In this episode of Australian Book Review's States of Poetry podcast, Susie Anderson reads her poem 'minimum spend' which features in the 2016 NSW anthology.

minimum spend

at the patisserie the waitresses speak in French to each other while they slowly put in your coffee order. they do not seem rushed and their dialogue makes the experience seem authentic. I did not have cash and asked if they had a minimum on card. it was $10 and I had to add a chocolate truffle to my order to meet the price. I laughed to deflect attention from getting chocolate in the morning and said it would be my afternoon snack. I was lying. I planned to eat it well before lunch on the way back to my building so no one I work with would know. on my way back I realised that no one actually speaks to each other at the office. so I could eat what I want or sit and write the whole experience down in my notebook at my desk and no one would notice.

Susie Anderson

'minimum spend' appears in States of Poetry - NSW. You can learn more about States of Poetry and read the full anthologies here.

Read Susie Anderson's biography in 'States of Poetry - NSW'