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Upcoming event

What Women Think Poetic Evening featuring Sharifa Tartoussi

When

Saturday, July 15 @ 7:30pm

Where

Anthropology Specialty Coffee and Concept Store
349 Gaffney Street, Pascoe Vale, Victoria, Australia

Price

$10

Has an Open Mic?

Yes

Registration Information

Book tickets: https://eventbrite.com/e/…

Curious to know what goes on inside a woman’s mind?

Here’s your chance to find out what women are really thinking, from the daily life struggles, their highs and lows, their hopes and dreams, their needs & wants, their desire to be loved and accepted for who they are + more (the list goes on, and on).

Or perhaps you want to know what men think of all the stuff that goes on in their heads. Well, they sure do.

It’s an event not to be missed. A night of open sharing & learning what women think. The complexity of emotion, struggle, sacrifice, success and all of that which makes women unique.

Open to all.

Tickets include complimentary coffee on the night.

Reservations essential.

This is a collaboration between GriffinSpeak and Anthropology cafe and specialty store.

POSTY Poetry & Spoken Word Special Delivery

The Post St Kilda

POSTY Poetry & Spoken Word Special Delivery is a new fortnightly open mic event hosted by Hamish Danks Brown a.k.a. Danksta Downunder. All welcome to distribute and sort their poetry on stage and to deliver it in any language. The Post is well located on the corner of Brighton Road and Inkerman Street. If you’re coming from North of the Yarra catch the number 3 or 67 trams from Swanston Street and get out at Stop 34 right outside the pub. It’s a very warm and welcoming venue with good food and drinks.

Interviews — July 18

A Waffle On with Waffle IronGirl

By Tim Train

I’m sitting down for an interview with Waffle IronGirl, me on one end of old faithful (Facebook Messenger), her on the other. I’ve – somewhat unwisely – started off proceedings with a list of ‘suggested’ questions from my partner Lexi, all of them uniquely bizarre. For instance:

“How adaptable is the waffle iron as a printing technology?”

Waffle IronGirl shoots this one down:

Waffle Iron isn’t a printing technology.

It’s very adaptable personal weaponry though.

Things are off to a cracking start.

We’re here to talk about performing in Singapore (she was recently a support act in the Singapore poetry slam) and chapbooks (she’s running a workshop on chapbooks for the Melbourne Spoken Word and Poetry Festival). But I can’t resist. Where does the name “Waffle IronGirl” come from? ” I once wrote a flash fiction story about a vigilante called Waffle IronGirl,” she explains. “She used a waffle iron to dispatch with those who would violate her boundaries or the boundaries of those she cared about. When I started performing I needed a stage name, and it seemed like she could impart a courage and frankness that I felt I was lacking personally.”

I could pause here to note that Waffle IronGirl is one of the most original performers I’ve seen, and when she featured for us at the Dan, I felt like the top of my head had been taken off and I had a whole range of new weird and wonderful ideas poured in. Instead, I ask about the Singapore slam; what differences between Singaporean spoken word and Australian spoken word did she notice? “What struck me wasn’t so much the difference in style”, she says, “although that was certainly there. From a style perspective, there was certainly a more natural use of multiple languages and accents and dialects within the same

Interviews — July 15

Addicted to the feeling of feelings: Interview with Thabani Tshuma

By Poetpre

What does your name mean?

Thabani means “be happy”.

What makes you happy?

Connecting with people. I enjoy consuming art in all its forms. Art is one of the most connective things in which we can participate.

What made you leave Zimbabwe and come to Melbourne? Is Melbourne home now or is there more to your journey?

I left to study in the US and South Africa and finally Melbourne because I have family here. I just thought it would be beaches and people in swimsuits all day but had a rude awakening!

There is so much more to the journey. The project I’m working on now is about the sense of identity displacement. Even in Zimbabwe, I was not culturally accepted because I went to a lot of “white” schools. I’m still searching for a sense of belonging.

Do you know what this place looks like?

No, that’s why it’s so hard to find. But it’s not about the finding, it’s about the journey towards finding. In fact, I’m content to continuously search and not find it because it’s in the search that the most meaningful interactions are to be found.

You’re a Wheeler Centre Hot Desk Fellow. What that does mean to you?

It is a great opportunity. Connecting to other writers and becoming a part of the literary world – that is the most valuable aspect. The biggest growth for me is the discipline – working on one full body of work thematically linked, where the content needs coherent narrative. I’m usually very sporadic and volatile in writing, so it’s been an interesting challenge to get into the frame of mind where I’m still authentically expressing myself but it’s a controlled expressing. Not writing to the feeling, but bringing the feeling and writing to it.

You’re part of the Slamalamadingong National Poetry Slam Team. How do you feel and what are you expecting at the event?

A lot of poetry! It’s great to see people workin

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