CON-VERSE: HOW IS POETRY?
Story Week: Grow Deeper

Quick, get the blood pressure pump! It’s time to give poetry a check up. Is poetry alive and evolving? We see it pulsing through ceremony, protest, and community. Oral, visual, digital. Embodied, thriving in slam circles and whispered truths. Listen as these poets see the future of poetry as decolonial, inclusive, and deeply local. Hear voices reclaiming rhythm, language, and story. Poets shift from archive to action, canon to kinship. Poetry’s vital signs are strong. It’s pulsing everywhere.

HOST: Monica McKenzie

FEATURING: Dakota Feirer, Luke Patterson, Rataj Abdullah and Rob Waters

Word Travels – City Space, Level 2 / 101-111 William St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010

See the full Story Week 2025 program at Word Travels.

This project is in partnership with the City of Sydney.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW. Australian Poetry Slam and Story Week are also supported by Ubud Writers and Readers Festival; Singapore Writers Festival; Byron Writers Festival; and Mumbai LitFest.

Content Warning: Most Poetry events are all ages and some content may not be suitable for children. Performances may include strong language and / or adult themes.

Before booking your tickets, please read the information on our website regarding any health safety measures.

Story Week 2025 artwork features Rataj Abdullah (photo credit: Witnessing Her Photography), Luke Patterson (photo credit: @sarahtakesphotos), Dakota Feirer (photo credit: Anna Holman) and Monica McKenzie (photo credit: Tessdoes). Story Week 2025 artwork design: Rachel Stone Art & Design. Concepts: Miles Merrill and the Word Travels team.

Word Travels acknowledges that we work, live, and tell stories on the unceded lands of the Gadigal People. We pay respect to their Elders past and present. Always was, always will be First Nations land.

Contact the host of Con-Verse: How is Poetry? – Story Week 2025