By Taylah Eastwell
When the thought of having to give up a loved stray cat prompted a creative brother sister duo to move out of their mother’s home, they had no idea that this would be the start of them finding their passion for spoken word poetry.
Josh and Eden Carell, who form local creative events and art therapy organisation Littlefoot and Company, were once two individuals who had never engaged in writing or poetry. Two years on, they’re hosting popular spoken word poetry nights once a month at Bunjil Place, Narre Warren.
The siblings’ passion developed shortly after watching a spoken word documentary and deciding to invite their closest friends over to give it a go.
“We have always been very creative so it was natural that we wanted to host some events for our friends to engage with each other in a different way than just having a party,” Mr Carell said.
“We got 10 of our closest friends together who had also never written poetry and we’re like, ‘who wants to write poems and share them with each other?’
“We were so scared we cancelled the first one!” he said.
When it did finally take place, the night was such a success that the friend group continued to hold the therapy-focused poetry nights.
“Poetry moves people. It’s always so real and raw and people connect with it,” Ms Carell said.
Littlefoot and Company began by running a spoken word poetry night at Berwick bar Eighty-One, raising money for mental health organisation Headspace.
“I remember one night we had so many people signed up for open mic and that’s when we realised people are really interested in this space. We had already found that poetry was therapeutic for us. To see it help others is what shows it’s important,” Ms Carell said.
“Sport is great but it doesn’t work for everyone. Creative therapy is an alternative way to process things.”
The events at bar Eighty-One led to the local council reaching out to the duo to provide further spoken poetry nights.
“It was such a great meeting, we were all really like-minded. We all had goals and ambitions to provide a space for people in the community to get up and be creative,” Mr Carell explained.
Since early last year, the open-mic spoken word poetry nights at Bunjil place have been well received by the community of Casey.
“Each time we get new people coming. As much as it’s about sharing poetry, the real crux of it is creating a space were people are comfortable to be themselves and express themselves and feel like they’re a part of something”, Mr Carell said.
The siblings have been included in the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival and the Emerging Writer’s Festival. They also hold other fundraising events such as kids art spaces, movie nights and an annual trivia night so that open-mic nights can remain free.
“We now feel that we have established ourselves in the scene. It’s now about going to the next level and trying to provide as many free events as we can,” he added.
Their next event is being held on Thursday 8th August at 7.30pm at Bunjil Place.
“You don’t have to be a certified poet to get on stage. It’s just about giving it a go. There are always people that do comedy or dance. It’s always just a really good vibe,” Mr Carell said.
