‘Who gave birth to my daughter?’ XYZ Prize highly commended

It’s easy to say of every poem, ‘it’s a special one for me’. But it’s true of this piece, because it contains a background made up of the sounds of my newborn baby daughter.

This piece explores birth by C-section, and the complicated questions that come with it. It was deeply felt, impossible to write, and I thought I’d never share it with anybody. But here it is.

‘Who gave birth to my daughter’ received Highly Commended in the XYZ Prize for Innovation in Spoken-Word. The award was created by David Stavanger and is presented through Queensland Poetry Festival, one of the most exciting poetry communities I enjoy.

You can listen to the audio over at Melbourne Spoken Word on this page. Check out the other outstanding entries too; especially the co-winners and collaborators Eloise Grills and Jaslyn Robertson.