The Persian and the Poet

23/02/2024

You wanting to self-publish a book? I can help!

I thought I’d let all of my friends in the Facebook world know that one of the key things that I love to do in life is to design books and to help people publish their own books. I’ve been doing it myself for years, and then 2 years ago Ramak and I set ourselves up under the banner of Wattle & Willow Books. So, if you have a book you want to publish – I can help you with that, or if you know someone who has a book needing to be published, you can link me up.

There are two main things Ramak and I offer: firstly, full book design and self-publishing assistance, which helps self-publishing authors pull everything together to get their book printed and ready to send off into the world. And secondly, self-publishing consultations, where I give one and a half hour meetings to help authors find the best publishing pathways for their book and to develop a clear plan on how to move their book from a dream to a reality.

Just this week I finished off a highly relevant eBook that the world needs: ‘Know-how to build PEACE in a world of violence and conflict’, and also, I did a self-publishing consultation with an author that is passionate about getting his educational children’s book out into people’s hands, and I was able to help him develop a clear publishing plan.

The other thing that I’m passionate about within all this, is providing a smooth and stressless self-publishing experience. I know for some people the whole process of publishing a book can be so overwhelming, and I’m convinced it just doesn’t have to be that way.

So that’s my pitch, if you got a book that you want to self-publish, connect with me, or if you have a friend that wants to self-publish, link me up!

Yours bookishly,

Cam

24/10/2023

Seven Pages in Sassafras – the only place in the entire world to get a copy of Get Poor Quick through Poetry. Personally I don’t recommend it, and I’d rather not sell any, but if you just have to delve into its devastatingly truthful and ruthless pages … go ahead.

16/09/2023

Have a listen!
On this pivotal day for so many Iranians - the 1 year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini - Ramak and I discuss her brand new work: 'Pro Femina' currently on display at The Art Gallery of Ballarat, which is a response to the uprising in Iran over the last year as well as the generations of oppression women have suffered in the Middle East. And I share a poem 'Body under a sheet' about my experience suffering alongside Ramak.

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. ...

30/08/2023

As we know you guys are desperately waiting for the next episode of ‘The Persian and The Poet’ 😁😎 – finally WE’RE BACK this Sunday – Sept 3, 7pm AEST.

Ramak is going to be sharing some of the journey of creating of her brand-new series ‘Pro Femina’ which has just been launched at the Art Gallery of Ballarat as the core program of Ballarat International foto biennale.

As always, the episode will be a mix of seriousness and playfulness as we explore the plight of women protesters in Iran, as well as what it means to be an artist and to express one’s feelings through art.

Please join us for the live stream, but if you can’t… afterwards there will also be a podcast episode.

Salamati! Cheers! 🥂

Camak

(We’re just trying out a Bradjellina style name!)

27/08/2023

With my hot Poet at Ballarat 🔥🔥

22/08/2023

Very proud of this artist I live with. She is a featured exhibitor at the Ballarat International Foto Biennale at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. It’s an incredible opportunity and honour for her to be there. Her new work speaks so uniquely and powerfully to the current fight for freedom of women in Iran, and her photos (more like paintings) are equally mythic and domestic, beautiful and brutal. It’s opening this weekend and open for the next 3 months. So take a trip to Ballarat and soak up some quality art!

17/07/2023

Come write with me!

29/05/2023

And here The Persian and the Poet... 💕

09/01/2023

A few words of consolation for all my Iranians friends…

08/01/2023

For my Iranian friends….

31/10/2022

The Persian and The Poet date night 🥂🥂

29/10/2022

Have a listen…

29/10/2022

29/10/2022

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. Mu...

28/10/2022

Thank you so much to everyone who tuned in to our Instagram live feed for The Persian and The Poet. We loved having people there to share with, and soon the podcast will be ready to share with more people. Woman! Life! Freedom!
--- Ramak and Cameron

28/10/2022

Our live show — Say Her Name:

26/10/2022

برای همه مادران، زنان و دختران ایرانی که شجاعانه در برابر سیاهی ایستادند و زن! زندگی! آزادی را فریاد زدند

