13 August 2021

Meet the young poets of Toolkits: Poetry 2021

We are so excited to begin our Toolkits: Poetry program with 8 talented young poets from across Australia. During this 12-week intensive, these poets will join poet and artist Elena Gomez, to explore the forms, functions, histories and uses of poetry, combining theoretical approaches, practical exercises, group workshops, and one-on-one mentorship  in the development of new poetic work.

Elena will lead the program’s fortnightly online sessions and workshops, providing one-on-one mentorship during the alternating weeks, and support these young writers with individualised feedback.

For more information on our Toolkits and Toolkits: Live program (which you can participate in right now!) visit our website.

But for now, say hello to the Poetry class of 2021!


Katelyn Goyen

Katelyn Goyen is a Brisbane based writer. She previously edited the dearly departed literary zine, The Tundish Review.

Issy Golding

Issy is a writer & editor based in Sydney, Australia with an interest in Australian social politics, climate change, gender issues and history. She is an emerging poet who writes about the ocean, her love for long-dead historical women and a love for love.

Jahin Tanvir

Jahin Tanvir is a 20-year-old policy adviser, keynote speaker, writer, and multicultural youth advocate. With a penchant of being multifaceted, Jahin possesses a strong background in youth leadership and advocacy in leading youth-led organisations such as Oaktree, World Vision, Multicultural Youth Affairs Network Australia, Red Cross, and the United Nations to name a few.

In 2021, Jahin received the 2021 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year in Individual Community Service as well as recognition in the 7NEWs Young Achiever awards for NSW/ ACT in the category of community service. Jahin also received the Zest Awards Outstanding Youth Leader of the year for 2021 for his work in assisting multicultural communities. Jahin is a published writer with various articles published on mediums such as UNICEF, The Centre of Research Excellence in Adolescent Health, The Conversation and WhyNot as well as co-authoring his first anthology book “Life in the time of Corona” in 2020 at the age of 19, where he brings the view of multicultural young people and how different it is from mainstream Australia.

Julian Palacios

Julian (he/him) is an emerging poet based in Kurilpa/Brisbane. In his life so far, he has been a physicist, a tutor, an administrative professional, a web developer, and now an aspiring psychologist. Just like in his poems, he thinks far too much about being in love. He lives with his three legged cat, George, who is not his greatest muse but might just be his best friend.

Noemie Huttner-Koros

Noemie Huttner-Koros is a queer Jewish performance-maker, community organiser, writer and dramaturg based on Whadjuk Noongar country (Walyalup, WA). Noemie’s practice is driven by a deep belief in the social, political and communal role of art and culture, and engages with sites and histories where ecological crisis, queer culture and composting occur. Her performance works have ranged from a queer history walking performance (The Lion Never Sleeps), dinner parties (The Trouble Makers), alter-ego persona ‘Mother of Compost’ and collaborative play ‘Untitled Wars’ (co-written with Mararo Wangai). Her poetry has been featured in Australian Poetry Anthology 2020, Rabbit Poetry Journal, Perth Poetry Festival and she was the winner of the 2020 Venie Holmgren Environmental Poetry Prize. Noemie has worked with groups including Spare Parts Puppet Theatre (First Hand artist 2019), Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (2019 Resident Artist), Incite Arts Alice Springs, Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation, Aphids (Howl), National Young Writer’s Festival (2020) and Australian Theatre for Young People (National Studio 2019, mentored by Ross Mueller). She is a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (performance making).

Sher Ting Chim

Originally from a sunny tropical island in Southeast Asia, Sher Ting is a Singaporean-Chinese currently residing in Australia. Growing up, she used to spend hours in the library, falling in love with the way words fell together to build worlds, the way they spoke when words no longer sufficed. She is a 2021 Best of The Net nominee and a finalist in The New York Times Asia-Pacific Writing Competition with work published/forthcoming in anthologies including Byline Legacies and Pages Penned In Pandemic, and literary journals including Eunoia Review, Heavy Feather Review, (mac)ro(mic), Qwerty, Kissing Dynamite and FERAL. Her work speaks of themes of dislocation/dissociation, loneliness/loss and memory/nostalgia. She hopes, through her work, to subvert mainstream discourse and highlight oft-rejected narratives of minority identity, in addition to exploring the metaphysicality and plurality of the body and identity. She is currently an editor of The Aurora Journal and a Poetry Reader for Farside Review. When she is not writing, she can be found playing her guitar and taking hikes through regional Victoria. She tweets at @sherttt and writes at downintheholocene.wordpress.com

Gurmeet Kaur

Gurmeet Kaur is a poet, writer, and educator from London. Her work appears in Aniko Press, Dynamis Journal, Sweet and Sour Zine, and elsewhere. She is a winner of the Ultimo Prize 2021 and her winning poem will appear in the Ultimo Identity Anthology later this year. Gurmeet has been a Writer-in-Residence with Incedium Radical Library and an Artsbox Writer-in-Residence with the City of Maribyrnong. She is currently working on her debut poetry chapbook and lives on the unceded lands of the Kulin nation.

Ella Fox-Martens

Ella Fox-Martens is a West-Australian poet and essayist, with work published in Meanjin, The Rumpus, Westerly, Cordite and others. She works as Soft Punk Magazine’s assistant editor.