The Lydiard Street Soapbox, with The Ballarat Poetess

Be inspired by literature over lunchtime on Lydiard Street with The Ballarat Poetess.

In an impossible collaboration spanning 175 years, Megan J Riedl steps into her power – and onto her soapbox – as the voice of the city. Award-winning spoken word poet Megan J Riedl will showcase how impactful moments of social change can be marked by the carefully crafted voice of The Ballarat Poetess.

The performance will feature the embodiment of her predecessor Ellen Young’s written poems about gold-rush era Ballarat and original spoken word poetry by Megan J Riedl.

Writing at the heart of the political upheaval in Ballarat in the 1880s, Ellen Young’s works were “controversial, political, feminist and questioning the status quo”. Megan’s writing combines the personal with the political, and she leads by example in standing up, showing up and speaking up, sharing the messy, human experiences that often go unspoken.

Artist Bio – A professional wordsmith, prolific creative, super solo mum and autistic woman, Megan J Riedl is an award-winning spoken word poet and feels out loud in a range of mediums including collage, zines, theatre and podcasting.