Sad Girls Collective is new. It's bold and it's beautiful. It's a safe place and it loves you. SGC is the brainchild of local Poet, Writer and ethereal being Leni Battalis. From what began as the innocent sharing of a daydream; the uncovering of a romantic notion nestled deep in her heart, Sad Girls has now become a tangible thing and it's here to stay. 

So, what exactly is Sad Girls Collective? In the words of the mythical creature herself, Leni explained to me the underlying endeavour of Sad Girls is to respond to the underrepresentation and dismissal of certain groups within our creative community, offering them a platform to express themselves freely. Thereby, each gathering will embody a theme for the evening that feature writers, open mic poets, musicians, visual artists and whoever else may explore in a supportive, inclusive and nurturing environment. 

On Sunday night, in the warm, candlelit cave of Core Studios in Fremantle, feature poets Becky Monks, Jessie Appleyard and Leni Battalis recited elegant, emotive poems of love and loss. Utterly perfect moments included when Siahne played the ukulele during Jessie's set, and warm electric guitar played during Leni's final piece. The feature poets were followed by open mic performers who gave very raw, very brave recitals on love (and unrequited love), infatuation, youth and hindsight, insatiable desire, loneliness, insecurity, sexuality, anxiety, body image and uncertainty. Local musicians Lana, Stella Donnelly and myself performed original songs we each felt relevant to the night's theme. Heckles, supportive cheers and exchanges of adoration were made throughout the night between poems and songs. 

Open to anyone, Leni told of how grateful she felt to see so many new faces at such a new event. It's events like this, Sound Paper, Perth Poetry Club, Spoken Word Perth and so many others of past and present that are nurturing local poets, sincerely encouraging some rather rapid growth of the poetry community. 

Sad Girls Collective will run bimonthly events, so find them on facebook and head down to the next beautiful, magical evening.