Yleia Mariano – photo credit: Matt Berry
Yleia Mariano (they/her/siya) is a Filipino poet, raised on Dharawal country and currently living on Ngunnawal country. They made their debut on the slam poetry stage in June 2022 at the Canberra Slam, eventually going on to become the Inaugural Canberra Slam Champion in November. They have performed and had their poetry featured at the Poetic City Festival. Yleia has been writing stories since they could hold a writing utensil and believe that “To write is to come home” (to quote Merlinda Bobis).