Welcome to our Yarra Valley Spoken Word Community.
The original custodians of the Yarra Valley, the Wurundjeri people, didn’t write. Their wisdom travelled through time in songs, stories and dance. We acknowledge this land’s indigenous ancestors and elders, oral historians of the dream-time. This poetry gathering sits on the shoulders of countless generations of wisdom keepers and spoken-word story tellers.
We meet at The Dreaming Space Academy at Yarra Valley ECOSS, Wesburn on the second Friday of the month and welcome you to join us and share your musings.
Ours is a space to share the power of the spoken word, be inspired by our community of artists and learn to write and share life’s depths through this life changing art form.
Families are welcome until after supper, we have a feature artist each month and then Open Mic.
Spoken Word is an inclusive project.
Entry and Supper is by donation, we never turn people away!
Suggested Donation:
$15 Full / $10 Concession
$5 Supper, $5 Chai
Program
6pm – Doors open/Music
6.15 – Poetry workshop & open mic
7.00 – Dinner
7.30 – Feature poet (12yrs+)
8.00 – Open mic
9.00 – Chai & Chat
Call Andy: 0415 734 744 or Chris: 0414 306 772
or search Yarra Valley Spoken Word on Facebook or Yarra Valley ECOSS website.
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Yarra Valley Spoken Word Friday 13th February 2026: Feature Poet “The No Guilt Writing Group”
Welcome to 2026, poetry lovers! We hope you’ve had a great start to your year. We’re excited for our first session at the dome, and for production team member Melissa’s writing group to be our first feature poets for the year!
The “No Guilt Writing group” evolved from a course of six weeks on-line Life Writing Workshops run by playwright and novelist, Hannie Rayson, and ABC arts journalist, Michael Cathcart in early 2022.
The participants of the workshops were committed to writing, but felt they would benefit from the on-going support of a group to maintain and develop the participants’ writing goals. The group meets online once per month for around one and a half hours.
The first rule of the group is that while celebrating each other’s achievements, there is to be “No Guilt” when individual writing goals are not met. The group format is flexible, always adapting to what works best for the participants. Generally, the group begins with each member sharing their writing and life experiences, followed by sharing a writing exercise that the group sets for itself each month.
Over the years, the participants have bonded, writing output has increased and a fascinating journey has occurred, revealing a varied range of voices and a broad variety of writing goals.
Group Bios:
Kaz Paton
I have worked in the arts for many years in roles requiring a great deal of writing. No longer working full time gives me time to return to a creative focus that has had scant attention in recent years – and to brush away the cobwebs from shoe boxes of unfinished stories.
Carole Branch
Since retiring, I have concentrated on writing. I have just completed a piece with Victoria Writers under the banner ‘Streets & Stories – Hidden Characters in the City’, which will be published in early 2026.
Heather Hill
Having spent the past 40 years living and breathing dance therapy and person-centred practice with people with dementia, I am in the midst now of co-writing a book on bringing dance to people with dementia.
Geoff Pankhurst
I have always had a fascination with words. The 26 letters of the English language can be arranged to create stories that evoke many moods and images. That’s the attraction of writing for me. I’m currently writing my memoir. I see myself as an educator; a man living with Cerebral Palsy. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to be published in denominational magazines of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. My memoir will tell my story of “A Stone In My Shoe.”
Melissa Gunner
I have always had an interest in writing. Lately, I have a particular focus on the accessible, the ordinary, the every day and the amusing. In the last few years, I have been delighted to be part of the “No Guilt Writing Group” to help support my goals to achieve more writing. I now feel confident to say, “I am a writer and poet”, because that is what I do. It has proven very helpful to be part of a supportive group that keeps me accountable with “No Guilt”.
