WAYSIDE RENGA
In 2011 I was commissioned by the Red Room Company to write a poem in collaboration with the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross, a famous community centre for those marginalised by homelessness, mental health issues and substance abuse. At Wayside, there is no distinction between "us" and "them", and I interviewed many different people who passed through the place - volunteers, people who came for the company, a cook - recorded our conversations, and turned them into a collaged poem that expands out into four distinct voices. The final poem was scored by Marcus Whale, designed by Gemma O'Brien, and turned into a website by Jonno Miller. It was later published by Overland in their special edition on digital poetry. The result can be experienced here.