Anisa Nandaula
Poet
When we speak of culture, it is the thread that strings our being to lands many of us can never return. It is a manifestation of those lost and those to come. To assimilate and erase this is a loss for all parties. A loss for the carrier and the stranger who could've shared in this gift.
Anisa is a nationally recognised spoken word poet, play writer, educator and published author. She is the 2016 Queensland Poetry slam champion and runner up for the Australian poetry slam championships. She is the Sunshine Coast laughable comedy champion 2020 and won the audience favourite at the good chat Bratt Pack finals. In 2017 she published her first book Melanin Garden and won the XYZ Innovation in Spoken Word Prize. She has performed at the Sydney Opera house, Splendour in the Grass, Queensland Poetry festival and toured the country sharing stories of courage. Anisa is also the co-founder of the arts collective Voices of Colour which creates a space for migrant, refugee and first nations artists to share their work. In 2018 she wrote, directed and starred in the play The Grass is Dead on the Other Side' at the Brisbane Powerhouse. In 2019 she wrote and acted in the spoken word theatre show How To Spell Love that was showcased at the Judith Wright Centre. She was the WOW Australia 2020 Poet in Residence.