Hello everyone, Passionate Tongues Poetry will kick off 2023 on Tuesday January 10. And I'm very excited to tell you the feature performer will be Gaby Bila-Günther!
Gaby is back in Melbourne after spending the last 21 years in Berlin. Way back 21 years ago, Gaby was a major part of the Melbourne poetry scene, performing and creating events such as pop-up gigs in trams, laundromats and any other place you would not expect to see poetry.
The event photo is of Gaby in 2001 when she last featured at PT along with Malcolm Just in a tram themed poetry gig at The Retreat Hotel.
Here is Gaby’s official bio. Brace yourselves:
:LADY GABY AKA Gaby Bila-Günther, originally from Romania, arrived in Berlin via Melbourne where she would regularly perform in public. Widely published, her spoken-word, poetry, short stories and non-fiction articles have appeared in journals, online sites, CD compilations, magazines and literature anthologies in Australia, England, Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, USA and England.
She has performed, curated and showed text based, photos, collages and video works in Australia, Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, England, Italy, Holland, Sweden, Spain, Scotland, Switzerland, Romania, Poland, Belarus, France, USA, Slovenia and Czech Republic.
In 2000 in Melbourne, Australia, on a ‘moving tram’ she launched her self-published book Validate & Travel and in 2002 her own spoken word filled with ambient techno beats debut CD, Off the Main with music producer ZOG. In 2003 in Berlin, Germany, together with fellow writer Jessica Falzoi she formed the Poets’ Party while in Melbourne, Australia she was part of Urban ART and Flush artist groups. In MELBOURNE together with her partner, they ran the performance and live music warehouse space, CBI PRODS, where underground techno parties, CD launches and performance art events took place from 1995 till 2002.
She hosted monthly poetry and performance show Fuel, Berlin's wildest spoken word show at Schokoladen Club, Mitte, performance poetry show, Movin’ Along with VERSES at Sin Club, Kreuz-Köln, the regular performance and live music night at the KINGKONGKLUB, UNPARTY and organised workshops, exhibitions, readings at galleries and her private studio/salon Wonderbar.
PRESENTLY she hosts The WORD BANK Radio show, a monthly live radio broadcast from DAS KAPITAL and the event, The POETIC GROOVE, a night of performance artists and musicians fuse on stage. LADY GABY performs with the feminist, queer and burlesque show, The Cunt LAB well as performer and member in the collective, The POETRY BROTHEL BERLIN.