A shared partnership between Shared Reading NSW and SWEATSHOP: Western Sydney Literacy Movement is aiming to "shine the light" on interesting stories from western Sydney writers.
The free project called Poetry in Public Places is open for anyone aged over 16 years with the aim of helping inexperienced writers "find the words" to tell their story.
Christopher Smith, the chief executive of Hazelbrook-based Shared Reading NSW, said it's a "fantastic opportunity" to expose stories from western Sydney.
"There is a perception sometimes that these areas have something wrong with them and we wanted to show that these areas have great people and great stories," Mr Smith said.
"We're passionate about stories from western Sydney, particularly from the North St Marys area, and we wanted to give people the opportunity to participate in creative and artistic endeavours.
Authors Michael Mohammed Ahmed and Luke Carman will run the workshop help participants build their confidence, performing their poetry and improving writing ability.
Mr Smith said writing is like a "release valve". "It is a great way to deal with a lot of the issues and pressures of daily life and channelling your energy creatively.
"Proficient writer or not, everybody has a story to tell. It's usually the people who don't have writing experience come up with the most interesting stuff in these workshops."
The new poets who emerge from the project will get the chance to showcase their work at an event in May.
Shared Reading NSW facilitates groups for people to engage with great writing and poetry. Poetry in Public Places, in conjunction with SWEATSHOP, will be at 3.30pm on Mondays at the North St Marys Neighbourhood Centre, corner of Debrincat Avenue and Oleander Road. To book: 9673 3908.
Also on Mondays at the same location, 2pm, are the story sharing workshops. And on May 30 there will be a community poetry event at Coachman’s Park, Queen Street, St Marys, from noon-4pm.
