Will Small

Will Small is a refreshing and thoughtful Australian voice; poetically fusing together influences in philosophy, literature and hip-hop, to communicate in a unique and powerful way. His writing is informed by faith, doubt, fatherhood and a relentless desire to ask better questions, tell better stories and inspire a fresh collective narrative where no voice is forgotten or left out.

Will has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) majoring in English and Philosophy from the Australian National University, where he wrote an innovative thesis titled: ‘Slamming Hip-hop in Secondary Schools: Rethinking the Ways we Teach Poetry’ and developed the ‘Voice Poetry Slam’ program, using hip-hop and slam poetry to give a voice to marginalised young people throughout the ACT & NSW.

Will first performed his own poetry in 2007 at a heat of the Australian Poetry Slam. He quickly developed a love of the spoken word format, and has since been a national finalist at the Sydney Opera House twice including being chosen as the ABC Radio National Wildcard in 2013 for his poem ‘Op Shop Jacket’. Will is also a previous winner of the ANU Uni Pub Short Story Competition, and his short story ‘The Promise’ was published in Award Winning Australian Writing 2011.

Will has a story to tell for every audience, and a diverse repertoire of work that marvels at the wonders of birth, confronts the injustices of a chaotic world, and dwells on simple moments of hope.

Will speaks regularly about healthy masculinity, self-awareness, emotionally aware parenting, developing a creative practice and making room to truly hear the voices of others.