How did Story Fest begin?
It began with one person performing their poetry at a pub in Newtown in 1996. It then grew into the national Australian Poetry Slam, and now sits comfortably in the Sydney Opera House with over a 1,000 audience members, 70 performing writers and a bucket-load of partners (looking at you Arts NSW).
Is there a guiding philosophy behind Story Fest?
This year our theme is “Lost Language”. In Australia, poetry slams have brought spoken word poetry back from the verge of extinction. We’re showcasing languages that are being wiped out around the world. We’ll have a panel on West Papua and a screening called Language Matters about language revival around the world.
Is there any event in particular that you are especially excited about?
NSW Poetry Slam Final is always amazing. We reach out to 14 different communities across the state. We have unearthed an 82-year-old poet from Coffs Harbour, a 15-year-old filmmaker from Katoomba and two ABC journos from Byron – husband and wife. She beat him in the heat by one tenth of a point. We’ll be at the State Library of NSW with this one on Saturday October 15.
How would you characterise Sydney’s writing scene at the moment?
Thriving. Innovative and bursting. When great writing is performed powerfully it can go anywhere. No cast. No crew. No camera. Just straight from artist to audience.
What do you want people to walk away from Story Fest events thinking/feeling?
Three things: “That was incredible.” “I could do that.” “Sydney is really just one big urban campfire.”
Story-Fest 2016 takes place Friday October 14 – Sunday October 16 at various locations around Sydney. For more info head towordtravels.info.
