Five Questions: Lauren Pratt

Lauren Pratt is an editorial intern at Portside Review living and working on Whadjuk Noongar boodjar. When she’s not reading and perusing words on the screen for Portside Review, Lauren is likely reading/perusing for Underground Writers. Lauren likes reading (unsurprisingly), drinking black tea, and has been a member of Royal Lifesaving Australia since ‘13.

Tell us about a typical day?

My days are really varied at the moment between Uni, my Portside Review internship, work, and editing for Underground Writers but one thing that stays the same is having dinner with my family almost every evening. I try to take time each night to chat to them, eat with them, and we often end up watching Antiques Roadshow together.

What is your future hope?

A hope I have for the future is to see my family in England again. It has been hard watching them cope with Covid-19 and not being able to help because I’m here in Perth. So, I really hope to be able to travel back to them in the future.

If you could invite one person to dinner, who would it be and where would you take them in your city?

I would take my grandad to Cottesloe beach for fish and chips. He’s from Northern England and always says that being at Cottesloe beach is like seeing in technicolour compared to the beaches back home. We would sit and watch the sunset while he would tell me story after story about his life and adventures.

What is your favourite bookstore?

There are so many beautiful bookstores here in Perth so it’s very hard to choose. One of the bookstores that I love going to is the Guildford Book Exchange. It’s full of second hand books and is nestled along the Guildford antiques and café strip.

What does a port culture look like to you?

Local markets and the mingling of bright bustling people. It looks like giant skyscraper metal giraffes looking out over tiny shipping container boats on the horizon. It’s eating hot salty chips and cold sorbet that makes your hands sticky. A place of coming and going.