Entranced by the power of words from birth, Marie O’Rourke spent many years reading, analysing, and teaching the stories of others before working up the nerve to start shaping her own. That story culminated in a PhD from Curtin University, where her research and writing pushed against the tradition of first-person, past-tense, chronological, narrative memoir, hoping to capture the shape-shifting nature of memory and identity. Marie’s memoir was shortlisted for the 2022 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award and her essays have been published in many respected national and international journals such as a/b, Axon, Essay Daily, Meanjin, Meniscus, New Writing, TEXT and Westerly. Teaching creative writing and literary studies at Curtin University, and now at St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls, Marie is passionate about helping future generations of readers and writers to see and feel all that words can carry.
