LAURYNAH XX

“I like to write and tell stories, however they come. Sometimes in poetry, sometimes in jokes, sometimes in movement, always in listening first. When I was six-years-old, I came home to a note on the door: my cousin Sisi had died – "wait here, it said" – so we sat there until the sun went down, and then we sat some more, and the next thing I knew, we were putting her in the ground, and she was 25.  So I always thought, ok, if I make it past 25, everything else is a bonus.  Since then, I think I've chased the moments that might add up to a life well lived, and I turn the moments into stories, because maybe at the end, they'll leave some clues for the next guy.”

– See the APS Queensland Finalists compete for the crown of APS ‘26 Queensland State Final Champion at the 2026 Queensland APS Final on 17 October at Queensland Multicultural Centre.