How To Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort Parramatta Launch with Elizabeth Walton
Description
Poetry Reading & Book Launch Evening
Join us at Westwords for the Parramatta launch of How to Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort by Elizabeth Walton.
This will be an evening of poetry, music, conversation, and community as we celebrate the launch of Elizabeth's new work alongside readings from emerging voices from the 5 Islands and Westwords communities.
The night will open with readings from two 5 Islands Poets, Hemat Malak and Kai Jensen. Then Elizabeth Walton will be in conversation with celebrated author, Suzanne Leal, offering a glimpse into the ideas, writing process, and themes behind Elizabeth's new book, How To Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort followed by Elizabeth's performance of selected works. These works will involve a listening experience of Richard Lawson's song cycle for string quartet, performed by Acacia Quartet, which was recorded at Four Winds.
Books will be available for purchase on the night, with an opportunity to meet the writers.
The book launch will conclude with an open mic session, inviting audience members to share their own poetry in a welcoming and supportive space.
Lineup
Elizabeth Walton
Elizabeth is an emerging literary writer and freelance journalist. She is a PhD candidate in creative writing at Macquarie University. She has been listed and published in numerous literary awards and publications, both in Australia and overseas, including Cordite, Overland and the New York Times. How to Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort is her debut short collection. It is a collaboration with punk rock drummer, Richard Lawson, who has written a song cycle for string quartet in response to and in collaboration with this work.
Suzanne Leal
SUZANNE LEAL is the award-winning author of six novels, including The Watchful Wife and The Deceptions, winner of the Nib People’s Choice Prize. Running with Ivan, her debut novel for younger readers, is a CBCA Notables book and was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s History Awards. Also a CBCA Notables book, Suzanne’s new novel, The Year We Escaped, won the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize and has been shortlisted for the NSW Literary Awards. An experienced facilitator and interviewer, Suzanne is the founder of Thursday Book Club, a relaxed book club connecting readers online.
Hemat Malak
Hemat Malak is a poet from Picton, NSW. Winner of the 2025 Bruce Dawe National Poetry prize, she is also a Pushcart and Best New Poets nominee and has been shortlisted for the ACU and Robert Gray Prizes. Her poems have appeared in Rattle, Rochford Street Review, Catchment Literary Journal, Locative Magazine, Short Stories Unlimited and anthologies from 5 Islands Press, One Art, WestWords and WA Poets. Hemat’s first collection of poetry will be published with 5 Islands Press in mid-2026.
Kai Jensen
Kai Jensen lives and writes on Djiringanj Yuin country, on the NSW far south coast. His poems have appeared in most leading Australasian literary journals, and in many North American journals. Kai’s first book of poems, The Zebra Path of Tree Light, was published by 5 Islands Press in 2025.
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