poem: 'Body under a sheet' by Cameron Semmens.
Music behind poem: 'Ascent' by Hildur Guðnadóttir from the album 'Without Sinking'.
Additional music: Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Production and editing by Cameron Semmens.
Graphic design by Ramak Bamzar.
For all things ‘The Persian and The Poet’, go to :
https://www.facebook.com/thepersianandthepoet
or https://www.instagram.com/the_persian_and_the_poet/
24... Woman! Life! Freedom!
Ramak and Cameron discuss the situation in Iran as of Oct 2022, and explore their creative responses to the situation.
Poem 1: 'Say Her Name' written by Cameron Semmens, September 2022. Spoken by Cameron Semmens and Ramak Bamzar. Poem 1 music: 'Lovely Bones' by Natalie Jeffreys. https://www.facebook.com/natalie.jeffreys
Poem 2: 'Soil' by Adib al-Mamalek Farahani (1860 - 1917), an Iranian poet, writer and journalist. Poem 2 music: 'Clouds' by Rod Gear, from the album 'The Wood That Sings'.
Production and editing by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
For all things ‘The Persian and The Poet’, go to :
https://www.facebook.com/thepersianandthepoet
or https://www.instagram.com/the_persian_and_the_poet/
23... Say Her Name – poem by Cameron Semmens
A poem calling for justice and freedom in Iran, written in response to the the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the 'morality police'.
Poem : 'Say Her Name' written by Cameron Semmens, September 2022. Spoken by Cameron Semmens and Ramak Bamzar.
Music : 'Lovely Bones' by Natalie Jeffreys. https://www.facebook.com/natalie.jeffreys
Production and editing by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
For all things ‘The Persian and The Poet’, go to :
https://www.facebook.com/thepersianandthepoet
or
https://www.instagram.com/the_persian_and_the_poet/
Say Her Name
hair in wind
free of scarf
men in power
crush the flower
stick to skull
skull to wall
girl on floor
blood in brain
say her name
say her name
rose on grave
fire online
slap from hand
rose in cheek
fire in eyes
fire in street
thorn in heart
youth abloom
rose in hand
rise for change
say her name
say her name
tear in eye
blur of lies
tear on tongue
taste of fear
salt in wound
sting of hate
stink of rot
taste the truth
hint of spice
hot on tongue
say her name
say her name
fist in air
hair in wind
knife to curls
hair a flag
truth a flame
girls ablaze
death a spark
birth of new
scarf on fire
burn the ties
burn the lies
say her name
say her name
Mahsa Amini
Mahsa Amini
Mahsa Amini
Mahsa Amini
Mahsa Amini
Mahsa Amini
Mahsa Amini
Mahsa Amini
Mahsa Amini
Poem 1: 'Colonisation' by Cameron Semmens; translation by Ramak Bamzar.
Music: 'On The Fly' by M. Carney.
Poem 2: 'Ghazal 164' by Hafez.
Music: 'Dastgahe Homayun, Pt. 3.' from the album ‘Iran – Masters of Traditional Music, Vol. 1. (Persian Music)’.
Additional music: 'A Warm Welcome' by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Production and editing by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
For all things ‘The Persian and The Poet’, go to https://www.facebook.com/thepersianandthepoet
Cam memorialising in a poem the very first time he heard a poem spoken in Persian back in late 2019 ... it was shared by a fascinating, arty woman he'd just met ... she goes by the name of Ramak!
Poem 1 – FARSI – 'Let Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season’ by Forough Farrokhzad. Music : 'Clouds' by Rod Gear from the album 'The Wood That Sings' www.rodgearmusic.com
Poem 2 – ENGLISH – 'The Spring and The Forest' by Cameron Semmens. Music : ‘Love her and she will watch over you’ by Luke Pittman.
Poem 3 – ENGLISH – 'Let Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season’ by Forough Farrokhzad translated by Michael Hillmann. Music : 'Clouds' by Rod Gear from the album 'The Wood That Sings' www.rodgearmusic.com
Poem 4 – FARSI – 'The Spring and The Forest' by Cameron Semmens, translated by Ramak Bamzar. Music : ‘Love her and she will watch over you’ by Luke Pittman.
