Pick up the landline handset and dial a number to hear a poem. Harnessing the magic of the Wonderfoon (made in Nederlands), each number on the rotary phone unlocks a unique poem read by the poet. Phone-a-Poem riffs on John Giorno’s iconic 1969 artwork, ‘Dial-a-Poem’, featuring work by contemporary Australian poets.

Created and led by Red Room Poetry Creative Producer Izzy Roberts-Orr, Phone-a-Poem invites audiences to pause, pick up a handset and enter the space of the poem. An interactive and tactile experience designed to extend our audio archive from the digital realm into public space, Phone-a-Poem encourages audiences of all ages to engage with poetry.

In early 2025, 10 new poems will be published by Red Room in support of this project, building on pilot installations of the project at Lerderderg Library for World Poetry Day 2024.

This project is proudly supported by Regional Arts Victoria through the Regional Arts Fund Project Grants.

Phone-a-Poem 2025 Submissions

Submissions to Phone-a-Poem 2025, with a focus on poets based in or with a strong connection to Regional Victoria, are now closed.

Thank you to all the poets who submitted - we are loving reading your work and will be in touch soon!

Process and Payments for Selected Commissions

• Process: All poets will be notified of the outcome of their submission in February 2025. Unfortunately we will not be able to give detailed feedback on unsuccessful submissions.
• Editing: We may work with the selected poets to edit the work, in discussion with the poets. The author will have final approval of the work.
• Audio: Part of this project requires that the poems be recorded as audio. The selected poets will read their poems. You do not need a professional setup - the lead producer will work with you to ensure the recording is high quality as part of the publication process.
• Copyright: An artist agreement will be sent to selected poets outlining the contributor fee, agreed deadlines and the full terms and conditions prior to publication. Poets retain copyright of the work.
• Payment: Poets will be paid a commissioning fee of $312 AUD in alignment with ASA Rates. Poets will invoice Red Room Poetry directly upon delivery of the final written and recorded poem.