Johanna Featherstone

Johanna Featherstone founded Red Room Poetry in 2003 and was the organisation's artistic director until 2015. In that time Johanna established a national poetry education program for schools and Correctional Centres in NSW, at which she continues to facilitate poetry workshops. Her poetry features in journals and anthologies, including Best Australian Poems (Black Inc) and her chapbook Felt was released in 2010 by Vagabond Press with her second collection, featuring poems, prose and art criticism is forthcoming. (2020).

Johanna is honorary associate of The University of Sydney’s School Arts and Media and a regular peer assessor on literature panels for the Australia Council, Create NSW. Her work as a judge has included the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, JB Fairfax Award for Rural and Regional Journalism and the Marten Bequest Traveling Scholarship. Johanna received a fellowship from the St James Ethics Center (2008) during which time she worked in a mine, studied Tagore and began her journey as a yogi; she teaches the Iyengar method. Much of Johanna’s time is spent adventuring with family including 4 and 6 year old girls and as a Director of the Oranges & Sardines Foundation and Belvoir Theatre. 

Johanna is a co-director of Oranges & Sardines, her family foundation.

Reflections

"Challenging what a poem could be" – Past/Present Pets – Johanna Featherstone