Additional music: 'A Warm Welcome' by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com 'Dastgahe Homayun, Pt 2' from the album ‘Iran – Masters of Traditional Music, Vol. 1 (Persian Music)’.
Production and editing – Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design – Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
The Persian: Ramak Bamzar.
The Poet: Cameron Semmens.
All poems from the book ‘Upside Drowning – poems from the edge of the ocean’, by Cameron Semmens; available through www.webcameron.com
Poem 1: ‘Listening to The Ocean’ by Cameron Semmens
Poem 2: ‘Curious Fragments of Memory’ by Cameron Semmens; music: ‘A Thousand Goodnights’ from the album: ‘Tears of The Candle’ by M. Carney.
Poem 3: ‘The Lips of The Sea’ by Cameron Semmens; music: ‘Erupting Light’ from the album ‘Without Sinking’ by Hildur Guðnadóttir & Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Poem 4: ‘The Dream of Oblivion’ by Cameron Semmens; music: ‘Circular’ from the album ‘Without Sinking’ by Hildur Guðnadóttir & Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Additional background music: ‘On The Doorstep’ and ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Production and editing by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
For all things ‘The Persian and The Poet’, go to https://www.facebook.com/thepersianandthepoet
Poem 1: The Swifts in The Willow by Cameron Semmens;
translation by Ramak Bamzar.
Music: ‘Overcast’ by Hildur Gudnadottir & Johann Johannsson,
from the album ‘Without Sinking’.
Poem 2: Futile Magic by Fereydoon Moshiri;
translation by Frank Moshiri (2015).
Music: ‘Avaze Bayate Esfahan’ from the album
‘Iran – Masters of Traditional Music, Vol. 1 (Persian Music)’.
Production and editing – Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design – Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Ramak shares about Nowruz – the symbology and her experiences.
Cameron surprises her with a brand new poem: Standing in Love
Enjoy!
In essence, this episode – The Fall of The Willow – is a spoken-word album, which you can listen to in one continuous stream.
It's a curated compilation consisting of each one of Cameron Semmens' original poems translated and recited by Ramak Bamzar in the 2020 podcast season.
These gorgeous translations have been brought together to create a single half-hour of swirling, twirling, whispered and hollered words declared and confided to YOU – our dear listener. May love and wonder seep into your bones...
NOTE: If you'd like to listen to Cameron's original poems in English, go to the previous episode: 16... SPECIAL: The Fall of The Willow – online album (all of Cam's poems from the 2020 season)
The poems:
1 : As I Stand on Edge of The Park
2 : What Happened in The Forest?
3 : Still Trying To
4 : The Father of Butterflies
5 : Come Into Me
6 : They are a secret
7 : In The Mountains
8 : Petalled Pillows and Thorny Sheets – Part 1
9 : Petalled Pillows and Thorny Sheets – Part 2
10 : Rapid ‘I’ Movement Towards You
11 : The Mind is a Yacht, The Heart an Oil Tanker
12 : Upon Approaching a Dead Person in a Hospice
13 : The Wattle and The Willow
Music credits:
Title song : 'A Warm Welcome' by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
1 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
2 : Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
3 : ‘Chasm’ from the album ‘Separate Journeys’ by Spike Mason www.spikemason.com
4 : ‘Viewed from The Climb’ from the album ‘Separate Journeys’ by Spike Mason www.spikemason.com
5 : ‘God’ from the album ‘Henotic’ by Spike Mason www.spikemason.com
6 : ‘Frederique’ by Michael Carney.
8 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
9 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
10 : ‘Love her and she will watch over you’ by Luke Pittman
11 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
12 : ‘Frederique’ by Michael Carney.
13 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
In essence, this episode – The Fall of The Willow – is a spoken-word album, which you can listen to in one continuous stream.
