By Winnie Dunn:
“A good story—one that knows its use and power—startling imagery and syntax, and a curious perspective can help us bypass problematic social and political structures that are in part designed to limit voice.” – Landan Osman
Kingswood campus’ Whine and Wine event was the perfect experiment for the participating in the act of good stories and good story telling that we have in Western Sydney University. Our clubs are exemplars of good stories. PATHE, The Queer Collective, Student Campus Council, Parramatta Music Club, Groove in the U, and The Women’s Collective all have our little stories. We are a political and creative force that needs to be cultivated by students for students. We are the voice of change and togetherness across the decentralised divide of multiple campuses.
I dreamt up Whine and Wine from my deep desire for wholesome campus events that would bring people together into something we could all relate too: music, storytelling, and familiar faces. As students of WSU, we are at university almost everyday, but we simply just go to class and the go home – because there is no driving call for togetherness. Instead, we are socially constructed to feel that the city uni’s and the city altogether is ‘the place to be’ for culture. Wrong. There is nowhere as diverse, as plentiful, as full of good stories as Western Sydney and Western Sydney University. We must change our self-perception and I hope Whine and Wine will become a starting point.
The first Whine and Wine, and its future successors, will always be about inter-campus collaboration and inspiration. Whine and Wine will always be about active clubs and their creative members. It will always be about students. It will always be about Western Sydney. Whine and Wine will always be for students by students, however they see fit to use the idea.
I would like to thank Groove in the U for providing equipment on the night, without them nothing would have been possible. I would like to thank all the poets on the night – your hidden creative talents inspired Whine and Wine completely. I would also like to thank the Women’s Collective for jumping on board my idea so many months ago and helping me grow as a female. Let’s keep the discussions and friendships we made last night an on-going collaborative conversation.
Here’s too more whining and wine-ing with my fellow students across all campuses. Poetry has been and always will be about collectiveness and creativity, no matter where, no matter what.
