Miranda Aitken

A West Australian poet and singer-songwriter who writes intimate stories of human fragility, deep connection to nature, and the need to protect wild places.  ‘My River’ is a powerful spoken word poem interwoven with songs and music that celebrates love, mourns loss and finds the sacred in nature and the river.

 ‘My River’ was performed at Denmark Festival of Voice and the Perth Poetry Festival in 2022. Now ‘My River’ comes home with a very special performance at Nannup Music Festival with guests Rachel Armstrong – violin and mandolin (The Kiss List, Menders Chest) and Lukas Drinkwater –  double bass (Jacob & Drinkwater, Emily Barker, Sea Swallow).

Miranda Aitken’s poetry has received a Highly Commended in the Tom Collins Poetry Prize, and has been published in several anthologies  including ‘cuttlefish’ (Sunline Press 2023).  She has a poem on the Busselton Jetty, and her poem ‘People of the River, Bilya/River Song’, greets visitors to the Heart in Margaret River’s art precinct.  She is known for her work with the Nannas for Native Forests, and performing with her sister Sarah Butler in their band, The Moody Cows at Nannup Music Festival and Bridgetown Blues.

Miranda Aitken recently opened The Marritree, a bookshop, art and performance space in Witchcliffe that celebrates the creative arts while paying homage to the planet.  The Marritree is home to ‘Witchy Words & Music’, a monthly music and spoken word event, and has also hosted national acts such as Emily Barker and Kavisha Mazzella.