03 March 2025
Hello Sarah, can you share your journey as an artist and how you first became involved in poetry, especially spoken word?
I was a shy 19-year-old when I discovered spoken word, a struggling student in Sydney, and terrible at small talk. One night, I stumbled into a quirky pub in Glebe and watched something called “poetry slam”- people standing on stage and hurling their truths into the air. I had never seen anything like it. I got up and read something—shaking with nerves—and when I stepped off that stage, something had shifted. Strangers just started talking to me, as if we had already met. That was the moment I realised that I can connect with people—I just have to do it from the inside out. Since then, I’ve performed everywhere from an abandoned bunker to Sydney Opera House, to a poetry battle of humans vs. ChatGPT (which thankfully the human poets won!). No matter the setting, that raw moment of connection keeps me coming back.
How would you describe your creative process? What’s your approach when writing a new piece?
I start by asking myself, What do I not want to write? What am I avoiding? If something feels too raw, too revealing, that’s usually the thing I need to explore. So I write as if I’m telling a secret, as a confession to someone I trust. My work often stems from personal moments: sex and death, love and illness; the shame of moving home as an adult, or the strangeness of an emergency C-section birth. The more uncertain I feel writing something, the more I know I need to say it. It’s uncomfortable, but that’s how I know it’s real.
Live poetry is a magic trick—it turns the quietest person in the room into the person everyone is listening to. That first time on stage, I felt fully present, fully seen.
You recently published your first collection, Tight Bindings. What motivated you to bring your words to the printed page?
For years, after performances, people would ask if I had a book. When live shows were halted during lockdown, I finally sat down to create one. It felt strange at first—spoken-word is so immediate, so alive in the moment—but I also saw the poems really tighten up and mature on the page. I expanded a suite of reclaimed fairytales that a lot of people had connected with. The title of the book comes from a poem about my daughter’s birth, when she was “trapped in the tight bindings” of my body, and it grew into a metaphor for the ways we’re bound to each other in families, in secrets, in the stories we tell ourselves.
What is it about performing that inspires and drives you?
Live poetry is a magic trick—it turns the quietest person in the room into the person everyone is listening to. That first time on stage, I felt fully present, fully seen. I see how important that feeling is every time I go into schools to work with young people. As they realise that speaking their truth through poetry allows them to claim space and be heard—it’s like watching them flick a switch. That moment is incredible, and often their teachers are the most surprised to see how excited they are to stand up and share what they’ve written.
Could you tell us about Poets Out Loud?
Poets Out Loud started as an open mic night in the M|Arts precinct, Murwillumbah, and quickly became a hub for regional poets. We’ve hosted national spoken-word artists, run poetry slams, and created workshops on poetry as healing after the 2022 floods. One of the most rewarding parts has been mentoring our young poets through the Poets Out Loud Youth Slam, which has been running since 2020. We help regional teens develop their voices and perform their work, with finalists showcased at Byron Writers Festival. Seeing young people find confidence and connection through poetry is one of the most meaningful aspects of this work.
How does living in the Northern Rivers shape your artistic practice and the themes you explore?
This region has a unique creative energy—people here understand that the arts aren’t just entertainment, they’re essential to our well-being and community. When I moved to Murwillumbah, my poetry practice took off—Poets Out Loud was getting audiences of 100+ every month—and it just seemed that people were hungry for deep conversations. My work wrestles with themes of birth, grief, and the unspoken truths we all carry, and I think living here—surrounded by artists, musicians, and storytellers—gives me the freedom to dig into those things.
The more uncertain I feel writing something, the more I know I need to say it. It’s uncomfortable, but that’s how I know it’s real.
What’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects you’re excited to share?
Right now, I’m deep in writing a new poetry work, which I can’t share much about it yet but it’s keeping me up at night! I’m also heading on tour, running masterclasses and performing in Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, and regional towns. Another exciting project I’m working on is a poetry exchange between Melbourne and the Northern Rivers, creating collaborations between poets in these two vibrant communities. If it comes together, we’ll see some incredible cross-regional conversations in spoken word.
Tight Bindings is available at local bookstores or order online here.
Stay up to date with Poets Out Loud events, workshops, and youth programs at poetsoutloud.org.
