Between the Leaves
Between the Leaves is a poetry podcast hosted by Ellen van Neerven and Hermina Burns. In each episode, Ellen and Hermina illuminate poems written by women and the gender diverse, as well as their own original works, moving through themes like love, race and feminism.
Victorian Women's Trust
“Sometimes as an antidote / To fear of death, / I eat the stars.”
Preview
Preview: “Unfinished Business”
3 mins
Episode 1
Episode 1: Work
20 mins
Episode 2
Episode 2: Nurturing
17 mins
Episode 3
Episode 3: Race
20 mins 44 sec
Episode 4
Episode 4: Body
16 mins 51 sec
Episode 5
Episode 5: Feminism
18 mins 47 sec
Episode 6
Episode 6: Love
14 mins
Episode 7
Episode 7: Violence
19 mins 36 sec
Episode 8
Episode 8: The Natural World
22 mins 29 sec
About the hosts
Ellen van Neerven
Ellen van Neerven (they/them) is a writer, editor and educator of Mununjali and Dutch heritage. Ellen’s fiction debut Heat and Light (UQP, 2014) was the recipient of the David Unaipon Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Indigenous Writers Prize. Their first poetry collection Comfort Food (UQP, 2016) won the Tina Kane Emergent Award and was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize. Throat (UQP, 2020) was the recipient of Book of the Year, the Kenneth Slessor Prize and the Multicultural Award at 2021 NSW Literary Awards and the inaugural Quentin Bryce Award. Personal Score: Sport, Culture, Identity (UQP, 2023, Two Dollar Radio, 2024) received the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Non Fiction and was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Their first play, swim, produced by Griffin Theatre Company, premiered at Carriageworks in Sydney in 2024. Ellen’s latest book Ruby’s Web (Magabala, 2026) is a middle grade novel. It is a powerful story about finding your voice, seeking help, and addressing cyberbullying and victimisation.
Hermina Burns
Hermina Burns is a Melbourne poet, writer, editor and podcaster. She has published six volumes of poetry: Against Separation Creek, Bite of a Bluebottle, Crossing a Line, Dodging the Relative, Edging Them Out and Facing the Music. She is co-host of poetry podcast Between the Leaves, commissioned by the Victorian Women’s Trust in 2020.
Creators and Credits
Proudly presented by the Victorian Women’s Trust.
Hosts
Black Smoke by Emily Wurramara
Mary Crooks AO, Maria Chetcuti, Ally Oliver-Perham
Sound engineer
Recording
Graphic design