CURRENT MISSION

To perform slam poetry in the UK.

ABOUT ME

I'm friendly, outgoing, supportive and almost always happy. I'm in a love affair with the universe. I write poetry (some of it beautiful), short stories (some of them scary), shout and speak things I've written into microphones on tiny stages, look at the world through metaphors, and never stop wondering. I adore traveling because it takes me out of my comfort zone and shows me things I've never seen before, people I'd have never met, and makes me really, really feel. I've just finished an Arts degree at university, and I'm passionate about mythology, folklore, stories, linguistics, language, literature - just everything that can be made of words, written down or spoken.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe in the Internet, love, and Shakespeare. These are the three things that will never fail us.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None so far, but now that I've finished university and am finally free to travel, I see a lot of Couchsurfing in my near future!

Interests

I'm a slam poet. That means I get up on stages and shout or quietly speak things I've written into a microphone. I adore listening to slam poetry as much as I adore reading it. I love meeting slam poets because they see the world in wonderful ways and aren't afraid to show it to you.
I also write short stories, try to write longer stories, pen secret poems I don't show to anyone, read many, many books, occasionally take photos of things, play three chords on the guitar, listen to music, do lots of web design, read blogs and newspapers, fall in love, get my heart broken, look at the world, consider what I would do in the event of a zombie apocalypse, make zines, go on roadtrips, and dream all the time.
Most importantly, I never stop.

• fish
• arts
• books
• literature
• poetry
• folklore
• performing arts
• design
• dining
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• fishing
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I tend to love almost anything that is well-written and intelligent, but these are some of my very favourites:

Books: His Dark Materials, Diana Wynne Jones, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, China Mieville, Catherynne M. Valente, Jorge Borges - books that weave together strands of the real and the unreal, the true and the more-than-true.
Also Heart of Darkness, Sherlock Holmes, Persuasion, Alice in Wonderland, Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Great Gatsby, Shakespeare, As I Lay Dying, Sophie's World, The Shipping News, Catcher in the Rye, Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Revolutionary Road - the words I can come back to again and again and again.

Poetry: John Donne, Dylan Thomas, John Keats, W.H. Auden, Philip Larkin, Robert Frost, Seamus Heaney, Emily Dickinson, Jen Campbell, Claire Askew, Liz Berry, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, many slam poets, various Tumblr poets. These people are magicians because they make words into dreams.

Music: My main loves are Elbow, New Order, Amanda Palmer, Laura Marling and Sigur Ros - the music which has shaped the way I see the world.
The stuff I'm loving at the moment (always changing) includes: LCD Soundsystem, Warpaint, Arvo Part, Dvorak, Belle and Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand, Peggy Sue, Cat Power, River City Extension, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Local Natives, Blur, Damien Rice, Grouper, Doves, Lisa Hannigan, Noah and the Whale, The Grates, Serafina Steer, Daughter, and Joanna Newsom.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

There's a road on the island of Efate, in Vanuatu, which leads from Port Vila (the capital) to a little village. I was living there for two weeks as part of an archaeological dig. One late afternoon, we all got in the back of a huge ute and roared down that road, as the sun was setting over the ancient volcanic hills, holding on for dear life, waving at even more crowded utes we passed on the way, and rode all the way to Efate to get canned fish and fresh water. It was then I realised that only in some places does food and water come cheap and easily. But happiness can come easily everywhere.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, French Polynesia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Vanuatu

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia