EVENT: AUSTRALIAN POETRY SLAM
Dressed in a demure floral shirt and trousers, Sarah Taylor is not someone you’d expect to see ‘slamming off.’ As the winner of the 2009 Australian Poetry Slam competition, her riffs included mentions of, “No lazy orgasms” and the immense anger felt by the citizens of NSW, seeing their state in a mess. Nothing demure about that. And therein lies the appeal of the competition, which marries the sometimes antiquated and fusty form of poetry, with the blood-sport of spoken word. After 32 regional and national heats, and the stories of over 600 poets, the Grand Final now looms on December 5th with 16 finalists from all over Australia. Tim Thorne from Launceston is another unlikely contestant – greying, and au fait with opera – he says he is looking forward to entertaining. It goes without saying that all 16 are in it for the win though – with an Asian Cultural exchange on the cards (the website entices with promises of, “Champagne in a palace, conversing with Louis de Bernières or discussing dub poetry with Benjamin Zephaniah in Tiananmen Square”), you can’t blame them. Go check out Slam before its scheduled inclusion in the national curriculum.
Dec 5, Sydney Theatre Company, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $25, australianpoetryslam.com
