A Conversation with Maya Hodge
Shortly after the Writers Festival, I tracked down Maya Hodge to congratulate her on her achievement and have a quick chat about her writing. Maya was one of two recipients of the Mildura Indigenous Writers Award presented at the Festival
We worked together at Stefanos Cafe for a number of years, and when we lived on the same street, I'd see her lugging her violin case in the direction of school or the Arts Centre. I knew Maya had a creative soul, a musician whose mother is also artist and works at the Art Vault, so it came with no surprise when her name was called out as one of the winners at the ceremony. I gave a small squeal of delight and an enormous round of applause, incredibly proud and pleased for both Maya and her family for this tremendous recognition of her creative talents.
Firstly, congratulations on your achievement at the recent writers festival in Mildura, winning, alongside the other gentleman, the indigenous writers award for your poetry. How did it feel to receive that award?
It was pretty amazing. I didn't expect to win considering there were so many other really amazing writers. I was just really grateful to win such an amazing award.
I only heard a few lines of your poem, 'Her eyes' at the ceremony, but the little bit that I heard made me want to hear more. Can you tell me more about your poem?
I have never actually written a poem before, and I thought it was an interesting way to talk about my life and the experiences I've had. The poem is about different fragments of my childhood. It actually stemmed from a dream I had once. I distinctly remember seeing myself, really young, like 6 years old, and it was such a surreal experience that I thought it would be interesting to write about. From this dream, other childhood memories came to my mind and I worked with these to create the poem.
So what made you decide to sit down and write something?
My godmother was a big influence in my writing; she's a writer herself, and she really pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and write something. I guess writing is a release. Sometimes all these emotions become trapped inside and writing about it is a good way to release it all.
It's really interesting to hear you say that, as many of the other writers we heard from at the festival said the same thing. It seems to be a common theme with writers - a way to express themselves. Can I ask why you chose poetry?
No idea actually. Lately I've gotten into reading some poetry, like John Keats and some other poets, so I thought it would be an interesting way - rather than a short story - to express myself with a bit of a twist.
Do you have any more ambitions for your writing career?
I definitely want to keep writing, even maybe try some other types of writing besides poetry. It's hard to find the time around uni to write for myself. Maybe later down the track I will have more time to think about it.
You've recently moved down to Melbourne to study. Can you tell us a little about that - what you're studying, how it's all going?
I'm studying a Bachelor of Arts History and Curating at Monash University; and so far so good.
How did you find moving from a country town, Mildura, to living in the city?
It's a huge change. It's not as quite as friendly as one would think. In Mildura the people know each other, whereas in the city, people are more interested in looking out for themselves. Despite that, I've meet some really lovely people and the transition altogether has been surprisingly really smooth.
Thanks again for agreeing to speak to me and congratulations again on the award.
Good luck with your study at Monash, we hope to hear some more writing from you in future, or something equally creative, and see you back up here in Mildura again soon. Take care and thanks.
We worked together at Stefanos Cafe for a number of years, and when we lived on the same street, I'd see her lugging her violin case in the direction of school or the Arts Centre. I knew Maya had a creative soul, a musician whose mother is also artist and works at the Art Vault, so it came with no surprise when her name was called out as one of the winners at the ceremony. I gave a small squeal of delight and an enormous round of applause, incredibly proud and pleased for both Maya and her family for this tremendous recognition of her creative talents.
Firstly, congratulations on your achievement at the recent writers festival in Mildura, winning, alongside the other gentleman, the indigenous writers award for your poetry. How did it feel to receive that award?
It was pretty amazing. I didn't expect to win considering there were so many other really amazing writers. I was just really grateful to win such an amazing award.
I only heard a few lines of your poem, 'Her eyes' at the ceremony, but the little bit that I heard made me want to hear more. Can you tell me more about your poem?
I have never actually written a poem before, and I thought it was an interesting way to talk about my life and the experiences I've had. The poem is about different fragments of my childhood. It actually stemmed from a dream I had once. I distinctly remember seeing myself, really young, like 6 years old, and it was such a surreal experience that I thought it would be interesting to write about. From this dream, other childhood memories came to my mind and I worked with these to create the poem.
So what made you decide to sit down and write something?
My godmother was a big influence in my writing; she's a writer herself, and she really pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and write something. I guess writing is a release. Sometimes all these emotions become trapped inside and writing about it is a good way to release it all.
It's really interesting to hear you say that, as many of the other writers we heard from at the festival said the same thing. It seems to be a common theme with writers - a way to express themselves. Can I ask why you chose poetry?
No idea actually. Lately I've gotten into reading some poetry, like John Keats and some other poets, so I thought it would be an interesting way - rather than a short story - to express myself with a bit of a twist.
Do you have any more ambitions for your writing career?
I definitely want to keep writing, even maybe try some other types of writing besides poetry. It's hard to find the time around uni to write for myself. Maybe later down the track I will have more time to think about it.
You've recently moved down to Melbourne to study. Can you tell us a little about that - what you're studying, how it's all going?
I'm studying a Bachelor of Arts History and Curating at Monash University; and so far so good.
How did you find moving from a country town, Mildura, to living in the city?
It's a huge change. It's not as quite as friendly as one would think. In Mildura the people know each other, whereas in the city, people are more interested in looking out for themselves. Despite that, I've meet some really lovely people and the transition altogether has been surprisingly really smooth.
Thanks again for agreeing to speak to me and congratulations again on the award.
Good luck with your study at Monash, we hope to hear some more writing from you in future, or something equally creative, and see you back up here in Mildura again soon. Take care and thanks.
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