After a year of planning and two weeks of exploring "poetry that sounds like all of us" in this vibrant community, we all deserve a space to be with each other, share stories from the festival, catch up with new and old friends, and (very likely) do some poems.

What happens when you combine the potent power of words with the sensual slithering of rope? An evening filled with seductive poetry and the exquisite art form that is Shibari. Come join us for an event that expands your mind and enriches your soul.

Ela Fornalska will guide participants through different activities to create their own wellbeing practice through the art of writing. It will be completely beginner friendly.

Emerge Louder

A workshop with Hawraa Kash

Join Team Slama 2024 alongside previous Team Slama alumni in the Poet’s Community Garden as they probe, provoke and explore “What does Poetry Community mean and how does it grow?”

Ballarat Spoken Word convenes on the 1st Saturday of the Month. We invite all forms of writing; Poems / Prose / Songs. Each performer enjoys 5 minutes on the open mic. This edition features Steve Smart.

Cherry Poets is open for business wwith their famous open mic, feature and poet’s book/ zine/ merch table.

Featuring Nadia Rhook

A writing workshop with Sam Petersen.

Do you find it hard to put your feelings into words? Are you struggling to find ideas? Has the muse left you and inspiration fled? Are you stuck in a rut with your writing — revisiting the same metaphors and line breaks again and again?

It’s time to neurohack your writing and get out of your poetry slump!

In this two hour workshop with Indrani Perera, author of pas de deux and editor of the Pocketry Almanack, you’ll learn how to get out of your head and creep into the cracks by exploring the spaces in between. 

Ashley J Higgs - poet-singer, spontaneously composes with free improvisors Forbes Hawkins and Mito Elias, with special guests." should read, "Ashley J Higgs - poet-singer, spontaneously composes with free improvisors Forbes Hawkins, Abe Dunovits and Mito Elias.

Join us to celebrate the launch of Amanda Anastasi's new poetry collection. Altogether haunting, unsettling and transcendent, 'Taking Apart the Bird Trap' (Recent Work Press, 2024) is set in motion by the sudden loss of a father. We are given a glimpse into the first and second generation migrant experience, domestic dysfunction, the transformative power of grief and the defiance of love.

Spoken Word @ Bar Oussou is a fortnightly poetry & spoken word event hosted by Danksta Downunder since 2017. Unexpect the expected. All languages are welcome here 100% survival rate guaranteed for newcomers & novice performers. Barbaric YAWP!

This September, we will celebrate Girls on Key poetry with fantastic features from Anne Carson and Poetpre, as well as open mic (ten slots available, sign up on the night)

Passionate Tongues Poetry in its 26th year presents musician and poet, Joe Dolce. A very special occasion. This is your opportunity to experience the fine poetry of one of Australia's great performing artists and writers. Hosted by Michael Reynolds, there will be open mic and the famous hospitality of The Brunswick Green.

Approaching 25 years of emceeing Passionate Tongues Poetry, Michael Reynolds will share things he's learned, mostly the hard way, about hosting poetry events. By sharing anecdotes and dodgy advice to budding emcees, this will be a semi-serious take on being the one introducing poets onto the stage. There will be a Q+A session where he'll probably make a fool of himself.

The Last Outpost of Poetry is a weekly open mic poetry & spoken word event held in St Kilda and hosted by Danksta Downunder since October 2023. Anyone can be the Verbal Catch of the Day in this popular seafood bar & restaurant.

Lucy Wilks & Leone Gabrielle: We noted that Rabbit was soliciting writing of a collaborative nature thus our sonnets were born. We started with the 'end of the line'. The first poem introduces the method by the way we crafted the poem. The last three words of each line, were all that was given to the writer of the following line, to craft the next line and so on. We are up to sonnet #20.

Poetry and spoken word merging with electronic music. A vibrant mix of writers and performers working with beats, loops, samples and soundtracks. Some may have had the music created for them, some are creating their own sounds. Finally a poetry gig you can dance at!

Why have one launch when you can have three? Come and join these fiery lyric-rockets — who have only recently had their latest poetry collections released into the universe — read and respond to each other’s work in this mini-re-launch. Reload sees Paul Mitchell (High Spirits), Nathan Curnow (A Hill to Die On) and Alicia Sometimes (Stellar Atmospheres) battle it out in a conversational verse trio tête-à-tête. Short, dynamic and sweet - and lots of fun. DJ Hot Wheels (aka Sean M. Whelan) will rocket your launch pads.

Melbourne Morphemes is a community gig based in Melbourne/ Naarm. We are an offshoot of Prompted Prose Facebook group. This event during the Sonic Festival will be featuring Tariro Mavondo. Rallying around the featured artist will be open mic performances.

A Poet's Party-in-Residence and Book Sale of approx 1500 books to celebrate the Age of Retirement at Age 67. BYO Inspiration and Supplies.

Join Team Slama 2024 alongside previous Team Slama alumni in the Poet’s Community Garden as they probe, provoke and explore “What does Poetry Community mean and how does it grow?”

Cherry Poets is open for business wwith their famous open mic, feature and poet’s book/ zine/ merch table.

Featuring Lane Milburn

Which comes first for you: the poem on the page, or on the stage? How can our poetry flow back and forth between pen and performance? How can the experience of performance enhance the words on the page? Facilitated by Es Foong / Waffle Irongirl, this workshop explores your individual journey through poetry in performance.

The basic concept is just to gather and write poetry. Bring your ideas, your writing tools, your inspiration and your need for proximity with other working inds.

However for this special festival edition, a twist is that poets may wish to spontaneously get up and read their poem! Other writers may or may not outwardly respond but we will all be inwardly appreciative.

Poetry – like meditation or like prayer – is a form of paying close attention, of listening deeply in a way that allows for a flow between inner and outer, observer and observed. Join poets and meditators Rose Lucas, Tony Mills and Cathy Altmann as they explore the confluences of poetry and contemplative practice and read from their recent books.

Poetic Express presents 3 of Melbourne's favourite poets: Emilie Collyer, Gabrielle Everall and Di Cousens. A great night of poetry in one of Melbourne's finest and friendliest Irish pubs, hosted by Michael Reynolds. There will be open mic, entry is free and there will be a raffle.

A fortnightly open showcase of spoken word, poetry & all other language arts. Hosted at Radio Bar, Fitzroy.

Smooth talkers, slick walkers, gather round for a night of linguistic subtlety and sultry word play. Vibe Union presents: Radio Talk; with the guidance of poet & MC Jason Voss, we'll be talking a journey through words and experiences. Whether you’re a rapper, poet, spoken word enthusiast, put words to the page but never performed, this stage is for you. All skill levels are welcome and encouraged!

Assorted Sporks Festival Edition has the exciting addition of feature perfomer Lane Milburn a fantastic Melbourne poet we're super excited about. The theme for this Assorted Sporks is Reinvention and anyone who wants to perform is encouraged to bring something that relates to the theme.

Experience an unforgettable evening of poetry and storytelling with "Echoes from the Horn," a mesmerizing one-man show featuring Moseffano, a Somali refugee. This unique performance brings to life the vibrant tapestry of Somali culture, history, and the resilience of its people. Through evocative verses and narratives, audiences will journey from the ancient lands of Punt and the bustling streets of Mogadishu to the peaceful countryside and into the heart of the Somali diaspora. Hosted by Jamali Bowden.