Sophie rea
“Conversation Games” Annual 2
Sophie Rea is sometimes a poet and comedian but mostly works in a very sunny library, telling people which books to read and helping them navigate the printer. She lives in a little apartment in the centre of Christchurch and notices a new thing about the city every day. Sophie was a speaker and poet at TEDxYouth @ Avon River in 2015 and the writer in Residence at Hagley Community College in 2016. She is the current Christchurch poetry slam champion. Sophie co-founded Faultline Poetry Collective, a group of poets who run open-mic nights and workshops for young people to write and perform poetry.
All Sophie’s friends call her Ray.
Things I read when I was younger
I read and reread lots by Roald Dahl – I loved the poems and rhymes that were scattered through so many of his books (especially Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), but The BFG remains my favourite because the main character is a Sophie and because the idea of being able to capture dreams with a butterfly net is something that sparked my imagination like nothing had before.
I spent a lot of time reading about people who survived big disasters.
I also spent lots of time reading series – Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, Artemis Fowl by Eion Colfer; and a bit later, Alex by Tessa Duder and Tomorrow, When The War Began by John Marsden – and imagining how I might make them into movies or plays in my backyard.