The answer?
Jaidyn Luke Attard is a writer, street poet, spoken word artist and professional editor.
He lives in Melbourne/Naarm where he operates the independent publishing press, Back Shed Press (est. 2021) and is a prominent member of the underground writing collective, the Degraves Circle.
He is one of the co-authors of There’s a Tale to This City. His autofictional poetry collection, The Street Poet, was released in May 2023. He will also co-author another book (TITLE REDACTED) with Jay the Author that follows on from There’s a Tale.
‘Searching for gold in the grime, wisdom in the wider world … it feels rebellious. I am Johnny Lock now and I am a street poet.’
— Jaidyn Luke Attard, ‘The Street Poet’
Jaidyn learned the craft at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. In 2018 he graduated from the Associate Degree of Professional Writing & Editing. In 2020 he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing. In 2021, he began a Master of Writing and Publishing, but deferred to spend more time on his creative goals outside of academia. He is the author of three novels - There’s A Tale To This City (2021), The Street Poet (May 2023) and [REDACTED] (forthcoming 2023)
He currently works in a bookshop.
Sometimes Jaidyn leaves notes and poems around Melbourne to inspire hope and share his writing with the inhabitants and visitors of the city. He does this as a way of conquering his battle with paranoia and mental illness. By giving to the streets, he is less afraid of them.
He also collects books that have been considered ‘censored’, ‘banned’ or ‘challenged’ and is researching and collating materials for future displays and discussions regarding banned literature.
You can find more of his work here:
Instagram: @jaidynpoetry
A Street Poet’s Diary (blog)
Twitter: @jlattard
TikTok: @thestreetpoet
