2021 XYZ Prize Winner: Megan J. Riedl’s ‘Single White Female.’

Melbourne Spoken Word would like to congratulate Megan J. Riedl upon winning The Arts Queensland XYZ Prize for Innovation in Spoken Word as “Australia’s only national arts award that recognises the growing field of spoken word.” We’re very proud to present her piece, ‘Single White Female’ on Melbourne Spoken Word.

Upon winning, the judge, Anisa Nandaula said, “This entry was by far the most the most creative of all the poems. The merging of the two pieces fit beautifully into each other. The way she used the typing sound on an iPhone made me feel like I was going through the feelings with her. This award is about innovation in spoken word and pushing the boundaries and taking the listener to a place we have never been. She did that. It’s clear she put a lot of time and effort into the construction of this poem to find the best possible way to express herself.”

Megan J Riedl is a purveyor of words for the page and the stage. She feels out loud; fearlessly giving a voice to the secret stories we tell ourselves and creates connections through sharing the messy, human experiences that often go unspoken. An Australian Poetry Slam State Finalist for the past two years, Megan has featured at Mother Tongue, Wordcraft and MSW Fresh Voices. She has been commissioned as part of City of Ballarat’s creative COVID response, and created poetic calls to action for the Ballarat Greens and Let’s Talk Peace, Ballarat.

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Annie Solah

Annie Solah is a writer, poet, spoken word artist, activist and the Director of Melbourne Spoken Word. She grew up in Western Sydney before calling Melbourne home in 2008, where she's performed since 2010 around Melbourne's regular spoken word and poetry nights including Passionate Tongues, The Dan Poets, Voices in the Attic and House of Bricks as well as the NGV and White Night. She's released a chapbook, broken bodies, and two spoken word albums, Duel Power with Santo Cazzati and The World Doesn't Make Sense EP.