Sharpen your words at Stanthorpe Poetry Slam

If you think you’ve got what it takes to write and perform great poetry, why not get down to the annual Poetry Slam workshops and competition heats in Stanthorpe in mid-August.
The Queensland Poetry Slam is an exciting live event spearheaded by the State Library of Queensland and now in its fifth year.
In conjunction with the National Poetry Slam, participants have the opportunity to go all the way to the Sydney national final, with more than $10,000 worth of prizes up for grabs.
Slam is a poetry competition with a live audience, open to all people and all forms of poetry.
Each contestant has two minutes to impress the judges with their own original word artistry – using spoken-word, poetry, hip-hop, monologue and even story.
Contestants may not use props or musical instruments.
The Stanthorpe Poetry Slam heat will be held at the Stanthorpe Art Gallery on Sunday, starting at 1pm, with signup from 12.30pm. There is a limit of 20 contestants.
Five judges are picked randomly by the host Slam MC. The five judges hold up score cards and give performers marks out of 10. Only the middle three scores for each performance are calculated.
The performer with the highest score wins.
Two winners from each Queensland heat will compete in a state final to be hosted by the State Library of Queensland on October 7.
The state winner and the runner-up will then be flown to the Australian National Final.
The national final will be held at the Sydney Theatre Company on November 28.
Cash and prizes will again be on offer, including significant international performance and mentoring opportunities to the winners.
Poetry workshops for adults and young people will be run in the lead-up to the competition by acclaimed writer and performer Tessa Leon at the Stanthorpe Library.
“As we travel across Queensland hosting the heats, we also offer free workshops in each region for potential poets and slammers to sharpen their words,” she said.
Tessa has won numerous awards, including People’s Choice at the Performance Poetry World Cup and has performed at festivals such as Woodford Folk Festival, The Queensland Poetry Festival and Queensland Writer’s Festival.
Workshops for young people aged 12 to 18 years are on Saturday from 3pm to 5pm and a workshop for adults will be held on Sunday from 10am to 12pm.
“Everyone is welcome,” said Stanthorpe librarian Christine Taylor.
“Last year was our first year participating in the Poetry Slam and, while it was a small beginning, those of us who attended both the workshops and the Poetry Slam heat thought it was fantastic,” she said.
If interested, contact the Stanthorpe Library on
07 4661 2141.