Young people in Blacktown become published poets

The program was about recognising the voices of young people as essential to shaping the future of the places in which they live. Over the past year, young people aged 12-18 reflected on and shared their expert knowledge about their communities and their worlds through consultations and creative writing workshops.

“To write poetry you have to look at your past, your present and possibly even your future. So I feel like poetry is one of the best ways to explore this journey. One of the best ways to really think about it,” says Summer, a Year 10 student at Chifley College Shalvey Campus. From knowledge of the best (or worst) locations for catching up with friends at the Westfield Foodcourt, or why a charm bracelet is more than just a bracelet, the book captures what it means to grow up and live in this community. “If you want to understand the heart and future of a community, the best people to ask are young people,” said Dr Catherine Keenan AM, Executive Director and Co-founder of Story Factory. “The writing in this book overflows with insight, wisdom and love: with stories of family and friends, and with aspirations for the future.”

The book was launched at an event in November 2025 at Glenwood Community Hub, where students, teachers and community members came together to celebrate the students becoming published poets, and to hear some of the young writers read their poems. The poems are deeply personal and fiercely communal – one writer expresses the freedom of leaving Mount Druitt Station for inner-city Sydney, reminiscing on their first Mardi Gras parade. Another writes about the injustice of a homeless person living in Blacktown Station (‘He wishes for a hand to hold, But the privileged hand has a hold on him’).

As part of their creative writing workshops, the students were tasked to imagine that aliens had crash-landed at Rooty Hill Station, Popondetta Park or Whalan Reserve, and to create a poetry guidebook to explain life in the local area. As a result, the poems map out the streets and inner worlds that this group of young people know best.

“I Talk, It Echoes is not only for imagined extraterrestrials,” said Philip Wilcox, Special Projects Manager at Story Factory. “It is for all of us who want to see Blacktown, Mount Druitt, and the surrounding communities through the eyes of the young. It is for readers who want to know what it’s like to grow up in a place where your order at Gong Cha says a lot about you, where footy fields roar, and where the sky above Rooty Hill Station feels wide enough to hold every possibility.”

Freedom

By Summer, Year 10, Chifley College Shalvey Campus

Trains have always been my way of getting away.

I leave Mount Druitt station and I feel my lungs finally fill with air.

My music playing loud in my ears, genre constantly changing,

yet still familiar, still me.

But it’s never about the where, it’s about the who.

I make my way to Summer Hill station, indifferent to my surroundings

Until spotting my girlfriend across the platform.

I head to Parramatta station with Layan, not caring for the Westfield,

but for the discussions we go into as we explore it.

I stop at Redfern station, walking down the laneways.

Doesn’t fail to make me reminisce about my first parade at Mardi Gras,

giggling and dancing down the streets with Bethany and Lilith.

I find myself at Town Hall and smile as a girl compliments me,

not for any real reason, just out of kindness.

As I get back on the platform, and onto the T1,

I breathe out before letting my taste

of freedom slip away, lost until next Saturday.

Love’s breath tastes like a flavour you enjoy once accompanied,

I carry kindness in the palm of my hand.

In My Soul

By Ananya, Year 8, Blacktown Girls High School

In my soul pani puri reminds me of summer

While Maggi gives me warmth

In my soul there’s masala chai with aromatic spices

And lassi flavoured with fruits

In my soul are half saris made from silk and cotton

And vibrant splashes of colour turned into a tie-dyed masterpiece

In my soul there’s temple jewellery with shiny gemstones

That everyone wears for an elegant look

In my soul cotton is fluffy clouds that are turned into silky cloth

While the Apple watch is a magical invention that keeps time every second

In my soul the tabla gives rhythm to music

While classical music brings the melody

As part of their creative writing workshops, the students were tasked to imagine that aliens had crash-landed at Rooty Hill Station, Popondetta Park or Whalan Reserve, and to create a poetry guidebook to explain life in the local area. As a result, the poems map out the streets and inner worlds that this group of young people know best.

“I Talk, It Echoes is not only for imagined extraterrestrials,” said Philip Wilcox, Special Projects Manager at Story Factory. “It is for all of us who want to see Blacktown, Mount Druitt, and the surrounding communities through the eyes of the young. It is for readers who want to know what it’s like to grow up in a place where your order at Gong Cha says a lot about you, where footy fields roar, and where the sky above Rooty Hill Station feels wide enough to hold every possibility.”

I Talk, It Echoes is available to purchase through Story Factory’s online book shop.

Anna Zabow is the Communications and Publishing Lead at StoryFactory. It’s Our Turn is funded by Multicultural NSW under the COMPACT program. COMPACT works across communities and sectors to inspire and empower young people to foster social cohesion, stand united against divisive forces and come together in times of need. Photography by Natasha Capstick. Book design by Ginni Leonard.