Sarah Dizon is a 17-year-old student from Sarah Redfern High School who has been attending Story Factory’s Year of Poetry program for the last three years. In that time, she’s published two collections of poetry, i baked you a cake and you are the star. She is currently working on a third.
Sarah’s work has explored themes related to love, grief, the human experience, growing up and getting to understand the world around her. She credits Story Factory’s Year of Poetry program with allowing her the space and scope to delve into these concepts in a supportive and open environment.
“I enjoyed the freedom I had in writing these collections of poetry, because I was able to write and publish whatever pieces I wanted,” she said.
“It was challenging, because I was in senior years at school – studying, working and then trying to meet book deadlines – but in the end it was all worth it. Story Factory let me be myself and explore my interests.”
Her third poetry collection, due to be published at the end of this year, looks at similar themes, but with a more mature outlook.
“I have changed as a writer because now I think about all the mechanisms and performances of a writing piece, like how metaphors are created and symbols mean something; how everything, in some way or another, is a poem.
“Everything is an art movement or statement, and classes at Story Factory have taught me that, so ever since then, writing flows through my fingers easily.”
“Sun Spots Sleeping On My Cheeks” (an excerpt from you are the star by Sarah Dizon): “as i wait for my bubble tea drink in the shopping mall/ i compliment a woman’s green flowy dress/ it was just so, so alluring/ and she says ‘I had to cover my stomach with the belt!’ and laughs/ and i just want to tear up; my dear stranger/ who do you owe/ thinness/ thickness/ hourglass shapes/ tallness/ smallness/ perfection/ to?// i hope i don’t age ‘perfect’/ i hope my story is told on my skin/ eye wrinkles and cheek wrinkles from laughing and smiling too much/ sun spots from dreaming under the sun/ knees covered in scars from having frisky adventures/ stomach rolls moving like waves when i laugh because i eat good and free/ hair grey from age because it’s human of it to change;/ because i am human/ our bodies are nature’s expression of our journey/ no one has these same patterns as me/ and i will love them because i loved and loved and love/ so please don’t cover your cute stomach rolls with the belt of the dress/ because the stories that you wear/ and carry around/ are worth more than the eyes that mould.”