رامک و کامرون برای به اشتراک گذاشتن یک شعر کاملاً جدید (به زبان انگلیسی و فارسی) در مورد جنبش آزادیخواه زن، زندگی، آزادی، این جمعه (28 اکتبر) ساعت ۷:۳۰ شب به وقت ملبورن بازخواهند گشت
اجرای زنده ساعت ۷:۳۰ روز جمعه (به وقت ملبورن)
از طریق اینستاگرام

Persian and the Poet

26/10/2022

Persian and the Poet on Instagram:

114 Followers, 9 Following, 44 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Ramak Bamzar ()

26/10/2022

WOMAN! LIFE! FREEDOM!
To discuss the massive stuff happening in Iran at the moment and to share a brand-new poem (in English and Farsi) about this movement for freedom, Ramak and Cameron will return as The Persian and The Poet this Friday (Oct 28) at 7:30pm AEST. Streaming live on Instagram – just pop into the Instagram page at 7:30 and the live stream will pop up.

Persian and the Poet on Instagram:
www.instagram.com/the_persian_and_the_poet/?hl=en

برای همه مادران، زنان و دختران ایرانی که شجاعانه در برابر سیاهی ایستادند و زن! زندگی! آزادی را فریاد زدند

رامک و کامرون برای به اشتراک گذاشتن یک شعر کاملاً جدید (به زبان انگلیسی و فارسی) در مورد جنبش آزادیخواه زن، زندگی، آزادی، این جمعه (28 اکتبر) ساعت ۷:۳۰ شب به وقت ملبورن بازخواهند گشت
اجرای زنده ساعت ۷:۳۰ روز جمعه (به وقت ملبورن)
از طریق اینستاگرام

Persian and the Poet on Instagram:
www.instagram.com/the_persian_and_the_poet/?hl=en

08/10/2022

We were planning to do a Persian and Poet tomorrow night, but we’re going to have to postpone, will set a new date shortly

26/04/2022

BIRTHDAY BOY HERE!

I’m turning 48 tomorrow, and a few weeks ago I couldn’t think of anything I really wanted for my birthday. BUT THEN I realised – as an artist – I do really want something: engagement! I speak to be heard, I write to be read, I create for the dialogue and the conversation. Thus, I pulled together a book of my poems that are important to me – resonant for me. And only when I placed these poems together in a collection did I begin to see the overarching themes of these words, and thus, my mind and my heart. They sing of a deep awareness of the cycles of life: birth and death, light and dark, connection and separation, knowing and unknowing, attention and distraction, possibility and impossibility, and ultimately, the three-fold powers of Nature, Love and Words.

You may not normally read poetry, but I think these poems could help you (or anyone) to be more attentive to your heart and to the world around you, and to feel less alone in your grief and uncertainty. This book has five key foci:
1. Birth and Death
2. Astronomy
3. Animals
4. The Forest
5. Intimate Love
So, if any of those themes interest you, maybe these poems might speak to you too.

So, if you feel included to give me a gift on my birthday, buy this new little book, read it, and let me know what resonates with you – that truly would be a gift to me. The book is simply called: “10 poems I like... maybe you’ll like ’em too”, and Ramak designed a truly wondrous cover for me that I love – even if I do look like a bookish barista trainee Santa!)

Yours poetically

Cam

The book is $22.95 (postage included) and here’s the link to buy it:

This is a book of my poems that are important to me – resonant for me. And only when I placed these poems together in a collection did I begin to see the overarching themes of these words, and thus, my mind and my heart. They sing of a deep awareness of the cycles of life: birth and death, light a...

02/10/2021

Listen up! Listen in!

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)’.   Ad...

02/10/2021

The new episode of The Persian and the poet podcast... Coming soon! به زودی اپیزود جدید ایرانی وشاعر

01/10/2021

It's velvet night on The Persian and The Poet!

28/09/2021

Friday 8pm
New poems... Fun times...
Persian & Poet - LIVE - Join us!

22/09/2021

Welcome to Shards – a glinting fragment of transparent truth to flash in your mind's eye or cut you open. Irregularly, a fresh poem – a poetic pause in your day to make you think or smile or be inspir

19/09/2021

Yay for the podcast!

18/09/2021

Have a listen! 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!

'The Spring and The Forest' by Cameron Semmens. Music : ‘Love her and she will watch over you’ by Luke Pittman.

Poem in Farsi in the background: 'Let Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season’ by Forough Farrokhzad.

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! 'Th