The woman behind the words

Ronna Grace Funtelar is the quintessential cultural milkshake - a Filipino immigrant with deep roots in small town Aotearoa New Zealand. She's a spoken word artist, published author and dancer (hip hop and belly dance). She describes her poetry as verbal Polaroids, often exploring the many tastes of love, forgiveness and the pursuit of joy. She first dipped her toes into the world of slam in her thirties, winning the Whakatāne Poetry Slam in 2017, followed by the Wham Bam Tauranga Poetry Slam in 2021 and 2022. Her first collection of poetry, ‘Stories from my bunk bed and other feelings’ was published in 2023 - with poems of introspection, self-love and finding her voice. She toured with Canadian poet and musician, C.R. Avery during his nationwide tour of Aotearoa New Zealand in 2023, then capped off the year as the feature poet at the Hamilton and Tauranga Poetry Slams. 

Ronna is available as a spoken artist, dance performances and public speaking.