Dimitri Troaditis has been writing poetry for many years. An avid lover of poetry, Dimitri is a regular at poetry events around the city.

“I have been in Australia for 22 years and in Melbourne for ten years, organising poetry events and taking part in events that others have organised. Before I took over the curation of the Fed Square sessions I was one of the regular readers here,” he says.

He took the opportunity to take over poetry readings at Fed Square as soon as it came up and has been enjoying the sessions.

“In the year that I have been curating poetry at Fed Square, I have tried to involve as many people as I can and a huge variety of poets. Not just in terms of cultural or ethnic backgrounds but also in terms of different poetic forms.”

He says while people may only see poems as being one form, he wants to expose everyone to the diverse art form that poetry can be.

“I like to expose people to poetry, especially bilingual poetry, because I am from an immigrant background myself,” he says.

Coming from a Greek background Mr Troaditis’ poetic influences range from Greek, Russian, Latin American to Indigenous Australian.

He feels one of the most important reasons behind the poetry sessions is to allow individuals to have a platform for self-expression.

“I think there are so many voices out there that are not heard enough and poetry at Fed Square is a great opportunity for people to come out and express themselves,” he says.