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Hi and welcome to my website.

Born and raised in Perth Western Australia, I have lived here most of my life, except for three years in Adelaide and some time residing in rural WA, including: Kalgoorlie, Bridgetown and Peppermint Grove Beach. My interests are mainly in the arts, environmentalism and social justice. I am a freelance writer, poet, haiku poet, editor, photographer, artist, website builder/designer, and digital media artist.

My children have inspired a lot of my writing. I have two sons, Jeffrey and Robert and a daughter, Kathy. I started writing poetry when my children were young, and particularly enjoyed writing personalised nursery rhymes and lullabys. I didn't take my writing seriously until I started Uni in 1995. Since then, I have gained vast writer-in-the-community experience and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing, which I completed at Edith Cowan University, with some of my studies undertaken at Murdoch University and Flinders University.

I was fortunate to be offered, and to complete, an intense mentorship (writing, researching, critiquing and workshopping of haiku for publication) with mentor, John Bird in 2007, and am currently the HaikuOz WA Regional Representative. I find haiku writing and haiku's awe of nature, to be particularly meditative, healing and inspiring. With the frustration and anger at the continual destruction of the environment, I find haiku is a way of keeping myself calm and in the 'now'. But I also plan to use my writing, photography and art as a way of voicing my concerns, and hopefully helping to bring about awareness and change.

Believing in the importance of poetry, I have been actively involved in trying to raise community awareness of the relevance of poetry in our lives today. Poets throughout history have also been at the forefront of political and social challenges and changes, and, I believe, need to be more active at this time. I was a co-founder of: WA Poets Inc, the annual WA Spring Poetry Festival, The Word is Out Poetry Journal, Creative Connections Art and Poetry exhibitions, and Walking on Water readings. I am also the Secretary of WA Poets Inc.

My poetry and haiku have been widely published internationally and nationally. I have also had success in national poetry competitions, and many of my short stories, articles and reviews have also been published. I am involved in organising local poetry and art exhibitions, being the Poetry Co-ordinator of Creative connections Art and Poetry Exhibitions. I am also the WA state co-ordinator for National Poetry Week. I am a regular reader at venues around Perth, have been a regular guest reader at venues around Perth and Adelaide since 1995, and have organised many readings in WA.Also, I have studied Photography, Web Design and Maintenance, and Secretarial Skills at TAFE in WA. I was a TAFE lecturer in Oral Communication at Challenger TAFE in Rockingham.

I am an advocate of Aboriginal rights and respectfully acknowledge that I am on Nyungar land.

I am available to be employed/contracted as a guest speaker, poetry/haiku workshop and masterclass facilitator, panelist, website designer and builder, event organiser, administration officer, editor, and digital media designer. Contact - Email: maureensexton@bigpond.com, Phone: 0435 024 616.

PUBLICATION

Articles