FAQs

General

  • Sonic Poetry Festival is a combination of free and paid events. Each event listing will detail pricing and pre-booking information. Look out for the Program Launch.

  • A qualification of inclusion in Sonic Poetry Festival is to list the accessibility of each event. We encourage all events to organise themselves in as accessible a way as possible. All accessibility notes are available on individual listings for events. Look out for the Program Launch!

  • The Melbourne/Naarm (including regional Victoria) poetry community is a welcoming, warm, and inspiring space to share work and to grow as a poet. Poets of all backgrounds and experience levels are not only welcome, but wanted in this space. Come through, listen, learn, grow, and (if it’s an open mic) share. Welcome to the community!

  • This poetry festival is primarily an opportunity to connect gigs all over Melbourne/Naarm, figuratively and literally. We support each other. This is a celebration of that.

  • Ah, give it a go. Poetry is so very much more than what any of us experienced in school. Just wait until you hear it out loud. Poetry, frankly, sounds like all of us and that includes you.

  • Sonic Poetry Festival was designed to promote poetry that sounds like all of us. The festival includes both events that are curated and those that include an open mic. Open mics and details for how to sign up will be listed on individual events in the program. Look out for the Program Launch in mid July!

  • We are a tight-knit, scrappy committee doing our best. We do not currently have any funding. We will gratefully accept donations to help cover the costs of maintaining the website, design and printing needs, and growth of the organization. The committee is unpaid and will continue to volunteer their services for Sonic Poetry Festival. Thank you for considering a meaningful donation! Click the “Support Me” button on the bottom of this page.

  • We won’t clog your inbox and will NEVER give away your information. Join our mailing list for updates on new gigs and more!

  • Yes! We’re on Instagram and Facebook. Follow us at links below.

FAQs

Event Organiser (EOI)

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  • EOIs will open to all prospective organizers on Friday, 31 May 2024. EOIs will be reviewed on a rolling basis by the Sonic Poetry Festival Committee.

    In order to promote all events fairly, we will close EOIs on Friday, 28 June 2024.

    Events should fall within the dates of 24 Aug to 8 Sep only.

    *Sonic Poetry Festival is poetry that sounds like ALL of us. If you require an accommodation to complete your EOI for participation in the Sonic Poetry Festival 2024, please email contact@sonicpoetryfestival.com.

  • Sonic Poetry Festival is committed to holding a festival filled with workshops, slams, open mics, readings, launches, and so much more! So long as poetry is at the heart of your proposed event and it is based in, or benefits the poetry community in Melbourne/Naarm (greater Victoria), please submit an EOI. We are particularly interested in amplifying events that uplift humanity, play with poetry as a living form, and celebrate the arts in an accessible, equitable way.

    Some major criteria important to us are:

    • Poetry is the main feature, while it may include or be combined with other artforms

    • The event takes place in Melbourne/Naarm or regional Victoria

    • If your event is not located Melbourne/Naarm or regional Victoria, please note that we assess that the event primarily benefits the poetry community in Melbourne/Naarm and is remotely accessible to audience members in Melbourne/Naarm.

  • In short, YES! If you run a recurring gig in the Greater Melbourne/Naarm area, just send through an EOI for a gig during the two weeks of the festival. We’ll promote it! If you have run one-off gigs before and would like to try something new or bring something back, submit an EOI! If you have:

    • Never run a workshop,

    • Never organised an open mic, or

    • Never put together a show before,

    We strongly encourage you to find a venue or workspace and submit an EOI! We are equally open to seasoned convenors and folks interested in running new, experimental, and poetry-centered events that uplift humanity.

  • We strongly encourage applicants to have a look at the EOI submission page ahead of submitting their event. You must secure your own venue, talent, and any equipment you will need. Our expectation from those who submit is a reasonable commitment regarding date, time and venue, with all event details and logistics arranged by the convenor. As a part of the Sonic Poetry Festival, your event must also list accessibility information, pricing information (if applicable), and align with the values of the Sonic Poetry Festival.

    Sonic Poetry Festival is a grassroots festival that highlights the diverse array of existing and new poetry events in the Greater Melbourne/Naarm area. We do NOT provide payment or organizing support for individual events that choose to become a part of the festival. We DO provide promotional support to accepted events, as well as our own Opening Night.

  • We would like a venue to have been tentatively booked, but understand that there may be a process of confirmation prior to the launch.