Emerging Writers Series: The Provocative Inklings
“It is street and collage poetry. It is innovative filmmaking. It is multimedia writing. It is playscripts. It is relevant, critical journalism. It is fiction challenging the reader to a provocation. Being a bunch of provocative artists, this list is not exhaustive; in fact, it’s ever-growing.”
I love any opportunity to mix things up which is why I was super excited when the inspiring team behind The Provocative Inklings agreed to be a part of our interview series!
Co-founded by A.A. Sagar, Kartiya Ilardo and Amy Wortmann, the Provocative Inklings are an emerging Melbourne writing collective, with a keen focus on celebrating creative writing in all its many forms. From script writing and theatre to poetry, haiku, fiction, memoir and - my personal fave - flash fiction (look out for their monthly flash fiction callouts on Insta!).
The Provocative Inklings aim to bring together like-minded writers to share their passions and grow a support network across the AusLit scene.
Can you tell us a bit more about who you are, what you do and what brought you together to form The Provocative Inklings?
There are three of us in the collective, Angus, Kartiya and Amy. (In this interview, Angus and Kartiya speak on behalf of Amy, who has recently completed a thesis and is starting her new Master's degree!)
Angus: I wanted a writing family. Doing a BA, creative writing major, I met lots of writers, but it was hard to connect. Maybe that was a symptom of competitive university culture. It certainly wasn’t me, I can talk to anyone! So in my third year, I gathered the select writers I had befriended, got along with, and shared passions with, and we just started meeting up every week, Thursdays, at Flinders Lane Brunetti. Writing and coffee-drinking, flaneuring and journeying with pens in our hand and words in our mind. But we were ambitious and creative, we wanted more. We wanted to get recognition as writers, hone our craft with peers, and get exposure to the wider Melbourne literary scene. The first seed was planted for what would become the Provocative Inklings.
Kartiya: I was just starting my Master's in Teaching, which I love; however, I always wanted to be a writer… an artist. I let that fall to the wayside because I believed it would be a hard industry to break into. I did my undergraduate in Creative Writing, so I had the skills, but applying them was a scary task for me. I don’t think I could’ve ventured into the Melbourne literary world by myself. Then one fateful morning, August 1st to be exact, I got a message from Angus. I was sitting in my lecture and was surprised to see his name pop up on my screen. We hadn’t talked for a while but were close writing friends back in my undergrad years. He invited me and a few other of his writing friends to have a writer catch-up, nothing serious, just lighthearted writing. This reignited me. I would wake up at five am and catch the earliest train just to meet them in the mornings before my classes and talk about writing. They were the highlights of my week, and I never could have dreamed what it has become and what it is becoming.
I feel like there’s a good story behind your name - can you tell us more about that?
We were all at Unimelb’s Professor’s Walk Café during the Spring, sipping on our hot pots of inspiration. We were racking our brains, throwing out nonsense suggestions like “the grizzlies,” but we decided we weren’t a sports team.
We stopped and pondered. “What is our intention as a collective?” Amy asked. We all only had to think briefly to unanimously decide we wanted to be provocative. But that couldn’t be our name! Provocative what? Then Kartiya had an epiphany and softly said, “ink splats.”
Hmm, on the right track!
Ink stains. Sounds crude. Ink blots. Ink tots. Ink… Inkling. Inkling! The Provocative Inklings!
Of course, we could say that we were inspired by the J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis' collective called the Inklings, but we learnt that after the fact. We subconsciously follow in the footsteps of excellent writers ;)
What role does The Provocative Inklings hope to play in the literary scene across Melbourne and further afield?
In Melbourne, the P.I.s want to unlock the freedom to focus intensively on being immersed in the creative scenes of Melbourne. Regarding the literary scene specifically, our core passion, we strive to discover fresh, unique writing approaches and connect to the people driving these writing innovations. The P.I.s are interested in joining, exploring and building on the frontier of writing in Melbourne.
To give more of an idea: It is street and collage poetry. It is innovative filmmaking. It is multimedia writing. It is playscripts. It is relevant, critical journalism. It is fiction challenging the reader to a provocation. Being a bunch of provocative artists, this list is not exhaustive; in fact, it’s ever-growing.
You mentioned you’re connecting with some local theatres and writers for collaborations - can you share more about what’s in the works?
Angus: Our biggest and most exciting collaboration is with Amy Han’s Words of a Feather (WOAF), a writing collective and creative business that is aiming to create enclaves of WOAF famille all over the world for “young* writers”, and the Provocative Inklings is becoming a big part of that being established here in Melbourne. In fact, in March, we are organising a super exciting workshop with Farrago Magazine (University of Melbourne) called Poetry Parkour: Writing on the Edge. Additionally, the start of February marks the beginning of our monthly flash fiction competition. The end of February will see the beginning of our collaborative Creativity Picnics; a reflective, contemplative and safe creative space in an inviting, open environment for anyone to join. We also have the Story Soiree and much more planned in the future! This ambitious collection of projects is heavily focused on inspiring writers to be courageous in their art-sharing.
On a smaller yet equally exciting note, we have a connection to the Melbourne-famous Jaidyn the Street Poet (author of The Street Poet) and are becoming involved in his inspiring Street Poetry Project here in the CBD. We are planning upcoming excursions into the city landscape to provoke thought, feeling and action towards a more loving, reflective and just city. #WritersUnite.
