Mother Tongue Poetry is a Melbourne-based, feminist and queer-led organisation passionate about supporting the voices of women and gender-diverse people whos identity aligns with womanhoo.

Founded in late 2012, Mother Tongue began as a monthly live spoken word event and has grown into a not-for-profit organisation. At its heart are our live events, which have become Melbourne’s biggest women’s spoken word event and one of the most established spoken word platforms in the city. Mother Tongue is hosted and run by Fleassy Malay and Katie Lohner.

Our events are known for their depth, authenticity, and care; creating space for passionate, powerful, vulnerable, and honest performance. We showcase all forms of spoken word, including poetry, comedy, rap, song, and storytelling, with a strong emphasis on truthful, lived stories. Some stories are challenging, others joyful, sensual, or celebratory; all are welcome here.

Beyond our own events, Mother Tongue supports marginalised voices through workshops, fellowships, happenings, and partnerships, and by collaborating with other organisations to place women and gender-diverse voices on broader platforms. Past partners include Melbourne Writers Festival, Seven Sisters Festival, Rainbow Serpent Festival, Australian Poetry Slam, Melbourne Spoken Word, Banyule City Council, and more.

Mother Tongue is proud to have been a catalytic force for many emerging writers and performers, helping them find confidence, community, and a place to be heard.

The Fellowship will be facilitated by Fleassy Malay and Katie Lohner, with guest facilitators joining across the program.

Fleassy Malay is an award winning spoken word poet, writer, educator, and community producer with over 15 years’ experience designing and leading creative programs for diverse communities. Their facilitation practice centres care, connection and deep creative process, with a strong focus on building trust and confidence within groups. Fleassy is also the Founder and CEO of Mother tongue Poetry.

Katie Lohner is a spoken word and performance artist from Naarm (Melbourne). Her quirky and vigorous performance style has touched audiences across platforms and festivals including LaMama Cabaretica, 3CR Radio, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Surrealisms Festival, Mother Tongue Poetry, and Melbourne Spoken Word Festival. Her poetry has been described as unencumbered, carrying a strong sense of freedom and joy. Her creative practice extends beyond poetry into physical theatre. With over ten years’ experience as a spoken word poet with a strong focus on performance, Katie brings a deep understanding of embodied writing and live delivery. She has worked as a facilitator for High Schools and as an assistant facilitator supporting emerging spoken word poets, guiding participants to develop confidence, clarity, and authenticity in both writing and performance. Katie is the Co-Chair of Mother Tongue Poetry and holds postgraduate studies in Art and Community Engagement, reflecting her commitment to inclusive, community-led creative practice. Her performance training includes Butoh, Suzuki, and Viewpoints actor training, informing her dynamic and physically grounded facilitation style. Her interdisciplinary approach encourages writers to explore language beyond the page and into space, body, and image. Katie was nominated for Spoken Word Prose (2018) and Best Words and Ideas at Melbourne Fringe for her spoken word show The Hungry Poet (2023). As a facilitator, she is passionate about supporting emerging writers to take creative risks, find their voice, and develop sustainable performance and writing practices.

Guest facilitators will be announced closer to the Fellowship and will be selected to complement the cohort’s interests, goals, and creative directions.

The Rising Voices Fellowship is open to emerging and early-career spoken word poets who identify as women or as gender-diverse people who align with womanhood.

You do not need formal training, a CV, or publication history to apply. We welcome self-taught, community-based, and emerging artists, particularly those from underrepresented communities, including queer and trans writers, First Nations poets, Disabled poets, neurodivergent poets, and poets from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Poets who live, work, or study in Banyule are strongly encouraged to apply, with at least five Fellowship places reserved specifically for local applicants. However, the Fellowship is open to eligible poets from across Naarm and surrounding areas.

If you are unsure whether you are “experienced enough,” you are likely exactly who this Fellowship is for.

Rising Voices is designed for emerging or early-career poets.

We define this as poets who have been working for 5 or less years in the artform and who have not yet had access to sustained creative development opportunities such as fellowships, residencies, or major funded programs.

Poets who have also not received publication of their spoken word (though if they have previous publication in other formats that is fine), and who have little or no experience of professionally booked gigs and features. Most of their performace experience, if any at all, will have been open mic opportunities.

Yes, Fellows are expected to commit to the full six-month program wherever possible, as the Fellowship is designed around consistency, shared learning, and community building.

That said, we understand that life happens. If you need to miss an occasional session due to illness, caring responsibilities, or other unavoidable circumstances, this can be discussed with the facilitators.

If you already know you will be unable to attend multiple sessions, this Fellowship may not be the right fit at this time.

