February 2014 - Charlotte Simmonds + Joel McKerrow
Poetry in Motion accidentally double-booked its feature this month. That being said, we were treated to a fantastic evening of poetry.
Charlotte Simmonds is a Wellington writer of CVs and cover letters, thankfully now more of other people's than her own. In her free time, when she remembers to take it, she tries to eat breakfast, take regular showers, and write poetry. She has not remembered to do the latter for quite some time. Her writing has been published widely in journals in both New Zealand and the US and her 2008 book The World's Fastest Flower was nominated for a Montana book award.
Joel McKerrow is a writer, speaker, educator, community arts worker and one of Australia’s most successful internationally touring performance poets. Based out of Melbourne, Australia he is the Artist Ambassador for the aid and development organisation ‘TEAR Australia’ and was the co-founder of community arts organisation, 'The Centre for Poetics and Justice' (2010-2013). Joel was the third ever Australian representative at the Individual World Poetry Slam Championships in the USA (2012) and has performed in venues like The Nuyorican Poets Cafe and Bowery Poetry Club (NYC), The Sydney Opera House, The Forum (Melbourne), The Metropolis (Montreal), Victoria Parliament House and many more. He is a TEDx speaker and performer and is also the frontman poet from the band, 'Joel McKerrow & the Mysterious few'. Joel also spends much of his time running poetry workshops within schools and other organisations around poetry, creativity, identity, social justice and spirituality.
March 2014 - Laurie May
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All the way from the middle of outback Australia, Laurie May is a resistance poet challenging societal norms and perspectives on poverty. Following a successful spoken word debut at Woodford Folk Festival, Laurie May has stories to share, rants to rave and truths to lay down.
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April 2014 - Tourettes
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Tourettes makes rap music for the broken-hearted and poetry for illiterates. His work is a celebration of the absurd beauty of 21st century capitalism. Poems and rap songs, odes to idealism, gallows humor, working class pride and the cancer of convenience. His main influences are books, films, sandwiches and love songs. Everything in his life revolves around words. This passion has lead him around the world, seen him win poetry slams and MC battles, release four critically acclaimed albums, play support for people he once idolized and have writing published in everything from Vice magazine to New Zealand Literary journal, Landfall.
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May 2014 - Ruth Field
The saying ‘third time lucky’ does not apply to Ruth Field. She has had her heart broken at least three times this year and it’s only April. As a result, she writes (raw, honest) poetry about her unsuccessful romantic attempts. If she could sing, she’d be the Taylor Swift of the Southern Hemisphere – but with more sex, intoxication, and word play in her writing. Other topics of choice include science, Catholicism, lingerie shopping, Latin, psychology, peter pan syndrome, travelling, kidney donation, big spiders, depression, GPS systems, etc. She has not been published in any major literary journals and has been rejected from Victoria University’s writing course three times, but The Paris Review follows her on tumblr, which is way cooler anyway. She is not a bitter person at all.
June 2014 - Randi Janelle
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Randi Janelle is on an extended OE in NZ, and is pretty happy about that considering she didn't know what an OE was before leaving the U.S. She's fallen pretty hard for performance poetry the last few years, and has participated in several Wellington slams, even winning a couple. She's off to tour in Australia and the U.S. Her chapbook is titled, Made with Love, Living, and Chocolate and looks suspiciously like a Whittaker's chocolate bar. She's a dreamer supreme and wants to help others realise theirs. One day she'll finish her novel. It's brilliant, you'll see. Also, check out her website that is new and attempts to compile what has been a passionate love affair with creativity and exclamation points: randijanelle.com
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July 2014 - Donna Howells-Skoludek
A Welsh migrant living in Hamilton, NZ, I regularly perform with Hamilton Slamdown Poetry and have recently started my own company called "Playing With Words" taking poetry and drama projects into schools and community venues. I am a single mum to five children, a frustrated "almost" novelist, actress and chocolate addict. Finalist in 2014 Poetry Idol, 2012 runner up for National Poetry Slam, regular on the national scene, my life's ambition is to be the subject of a flash mob.
August 2014 - Emily Weitzman
Emily Weitzman writes artichokes and eats poems. Raised in New York, she recently graduated from Wesleyan University, where she majored in English and dance. As a competitor and coach, she was a four-year member of the Wesleyan University slam poetry team. The team won numerous awards, including "Best Writing" at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) in 2012, and Emily won individual awards such as "Best Female Poet" (Yale Regionals 2012), "Funniest Poet" (CUPSI 2012), and "Best Persona Poem" (CUPSI 2011). Emily is currently traveling the world for a year on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, hoping to learn about communities and cultures by exploring spoken word scenes across the globe.
September 2014 - Markeisha Hill
Markeisha Hill is a junior Sociology and English double major at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Originally from Louisiana, she has been a part of the spoken word community since she was 16 years old, competing at the 2012 Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam and has gone on to compete on the collegiate level as a member of the Wesleyan University slam team for two years. She is currently studying at the University of Auckland.
November 2014 - Te Kahu Rolleston
Te Kahu is a descendant of the waves that break against the shores of Tauranga Moana, he is from the islands that shelter the smooth waters of Tauranga, from the rough seas of the ocean known as Te moana nui a Kiwa. He has appeared on numerous television shows including Good Morning, I am TV, Pukana, 2kaha & Radio Tainui. He has recently been published in Puna Wai Kōrero: An Anthology of Māori Poetry in English from Auckland University Press. Recently graduated from Waikato University, Te Kahu currently work at Te Aho Tūroa-Enviroschools where amongst other things he creates and delivers inspiring informative poetry resources and workshops for rangatahi.