James recently interviewed Es Foong, a poet featured in the upcoming Melbourne Sonic Poetry Festival.
The Melbourne Sonic Poetry Festival is a grassroots, community-driven event that celebrates poetry and spoken word. The festival aims to connect poets, performers, audience members, and event organizers in a shared appreciation for the art of spoken word. It also seeks to provide opportunities for both established and emerging poets, offering a platform for those who are quietly crafting their work.
One of the festival’s main goals is to reach out to people who may not yet realize the importance of poetry in their lives and to create spaces where stories can be shared. The festival is also committed to supporting micro-communities, ensuring that these smaller groups have a place to exist and thrive.
Es Foong, also known as Waffle Irongirl, is a poet, flash fiction writer, and spoken word performer based on the land of the Wurundjeri people. Their work has been featured in various publications, including the Australian Poetry Journal, Rabbit Poetry, Kalliope X, and the Best of Australian Poems 2022 anthology. They have performed at well-known venues like La Mama Poetica and the Queensland Poetry Festival 2022. On stage, Foong’s performances are akin to heavy-metal karaoke in poetic form, while off-stage, they challenge identity labels with ease. Their debut poetry collection, “Clot and Marrow,” was published by Recent Work Press in September 2024.