Stories - Heartlines

"It was nice being able to sit down for lunch with other people within the Centre for Stories and to chat about our work and glean some wisdom from others who might have experienced some of the struggles I had."

"I often view my writing as a collection of thoughts that I’ve not wanted to let go. Speaking makes our thinking momentarily real, I guess I like writing because I see it as a more permanent proof of my existence. In short, I write because I’m a hoarder of thoughts."

"My grandmother and my grandfather's Country tells a lot of stories. So that's why I want to take photographs of Millstream, of the Country, we call it 'Ngurra' in language. It's significant to my people. Because they have a way of telling their own story."

"I see writing as a way to honour my lineage and ancestors, and my community here today. Ancestrally, I am from a lineage of orators...I also really love the unique position I'm in as a Diaspora Zambian in this country."

"Growing up knowing I was Aboriginal too and listening to the stories of spirits and dreaming and things we can’t quite understand fully, this all made me feel incredibly connected to the world, other people, and their stories."

"I think I get too stuck in the original shape of things, and then I get distracted with a new idea and forget that you need to play around with the work a bit. And that it’s fun to just flip an idea completely on its head, sometimes the core of the it might just fall out and expose itself if you turn it upside down/chop it up/write it as a big chunky prose poem."

"I think I’ve been trying to blend in for too long and sometimes I forget where I come from. In all honesty, I never considered myself to be 100% Brazilian as my family comes from all parts of the world, we have Spanish, Hungarian, Austrian, Italian, and Jewish heritage, so sometimes it’s hard for me to write about Brazil and Brazil only."

"The one thing my mum said to me was to put something out there that is you, that is original. So, I started writing... if I want to do my own thing or need help with my writing, I try to do something that is original to people. Whatever is obsessively in my mind, I write about it."

"The truth is, I write because I must. There is this need inside me. I get this energy that needs to be released, normally triggered by a memory, a sound or an external input. When I don’t act on it for long periods, I get a little overwhelmed."