It's a curated compilation consisting of each one of Cameron's original poems shared in the 2020 podcast season. These poems have been brought together to create a single half-hour of swirling, twirling, whispered and hollered words declared and confided to YOU – our dear listener.
May love and wonder seep into your bones...
Coming soon: all the translations of these poems in Farsi
read by Ramak Bamzar in a special FARSI ONLY episode!
Poem 1 : As I Stand on Edge of The Park
Poem 2 : What Happened in The Forest?
Poem 3 : Still Trying To
Poem 4 : The Father of Butterflies
Poem 5 : Come Into Me
Poem 6 : They are a secret
Poem 7 : Petalled Pillows and Thorny Sheets – Part 1
Poem 8 : Petalled Pillows and Thorny Sheets – Part 2
Poem 9 : In The Mountains
Poem 10 : The Mind is a Yacht, The Heart an Oil Tanker
Poem 11 : Upon Approaching a Dead Person in a Hospice
Poem 12 : Rapid ‘I’ Movement Towards You
Poem 13 : From My Dry Lips
Poem 14 : The Wattle and The Willow
MUSIC CREDITS:
Title song : 'A Warm Welcome' by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
1 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
2 : Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
3 : ‘Chasm’ from the album ‘Separate Journeys’ by Spike Mason www.spikemason.com
4 : ‘Viewed from The Climb’ from the album ‘Separate Journeys’ by Spike Mason www.spikemason.com
5 : ‘God’ from the album ‘Henotic’ by Spike Mason www.spikemason.com
6 : ‘Frederique’ by Michael Carney.
7 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
8 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
10 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
11 : ‘Frederique’ by Michael Carney.
12 : ‘Love her and she will watch over you’ by Luke Pittman
13 : Cameron Semmens
14 : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Poem : From My Dry Lips – words and music by Cameron Semmens.
Title music : A Warm Welcome – Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Production and editing – Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design – Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Episode 14 : Yalda Night Special
Ramak and Cam share a night full of candles, cosiness, fruit and poetry! Gorgeous ghazals from one of the greatest of all Persian poets: Hafiz, as well as exquisite poems from Cam’s 3 favourite poets: David Whyte, Mary Oliver and John O’Donohue…. and Cam couldn’t not share a brand-new ghazal he’d just written.
But some may be asking – What is Yalda Night?
Well, Yalda Night is a winter solstice festival celebrated in Iran. Friends and family gather on the longest night of the year to eat, drink and read poetry (especially Hafez) until well after midnight. Nuts and fruits are shared. The red-coloured fruits, like pomegranates and watermelons, are particularly significant – symbolising the crimson hues of dawn and the glow of life. The poems of Hafez, which can be found in the bookcases of most Iranian families, are read aloud… and even used as a light-hearted form of divination called ‘fal-e Hafez’, where the reader sends out a wish to Hafez, flicks through their book of Hafez poems, stops at a random page, and reads that poem as an answer to their wish…
and on this Yalda Night in 2020 Ramak and Cam try a bit of fal-e Hafez… with thought-provoking results!
Poem list:
1 : Sweet Darkness by David Whyte.
2 : A Summer Day by Mary Oliver.
3 & 4 : Ghazals by Hafez from The Divan of Hafez.
5 : Ode 44 (a ghazal by Hafez) translated by Richard Le Gallienne.
6 : A Silent Refrain by Cameron Semmens
7 : For The Break-up of a Relationship by John O’Donohue
All music by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Poem 1 : The Wattle and The Willow by Cameron Semmens.
Translation by Ramak Bamzar.
Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Poem 2 : How Impatient by Ahmad Shamlou.
Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Episode 11 : And someone is dying
... In this episode Ramak and Cameron discuss times they have stood beside death. For Cameron, at hospital bedsides; for Ramak, as a documentary photographer, in the disaster zone of the 2003 Bam earthquake in southern Iran. And they wonder over the fact that… as someone is dying… another is coming to life. As Ned Kelly said in his famous last words before he hung from the noose: such is life.
