19th Sept – Pie In The Sky Poets –

LoveGrungePeaches

Poetry finds the place it needs to be, it allows us to create in our own way. LoveGrungePeaches is a celebration of the many ways poetry can find us, both as readers and writers. This event will bring together zine makers, performers and prize winning authors – all poets in their own unique way – each sharing poems that reveal the space poetry has found in them. For one night we’ll explore the way poetry can be LoveGrungePeaches!

Bios:

Aphrodite Delaguiado

Aphrodite Delaguiado is a Filipina-Australian visual artist and creative writer based in Hawkesbury, NSW. Aphrodite has been making zines since 2009 and in 2021, she founded Illographo Press to make book publishing accessible and sustainable, connect with diverse creatives, and support independent bookstores. Aphrodite’s writing deals with themes of loneliness, love and loss. Her visual art is inspired by setsunai 切ない or the bittersweet feeling of wistfulness and seemingly endless heartache. Aphrodite finds creative freedom in self-publishing. (illographopress.com.au)

Bilal Hafda

Bilal Haida is a poet, and is known for generating 24/7 positive vibes. Alongside running poetry and creative writing workshops, he runs the Bankstown Poetry Slam in his spare time. He is also a spoken-word artist. He’s performed at TEDx in Sydney, and has featured in many slams and events, including the Bankstown Poetry Slam, and the Enough Said Poetry Slam in Wollongong. He is constantly looking to facilitate and nurture the voice of the participants of the slams and audiences who attend them.

Vivian Pham

Vivian Pham is a Vietnamese novelist, essayist, poet and aspiring folklorist from southwestern Sydney. In high school she wrote a novel called The Coconut Children, which was published in March 2020 by Penguin Random House. In 2021 she won the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist Award and the Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year for her work. She has twice attended the International Congress of Youth Voices, a summit for young activists nominated by nonprofits around the world for their writing and engagement. Vivian holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy and Creative Writing from Western Sydney University. She is currently perfecting her Bún bò Huế recipe, and writing the film and stage adaptations of The Coconut Children.

Rico Craig

Rico Craig is a writer, award-winning poet and workshop facilitator whose work melds the narrative, lyrical and cinematic. His poetry has been awarded prizes or shortlisted for the Montreal Poetry Prize, Val Vallis Prize, Newcastle Poetry Prize, Dorothy Porter Poetry Prize and University of Canberra Poetry Prize. Bone Ink (UWAP), his first poetry collection, was winner of the 2017 Anne Elder Award and shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize 2018. His most recent collections Our Tongues Are Songs (2021) and Nekhau (2022) are published by Recent Work Press.