Miles Merrill
“Australia’s spoken-word tour de force”
NEW CD DIRTY CURLY OUT NOW
Miles Merrill is the creative director of the literary arts organisation, Word Travels. He is also a writer, performer, facilitator and event co-ordinator who combines poetry with theatre, experimental audio, hip-hop beats, stand-up and occasionally political confrontation.
New video up on Play Now Act Now site. Tips on Creative Writing, Micro-fiction, Performance and more- check it!
PNAN Vodcast: Episode 4 from Play Now Act Now on Vimeo.
Merril's company, Word Travels, has worked in collaboration with the Sydney Opera House and the Australian Arts Coundil to create Australia’s first spoken-word festival – The Night Words Festival.
Word Travels has also had a long-time partnership with state and regional libraries around the country. Together they have worked with ABC radio and online as a media partner to produce the national literary performance competition: The Australian Poetry Slam.
Word Travels tours performers, wordshops and poetry slams to communities internationally, inspiring people to write and perform their own stories. Click on the "Products and Projects" link to see what Word Travels can do for you.
Recently, they went to outback New South Wales to work with indigenous young people. The outcome was to get them writing, performing and telling their stories in a variety of ways. Here's a video showcasing some of the great work the kids came up with and how we interacted with them.
Miles Merrill was born in Chicago and now lives in Sydney. As a spoken-word artist, he has opened for Saul Williams, wrote and co-directed a show in the Sydney Festival and performed solo at the Sydney Opera House.
Internationally Merrill has performed in such places as Krakow’s Audio Art Festival, and writers festivals in Bali, Beijing, Vancouver and Calgary
In Australia, Miles Merrill pops up everywhere: schools, festivals, theatres, libraries, galleries etc.
Merrill's writing and performances are available on:
CD: What Night Knows, Dirty Curly with Aussie hip-hop producer Morganics
(See video clip for lead track below)
DVD: The Reel
Print: The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry, Terra: Anthology, The Asia Literary Review
Reviewers have offered the following comments on Merrill’s work
“Wild wordplay reminiscent of Gil Scott-Heron, Lenny Bruce and Allen Ginsberg “Chicago Reader
“Miles Merrill is the tour-guide of the human spirit…a remarkably adroit poet.”
DB Magazine
“Merrill’s stories, set to a background of music, pack a solid punch. Visit this show to learn what performing is really about.” Adelaide Advertiser
“Passionate, deeply enjoyable and demands attention. More please.”
Sydney Morning Herald
“He was on fire! Each piece was a wild, tongue twisting, spit-laden adventure.” www.songpod.com.au
Check out this excerpt from ABC's JTV poetry slam coverage with American slam poet, Sonya Renee and Miles Merrill: