Speaking Fire: First Nations Stories and Ideas – Story Week 2025

SPEAKING FIRE – FIRST NATIONS STORIES AND IDEAS
Story Week: Grow Deeper

Speaking Fire: a gathering of First Nations truth-tellers and truth-listeners, celebrating survival, resistance and Blak brilliance.

Opening Ceremony, performances, talks, workshops, show, stories and conversation – stay for the whole program of events or feel welcome to drop-in.

Speaking Fire – Opening Ceremony: 12 pm–1 pm
Speaking Fire begins, as we have always done, with a Smoking Ceremony, clearing and cleansing the way forward for a day of discussion, deliberation and deliberate conversations.

Speaking Fire – Open Mic: 1 pm–2 pm
Redfern/South Sydney poets and story tellers spark the stage fire warming up the stage and microphones for the remainder of Speaking Fire.

Con-Verse: Radical Hope in Times of Helplessness: 2 pm–3 pm
Radical hope in times of helplessness invites First Nations writers into deep discussion and poetry sharing. Talk with Speaking Fire guests about what it’s like to live with/without hope in a global climate that has lost its way.

Write to Speak – Spoken Word / Hip Hop Wordshop: 2 pm–3 pm
Whether you’re a young person or young at heart, learn from seasoned performers SOLCHLD and MicKillalKid.

Our Voice – Our Way, Workshop: 3 pm–4:30 pm
Looking to learn and understand Indigenous languages from around the state? In cooperation with the NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust language practitioners will present multiple language workshops in the Downstairs Space. 
  
Speaking Fire Showcase: 5 pm–7 pm
Poets and musical acts, speak fire and sing Story as indigenous people have since time immemorial. Watch, dance, sing-a-long and cheer with a powerful line of First Nations performers.

FEATURING: Ali Cobby Eckermann, Beni Yanthan (Yanbeni), Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Jayden Kitchener, Laurie May, Lorna Munro, Merinda Dutton, NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust language practitioners, Rob Waters, SOLCHLD
CURATOR: Rob Waters

Redfern Community Centre, 29-53 Hugo St, Redfern NSW 2016

COST: $10–$15, free for Aboriginal and Zenadth Kes peoples.

See the full Story Week 2025 program at Word Travels. 

This project is in partnership with the City of Sydney.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW. Australian Poetry Slam and Story Week are also supported by Ubud Writers and Readers Festival; Singapore Writers Festival; Byron Writers Festival; and Mumbai LitFest.

Content Warning: Most Poetry events are all ages and some content may not be suitable for children. Performances may include strong language and / or adult themes.

Before booking your tickets, please read the information on our website regarding any health safety measures.

Speaking Fire artwork – artwork design Klo Davies, Ngundaan Marketing. Concepts: Rob Waters and Miles Merrill.

Word Travels acknowledges that we work, live, and tell stories on the unceded lands of the Gadigal People. We pay respect to their Elders past and present. Always was, always will be First Nations land.