Poetry Month: Middle of the Air Returns
Poetry leaves the page and finds a new rhythm.
Following the success of its inaugural program in 2025, Middle of the Air returns for Poetry Month 2026, bringing together poets and musicians to explore the space where words, sound and storytelling meet.
Presented by Red Room Poetry in partnership with ABC Radio National, Middle of the Air is a national music and poetry initiative that invites poets to imagine their work in conversation with music. Through collaboration with some of Australia’s most exciting musicians, selected poems are transformed into original songs — creating new ways for audiences to experience contemporary poetry.
The program’s first year saw more than 1,000 poems submitted from across Australia, with winning works by Giles Watson and Cate Kennedy reimagined by acclaimed artists DOBBY and Leah Senior. The project explored the many connections between poetry and songwriting: rhythm, voice, emotion, storytelling and the power of language to move us.
This year, Middle of the Air returns with the second annual Middle of the Air competition, featuring beloved Australian musicians Missy Higgins and Ziggy Ramo. Poets are invited to submit their work for the chance to have their poem transformed into an original song, continuing the project’s celebration of creative exchange between poets and musicians.
At Sydney Writers’ Festival 2026, audiences were given a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process during Middle of the Air: Music and Lyrics, a special conversation, hosted by ABC’s The Music Show Andrew Ford, featuring Ziggy Ramo, Leah Senior and Kate Fagan. The artists explored the relationship between poetry and music, sharing insights into songwriting, lyric writing and the ways words can evolve when paired with sound.
You can listen back to the full conversation on ABC Radio National’s The Music Show.
Whether you’re a poet, musician or simply someone who loves the power of words, Middle of the Air invites you to consider poetry in a new way — not only as something we read, but something we hear, feel and carry with us.
Enter Middle of the Air to join us in the airwaves!
