Knowledge Series: For the Record - Writing us into existence against erasure by Sara M Saleh

As part of The Red Rattler's Future Communities Arts Program, join renowned writer and poet Sara M Saleh for her writing workshop. Toni Morrison viewed art as a tool to engage with history, memory, and identity. She believed that memory is not simply about recalling the past but actively shaping how it’s remembered for future generations.

This reflects the idea that writing is an active intervention in shaping memory and history.

Let us come together and write not only to resist the erasure of those forgotten by dominant histories, but to remember, and to record all parts of ourselves. Imagination is our playground - a core part of self emancipation and collective liberation. 

Biography 

Sara M Saleh is a writer/poet, human rights lawyer, and the daughter of Palestinian, Lebanese and Egyptian migrants. Her poems, essays and short stories have been published widely and she is co-editor of the ground-breaking 2019 anthology Arab, Australian, Other: Stories on Race and Identity. Her first novel is Songs for the Dead and the Living (Affirm Press, 2023), which was shortlisted for the 2024 NSW Premier’s Awards. Her first poetry collection is The Flirtation of Girls/Ghazal el-Banat (UQP, 2023), which was shortlisted for the 2024 ALS Gold Medal and won the Anne Elder Award. Sara is the first poet to win both the 2021 Peter Porter Poetry Prize and the 2020 Judith Wright Poetry Prize. She is the recipient of the inaugural Affirm fellowship for Sweatshop writers, a Neilma Sidney travel grant, Varuna writers residency, and Amant writers residency in Brooklyn, New York, amongst other honours. Sara is based on Bidjigal land with her partner and their beloved three cats and pup

The Red Rattler Theatre has made the choice to keep the whole Future Communities Arts Program financially accessible. We know these are challenging times, and we firmly believe that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with this transformative program, regardless of their financial situation.That's why we’ve introduced an accessible ticket pricing system—offering a suggested ticket price but trusting you to pay what you can. Every dollar you contribute directly sustains our community-run venue and supports the brilliant artists, activists, thinkers, makers who create bold, evocative & visionary work that speaks to the now.What matters most to us is that everyone can participate. And while we leave the choice to you, we want you to know that your support, in whatever form, is the lifeblood of the Red Rattler.