The Literatti is an ever-evolving pool of very different poets who want to craft performance poetry together. The pool is united and led by our creative director, a role which is moved between poets on a regular basis.
We work with a range of other creators. People we collaborate with and who have been involved in our journey are listed to the left, including the original crew, and all subsequent Literartists.
The Literatti is available for performances and workshops. We have run workshop projects with the Auckland Central Remand Prison, Poetry Live & students from Epsom Girls Grammar School.
If you are interested in joining The Literatti Pool, email the creative director at theliteratti@gmail.com to arrange an audition.
Literartist Biographies
Christian Jensen
Christian is the next creative director of The Literatti. He was asked to join the group after he took the Kerouac Effect poetry slam by storm in 2008. He had his debut with the group as part of Word of Mouth at TAPAC later that year and has been creating mad genius with us ever since. Christian is one of the power-houses behind the highly successful Metonymy Project, a collaborative project that sends a poet and a visual artist on a 6-week blind date, culminating in an exhibition. He is one the co-ordinators of Poetry Live and directed the Global Eyes/Feet/Voice project. His work has been published in such places as Snorkel, The Hay(na)ku Anthology, Otoliths and the De-Formed Paper. His book, Zin Uru (soapbox press) was released in 2008.
Miriam Barr
Our creative director from 2007 - 2010, Miriam has been part of The Literatti since the idea first escaped Shane Holland's mouth one night in late 2005. Her directorship has seen the development of our multiple-poet performances and forays into the world of visual arts and theatre. She also created Side Stream (a bi-monthly poetry zine) and is one of the co-ordinators of Poetry Live. Her work has been published in such places as Landfall, Poetry NZ, Black Mail Press, JAAM, Magazine, Enamel, and The Wild Goose Poetry Review. Miriam is the 2007 Poetry Idol Champion. She has released two books, Tangents (2006) and Observations from the Poetry Factory (2007).
Shane Hollands
Shane Hollands is the mastermind who brought The Literatti to life and was creative director for the collective’s initial year. Hollands is also half of beat-speak act The Beautiful Losers and front man for the band Freaky Meat. He has been a pre-eminent force in the spoken word/performance poetry scene in New Zealand for over a decade and is instrumental in the poetry-music crossover renaissance that has been taking placeacross the nation. He has performed his work from tip to tip of New Zealand. While he avoids ‘submitting’ at all costs, his work has made its way into Live Lines, Side Stream, Tongue In Your Ear, De-Formed Paper, and some five independently published collections.
Sabrina Muck
Sabrina Muck joined The Literatti Pool at the start of 2009, as we began to prepare for our biggest project to date - GROWL, the international collaboration that saw American performance poet Nikki Patin travel to work with us in NZ. Sabrina is a tax lawyer by training, business woman by day, but poet at heart and performance-maestro by night. She is an avid slam poet and a regular face in the Auckland poetry community. Her poetry has been published in such places as Black Mail Press and Live Lines.
Daniel Larsen
Daniel Larsen first became involved in The Literatti as a sound technician and made us sound great from 2007-2008. At the start of 2009 Daniel, a performer in his own right, started workshopping with us. He then joined The Literatti Pool and has been performing with us since Rhythm & Verse in August, 2009. Daniel was involved in the international collaboration which saw the release of the free, People In Your Neighbourhood CD and is regularly invited to perform around Auckland. His poetry has been published in Live Lines, Tongue in Your Ear, Black Mail Press, Side Stream and De-Formed Paper.
Anna Kaye Forsyth
Anna Kaye Forsyth joined The Literatti pool at the start of 2009. She has been a regular face at local open mic nights for years, both as a poet and as a musician. Her poetry has been published in Black Mail Press, Live Lines, Side Stream, & FourW (Aus). Anna debuts with The Literatti in Echoing The Ghosts. A fantastic addition to The Literatti, Anna Kaye Forsyth blends song and poetry to perfection.
Jai MacDonald
Jai MacDonald is the 2010 Poetry Idol Champion. He joined The Literatti pool after he wowed the group with his guest Poetry Live performance in June the same year. He has been part of Funky Oriental Beats (FOB). Jai first began performing his work after he saw GROWL in 2009. He won his first poetry slam just one week later.