I’m a cultural producer, currently the Program Manager of Brisbane Writers Festival, a poet and a mother.
Why do you do it?
I will never tire of peeking through a curtain to see an audience devouring what I’ve dished up to them. And equally I love a polarised audience who vocally express their love and hate of what I’ve curated.
What do you love about the city you live in?
I love Brisbane’s spineless winding river (so many secrets beneath the surface!) and her vast suburban sprawl
Where did you go for your last holiday?
San Francisco and Vancouver – I went with my husband before the birth of our son, both amazing literary cities!
What's your favourite item of clothing? Why?
My office slippers. Because no one really knows when I’m wearing them.
What was your favourite TV show when you were a kid?
I was and still am a Simpson’s girl. Marge Simpson raised me, and I’m not ashamed to say it!
If you could travel back in time for a day, where would you go?
I would go back to May 28 this year and make sure I didn’t blow out my program deadline. Actually, I would really love to have witnessed Yukio Mishima commit Harakiri in 1970 or to have seen Elvis, well at anytime really. His last performance perhaps – his version of Unchained Melody at this gig gives me chills every time.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook for us?
I would cook a lasagna with four types of meat! And probably a bread and butter pudding. I’m a classic feeder, I like my dinner guests on the edge of a coma.
What's the best lesson you've ever learned?
I am in a constant state of learning lessons … the most recent being that if you quiet your mind, the answer is usually in there.
Tell us one thing about yourself that nobody else knows...
I’m drunk right now.
Are you happy with your work/ life balance?
Yes and no! I LOVE my job and value working in a creative environment where I bend my brain in a hundred different directions a day. I also miss my son desperately every day. He rolls the phrase ‘Mummy has hard work’ off the tongue too easily for a 20 month old.
How do you define success?
Success is a passing experience – a moment when you feel that everything is in its right place. As soon as you have felt it, there’s a shift and you begin striving for it again.
What's your spirit animal?
A badger! The poor badger has been tainted by children’s books and while, a little rough around the edges are actually pretty fun. And also a grey nurse shark. I wish I were as graceful but I often think of them when I need to traverse a prickly situation, they are so smooth and maternal, true nurturers.