Kartiya: Alongside all those exciting ventures, we are so keen to keep on contributing to Farrago. They were the ones to give us a space to build our writer identities, to connect with the current literary scene. We have written reviews for Melbourne’s 2023 Christmas Festival, a number of student plays, and trending movies like Wonka, Saltburn and Priscilla. We have many more exciting events and pieces planned to come.
Another major connection we hold dear to our heart is with the emerging theatre company Cipata Theatre, who we are looking to work with to develop play scripts and the like.
As always, working with and collaborating with other writers and artists is something we treasure, so we hope to make many more connections in the future. I’ve been blown away by the kindness and support of the Melbourne and international creative scenes.
From poetry and haiku to multimedia, journalism and street poetry - I love how you share such a wide range of creative forms on your page. Can you chat more about the role of exploring different formats for your creative expression?
Kartiya: I love this collective because we each contribute our special flavour of creativity. Personally, I am exploring filmmaking and videography art and combining that with storytelling and poetry. This also ties into my love for arts and pop-culture journalism. Capturing moments on film and through journalism is creating a tapestry of a moment in reality. You observe the atmosphere, the people, the environment, the reactions and feelings, and as the person behind the camera and pen, these layers together to create a comprehensive piece of work to gift this moment to your readers.
It’s my passion to create art that encapsulates a moment in time so that readers can relive the moment forever. Creating makes you appreciate the life you’ve been given.
Angus: My contribution currently lies in street and collage poetry, haikus, and my fiction projects like Sagar’s Saga. For me, it is really important to be testing myself in the categories I am excited about and curious about. It helps me avoid stagnation as a creator. I live in an eclectic city; I am surrounded by diversified art! If the Provocative Inklings want to be able to meaningfully collaborate with diverse artists, we need to be diverse artists. “Write what you know” is an oft-used phrase, and we believe in it. So we need to know more to write more.
What values do you live by as a writing collective, and how do you think these support you as creative individuals?
We strive to live up to our name. Being Provocative. That translates to being brave in the art we create and share.
Kartiya: To paraphrase Hemingway, I value creating art that shows attention to life to make it alive again and again to anyone who views it. The beauty in life is that no moment is the same, and through writing and film, we are allowed to hold it longer, even if it’s just for a little bit.
Angus: As a creative individual, this has helped me to pursue my writing with new, unashamed vigour. I will write; be it bad, good or somewhere in-between. I will share it and grow. It has also supported my ability to reign in the perfectionist and the inner critic that creatives often suffer from. That’s been very liberating.
I know lots of new writers are often shy about joining writing groups and collectives (they still make me a bit nervous!). What advice do you have for emerging writers to help them find their writing community?
Angus: Be ready to try something out and be honest with yourself about whether or not it is for you. Not all writing groups will work out or be helpful to you. In university, I joined a few writing groups that people just didn’t take seriously, and it was frustrating! But you find gems amongst it all. People you click with and want to write more with. So simply get out and explore the writing community, be prepared for disappointment or for people to not take your passion as seriously as you, but find motivation to keep on trying to find your space, and others will see that and want to join you.
Kartiya: To be honest, I totally get that. I was totally shy too. I am just grateful to Angus for remembering and reaching out to me for breakfast that morning. I don’t even want to imagine what life would be like if I said no or he didn’t set this whole beautiful thing up. My advice would be to look for already established communities or go to writing workshops and events. There will be so many people there you could connect with, and who knows, out of all the randoms, you might find that one person who helps you live your dreams. Also, being a writer is to be an artist, and to be an artist is to be strong enough to be vulnerable, and to give yourself a chance to win. What if it works out? And it usually will. It has to. Also, keep journals, and make your whole existence one big artwork. Write about your day, the good, the bad, the mundane. After a few years, you’ll have created a whole series of your life that you can reread, isn’t that awesome?
And lastly, what’s coming up for The Provocative Inklings this year - where and how can readers engage and connect with you?
If you’ve read through this and are intrigued, if our vision aligns with what you want for yourself, we are open to chat via email at theprovocativeinklings@gmail.com or through our Instagram @theprovocativeinklings.
We will continue to establish a growing footprint in Melbourne through everything we have already mentioned and more as new opportunities open and more creatives reach out.
About The Provocative Inklings
Co-founded by A.A. Sagar, Kartiya Ilardo and Amy Wortmann, the Provocative Inklings are an emerging Melbourne writing collective. They are a small group of passionate writers wanting to artistically provoke the city of Melbourne. They met at the University of Melbourne and bonded through their love of writing. As Provocative Inklings, they experiment with many art forms. Expect to see thought-provoking prose, tragically beautiful poetry, truthful and comedic journalistic pieces (find them in Farrago!) and enrapturing artistic films. This group are on their way to creating an enclave of Melbourne-centric writers eager to explore the city's geography, the stories of the sidewalks, and red-carpet events.
A.A.Sagar: @angus.albert.s
Kartiya Ilardo: @kartiya.ilardo
Amy Wortmann: @amywortmann or/and @beesandbards
The Provocative Inklings: @theprovocativeinklings
Elaine Chennatt is a writer, educator and psychology student currently residing in nipaluna. She has a special interest in bibliotherapy (how we use literature to make sense of our lives) and is endlessly curious about the creative philosophies of others. She lives with her husband and two bossy dachshunds on the not-so-sunny side of the river (IYKYK). Find her online at wordswithelaine.com.
