Cover Image: Poet Adam B takes the mic at Perth Slam, one of many local voices lighting up the stage in the lead-up to the Australian Poetry Slam heats.

You’re shaking like a leaf.
They’re gonna call you up any second.
You’re gripping your phone so tightly you’re worried the screen will crack.
This is a poetry slam.

If you haven’t yet heard about them, a poetry slam is a live competition where poets are called up on stage, given two minutes to share their poetry, and then judged by a few random people in the crowd. These judges hold up scores on white boards (out of 10, with decimals for precision) that are used to decide a winner – the best, coolest, toughest poet of the night.

Starting in Chicago back in the 80’s, poetry slams have been the subject of hot debate by poetry purists since their inception. Critics will ask ‘Do we really want to rate poetry like this?’ and ‘Is it even real poetry?’ But the haters can’t deny they draw a large crowd, at least more than their more ‘traditional’ poetry reading counterpart. Because of this, Poetry Slams soon became a global sensation. 

It wasn’t long before Poetry Slams came to Australia in the early 2000s, and a peak competition was established by Sydney based arts and literature organisation, Word Travels – the Australian Poetry Slam. This particular slam has become a truly national event, marked on the calendars of performance poets across the continent. And rightfully so, the winner gets the full superstar treatment – an international tour, a fresh book published, high profile media interviews, and of course, bragging rights.

The applause dies down.
The host pulls another name out of the hat.
The crowd goes wild for….
Someone else.
Thank god.

The rival poet takes to the stage with a calm bravado and unleashes a thunderstorm – transporting the crowd from a grandmother’s last cup of tea, to the front lines of riots, from the cataclysmic dance of galaxies, to the drudgery of a servo night shift. The diversity of content is matched to the diversity of audience and style. Poetry Slams attract people from all walks of life to share all sorts of spoken word performance – comedy, hip hop, monologue, bush poetry – you name it.

Fortunately, there’s no need to travel east to experience a slice of the action. Perth Slam, and their monthly gathering of performance poets, have been hosting, howling, and wildly gesticulating at The Rosemount Hotel for over ten years now.

The host calls a new name.
Is that your name?
Oh no.
The crowd cheers.
Please make welcome – YOU!

Perhaps you’ve wanted to share those private poems you keep locked away deep in your phone notes, but you’ve never had the courage – But now’s the time! August Saturdays at Perth Slam are the national heats for the Australian Poetry Slam.  

These, simultaneously occurring in all states of Australia, culminate in a fiery state final standoff attracting audiences and rival poets alike. The top two poets, as voted by randomly selected audience member scores, secure a place in the national finals and previously these WA champions have been sent all the way to the prestigious halls of the Sydney Opera House for their shot at the title of Australian Poetry Slam Champion. 

You wanna see if you’ve got what it takes?

You open up your phone. 
Your poem’s still there.

The words haven’t changed – still the same gut wrenching truth from the bottom of your heart. The same rage, heartbreak and desperate hope, the same spelling mistakes.

Your heart is pounding. The MC drags your name out like at a boxing match and you’re the heavy weight champion. You awkwardly make your way through the crowd and up onto the stage.

The lights are blinding.
You’re blushing red hot. 
Everyone is looking.
Everyone’s waiting for you.

You get out your poem. 
The first line looks… wrong – like it’s in a different language.
You can’t speak. The room’s dead quiet.

You hear a few people in the crowd click their fingers,
then steadily more people, then eventually the whole room.

They’re egging you on.

You can feel their energy filling you up with confidence.
The lines of your poem clear up.
You remember why you wrote it, why you needed to get up here.

You move up close to the mic – and speak your truth.

To learn more about the upcoming heats here in Perth, head to:
https://perthslam.com

For more information on the Australian Poetry Slam, head to:
https://www.australianpoetryslam.com