No. The Rising Voices Fellowship is open to eligible poets from across Melbourne and surrounding areas. However, the program is grounded in Banyule, with all sessions and events delivered locally, and at least five Fellowship places reserved for poets who have a strong connnection to Banyule eg. they live, work, or study in Banyule.

If you don’t live in Banyule but are able to travel to attend sessions and are excited to be part of a program based in the region, you are very welcome to apply.

Yes. Volunteers and past participants of Mother Tongue Poetry programs are welcome to apply. We recognise that volunteering and participation are often ways people find community and build their practice, and this should not disadvantage anyone.

To ensure a fair and transparent process, volunteers and past participants will not be favoured in the selection process. All applications will be assessed equally based on the EOI criteria. Board and Management members of Mother Tongue Poetry are not eligible to apply.

There is no upper age limit for the Rising Voices Fellowship. Applicants must be 18 years or older at the time of application.

Yes. You do not need to be writing consistently or producing new work right now to apply. Many writers move in and out of active writing periods, and this Fellowship is designed to support you back into practice if that’s where you’re at.

What matters most is your interest in developing your voice and your readiness to engage with the program over the six months.

It does help if you have a vision of where you would like to take your practice moving forward.

Yes. All Fellowship sessions are scheduled on Sunday afternoons to make participation more accessible alongside full-time work or study.

As long as you’re able to commit to attending sessions across the six-month program, you are very welcome to apply.

Yes. Poets from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Your relationship to language, including multilingual or non-standard English use, is valued as part of your creative voice.

However, we request that for the application you submit work primarily in English. If your work includes elements of other languages, that is ok, however we can not promise that our assessors will have the capacity to read that language so English is encouraged.

The program Labs and Workshops will be run in English, however your output, writing and art doesn’t need to be.

The application is through a Google Forms link.

It is split into three sections:

1 – Basic Information and Eligibility (Required) – This section clarifies your eligibility for the Fellowship and gives us all the basic information we need to move forward with the application.

2 – Application Questions – This section has text response questions about your practice as well as a request for you to upload text or video examples of your work. The videos do no have to be professional quality.

3 – Data Collection – This section is completely optional and will not impact your application outcomes.

Once the EOI window closes our team will assess all the EOIs and applicants should be notified of the outcomes in mid March.

Applications will be assessed on artistic potential, readiness to develop your practice, and alignment with the Fellowship’s values of inclusion, equity, and community. We also consider how applicants’ goals and aspirations complement each other to create a strong, supportive cohort dynamic.

All applications are reviewed fairly and transparently by the Mother Tongue team and invited members of our extended poetry community who are not applicants.

Once the EOI window closes our team will assess all the EOIs and applicants should be notified of the outcomes in mid March.

All applications are reviewed fairly and transparently by the Mother Tongue team and invited members of our extended poetry community who are not applicants.

Please submit 1–3 examples of your written work, with a maximum total of 1,200 words. These can be poems, spoken word scripts, or page-based work, whatever best represents your work to date or in its current form. Shorter submissions are welcome.

If you have performance videos of your work, you may also include up to 3 links, with a maximum total runtime of 10 minutes across all videos. Video submissions are optional and do not need to include high production values.

While there is no stipend or salary, Fellows receive professional development, mentorship, creative support, and a public showcase valued at thousands of dollars.

The Fellowship is supported by a Banyule Arts and Culture Project Grant.

The Rising Voices Fellowship itself is free for selected Fellows. All workshops, mentorship, and resources are provided at no cost.

We understand that travel and access can be a barrier, and the Fellowship has a small budget to support these costs as needed. While we cannot cover all expenses, we encourage Fellows to discuss any access or travel needs with the facilitators so we can provide support wherever possible.

All Fellowship sessions are held in physically accessible venues with step-free access and gender-neutral bathrooms. Fellows are welcome to bring support workers if needed, and quiet spaces are available in the library.

Hybrid participation for Group Labs is possible in special circumstances, though in-person attendance is preferred to maintain the group dynamic. While public workshops are not specifically adapted, they are held in accessible Banyule venues.

The Fellowship team is committed to supporting participants with access needs where we can, within our means. We encourage you to reach out to discuss any specific requirements and include them in your application in the designated section.

We do not currently have an Auslan interpreter for the program. If this is an access requirement for you please reach out and we can see if there is external funding options available to make that happen.

While we can never assure any space is completely safe, Mother Tongue Poetry is committed to spaces that nurture belonging.

The Rising Voices Fellowship centres feminist, queer, and community-led values. We are committed to creating an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment where queer, trans, and gender-diverse poets can explore their work, connect with peers, and develop their creative practice safely.

All facilitators and guest artists are experienced in supporting diverse voices, and the program actively prioritises underrepresented communities.