Perc.U.lations - 13th September - featuring Gerard Lewis-Fitzgerald

Our Poetry and Spoken Word events are held on the second Saturday of the month at 3 p.m., with a Poetry Writing Workshop running from 2 pm to 3 pm.

***Please take note of the new venue:  Vespertine Gardens, 6 Cadle Street, Dandenong 3175 Vic. 
Do be in touch with Anke should the weather report indicate rain, etc.

'Vespertine Gardens' are a short walk from Dandenong Station.  The best parking spots are on the Robinson street side, which is the car park right next to Walker street gallery.  There are also car spaces on George Street and Hutton Street. There are limited car spaces on Cadle. Further information below

Our feature this September is Gerard Lewis-Fitzgerald

These days, it is extremely rare to see Gerard at spoken word open mics in inner Melbourne. He tends to operate closer to home, notably here at Perc-U-lations, as well as at Poetry Bauhaus, courtesy of Baw Baw Arts Alliance. To keep his writing going, Gerard writes regularly on Threads and FB, responding to poetry prompts. Being an obsessively detailed twerp, he noted for the calendar month of July to August that he'd written a poem every day for 31 days. (Ditto this pattern for most of 2025.) Too poor to access psychological help, Gerard writes for therapy, responding humorously or flirtatiously to friends’ posts on media, often in another language (usually in French but also dabbles in Spanish & Italian.) He thrills to see laughing-face emojis in reply. Pathologically, he is a people-pleaser. He also does art and some theatre. From one of his poems: “I have no roseate view of me; a monolithic paradox in a valley … and loving it, 99.”

An 'open mic' is available for as many poets as possible before and after our feature (or as much poetry as we are happy to share before our time is up).

Further information on the venue:  

Introducing Vespertine Gardens

Located in Dandenong’s inner west, Vespertine Gardens is a new community garden, designed as a space for creativity, connection and care for nature. Vespertine Gardens invites locals to come together to share in gardening and the celebration of the natural world within city life.

This project was brought to life by West Alchemy Collective, who are a passionate group of Dandenong West residents, traders, and creatives. As a collective, the potential was recognised to reclaim vacant land and were inspired to transform it into a green urban sanctuary, as a place to belong.

Save the Date: Official Opening – October 25th, 2025. More details on the celebration to come!

Link to our socials for more deets:

https://www.facebook.com/people/Vespertine-Gardens/61560854369376/

https://www.instagram.com/vespertine.gardens/

This event is ticketed using ‘Pay as you Feel’ via Stickytickets, as the Gardens (or other venue) will continue to be open to the general public. Therefore, open-mic and feature presenters are asked to keep their works in the 'PG' range for this event.

Perc.U.lations is affiliated with Radio Laria and is committed to highlighting the voices of women and gender-diverse poets. At least 50% of all features throughout the year will be women; however, men are also encouraged to apply to this event, and the open mic is open to anyone.

Perc.U.lations, is taking place on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Sovereignty was never ceded, and we extend our respect to Indigenous elders past, present, and emerging.