Poem 1 : Upon Approaching a Dead Person in a Hospice by Cameron Semmens; translation by Ramak Bamzar. Music : ‘Frederique’ by Michael Carney.
Poem 2 : Moonlight by Ahmad Shamlou; translation into English by Iraj Bashiri. Music by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Poem 1 : The Mind is a Yacht, The Heart an Oil Tanker by Cameron Semmens; translation by Ramak Bamzar and Roya Bamzar. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Poem 2 : Oasis in a Moment by Sohrab Sepehri; translation into English by Ismail Salami. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Poem 1 : Rapid ‘I’ Movement Towards You by Cameron Semmens; translation by Ramak Bamzar. Music: ‘Love her and she will watch over you’ by Luke Pittman. Poem 2 : ‘Beyond Presence’ by Sohrab Sepehri; translation into English by Ali Salami. Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Poem 1 : ‘The Wind Will Take Us’ by Forough Farrokhzad; translation into English by Daniel Shams. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Poem 2 : ’Petalled Pillows and Thorny Sheets – Part 2’ by Cameron Semmens; translation by Ramak Bamzar. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Poem 1 : ’Petalled Pillows and Thorny Sheets – Part 1’ by Cameron Semmens; translation by Ramak Bamzar. Music : Rod Gear.
Poem 2 : ‘Tryst’ by Ahmad Shamlou; translation into English by Naim Nabili and Frank Lewis. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com …
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com …
Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com …
Poem 1 : ’In The Mountains’ by Cameron Semmens; translation by Ramak Bamzar.
Poem 2 : The Dead-end Rod road by Ahmad Shamlou; translation by Sholeh Wolpé. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Episode 6 : Secrets... and Rumi.
Poem 1 : ’They are a secret’ by Cameron Semmens; translation into Farsi by Ramak Bamzar. Music : ‘Frederique’ by Michael Carney.
Poem 2 : A selection of quatrains by Rumi; translation into English by Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek. Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens. Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar.
Episode 5 : A Room Full of Rumi.
1 : ’Come Into Me’ by Cameron Semmens; translation by Ramak Bamzar. Music : ‘God’ by Spike Mason www.spikemason.com
2 : A ghazal by Rumi; translation into English by Mariam Maafi. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Poems 3 and 4 by Rumi.
Title music by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens. Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar.
Episode 4 : The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam… and Butterflies.
Poem 1 : ’The Father of Butterflies’ by Cameron Semmens; translation into Farsi by Ramak Bamzar. Music : ‘Viewed from The Climb’ from the album ‘Separate Journeys’ by Spike Mason www.spikemason.com
Poem 2 : ’The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam’ compiled by Kamran Kuhestany; translation into English by Dr. Rosen. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Episode 3: LOVE and DEATH
Title music : ‘A Warm Welcome’ by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Poem 1 : ’Still Trying To’ by Cameron Semmens. Translation into Farsi by Ramak Bamzar. Music : ‘Chasm’ from the album ‘Separate Journeys’ by Spike Mason www.spikemason.com
Poem 2 : ’I Will Greet The Sun Again’ by Forough Farouzad. Music : Rod Gear www.rodgearmusic.com
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens : www.webcameron.com
Photography and graphic design by Ramak Bamzar : www.ramakbamzar.com
Episode 2: The Forest and Forough.
Poem1 : ’What Happened in The Forest?’ by Cameron Semmens. Translation into Farsi by Ramak Bamzar.
Poem 2 : ’Another Birth’ by Forough Farouzad. Translation into English by Karim Emami.
All music by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com Photography and Graphic design: Ramak Bamzar Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens.
Poem 1 : ‘As I Stand on Edge of The Park’ by Cameron Semmens. Translation into Farsi by Ramak Bamzar.
Poem 2 : ‘The Bird May Die’ by Forough Farrokhzad. Translation into English by Maryam Dilmaghani.
All music by Jared Haschek: jaredhaschek.com
Photography and Graphic design: Ramak Bamzar
Podcast produced by Cameron Semmens.