Bringing wonder to spoken word

THE contrast between an iconic female comic book character and Greco-Roman philosophies will be at play as part of a presentation from Ballarat Spoken Word’s next feature poet.

Writer, academic, and performer Evelyn Hartogh will take the mic during the group’s next event at TBH Studio Bridge Mall, which runs tomorrow, Saturday 6 July, from 2pm.

She hopes her piece will be as insightful as it is entertaining.

“In the middle I’ll tell a story about Wonder Woman hiding in the corner disguised as a man during a famous symposium dinner party Socrates attended and Plato wrote about,” she said.

“Wonder Woman takes on a role between a gossip columnist and a presenter on Play School.

“She’s telling the audience about this dinner party where all these Greek philosophers are telling speeches about what they believe love is.

“These are concepts we still have filtered down today. It’ll be presented in a funny way and it’s a bit risky because it’s the first time I’m doing it. The joke may fall flat. They may work.”

Bookended by musical performance, Hartogh’s primary piece will present a sneak peek at an upcoming non-fiction work comparing Wonder Woman to her Amazonian counterparts in classical Greco-Roman works, which she predicts will be released in the next two years.

With masters qualifications in women’s studies and creative writing, she’s published numerous articles and papers since then including her Sheroes columns for Queensland Pride Newspaper between 2000 and 2009.

Based in Ballarat since 2018, Hartogh began attending the monthly Ballarat Spoken Word events in late 2022.

She said she’s felt liberated during her time taking part in the group’s past get-togethers.

“For the last couple years going to Ballarat Spoken Word, I’ve been reading old works of mine from chapbooks I made in Brisbane where I’d learn and perform performances and put together little transcripts,” she said.

“I’ve been doing that and gotten such a positive response and encouragement from the other performers and the audience. I was amazed by the diversity too.

“I often go to poetry events where there’s one style that’s encouraged and the other ones are excluded.

“These events don’t have that, and it’s really helped me to build my confidence and to go off the book.”

Any attendee wishing to present for the open mic will be allocated a five-minute slot.