Enough Said Poetry Slam APS Heat ft. Hani Abdile

Enough Said Poetry Slam is a stage for spoken word, where poets new and experienced can get up on stage and share their words with a captive audience. Our monthly event brings together lovers of poetry to share, click, listen, and compete for prizes, as well as some of the biggest names in poetry in Australia and overseas to perform for our audience.

Come along for a fun, relaxed evening where you can get as involved as much as you're comfortable with – as a poet, judge or enthusiastic audience member – and support local wordsmiths on the mic.

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Our August slam is also the Wollongong Heat of the Australian Poetry Slam, with the two top-scoring poets going onto the NSW State Final in October. 

Click here for the full list of rules for entering an APS Heat, including a two-minute time limit.

Please do not sign up to perform if you have come from out of area and already entered multiple other APS heats, as it takes opportunities away from local poets.

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FEATURE POET: Hani Abdile
SUPPORT FEATURE: Ash Radford

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FEATURE POETS TO BE ANNOUNCED.

6:30pm - DOORS OPEN + SLAM SIGN-UP
7:00pm - POETRY BEGINS

ENTRY

$10 - standard
$5 - unwaged/student/concession
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POETRY SLAM RULES

Sign up at the door when you arrive if you'd like to perform. Everyone is welcome, from bedroom poets to experienced performers. 

Two-minute time limit, no props, music or costumes, jump up on stage with a mic and share your original poem with a live and engaged audience. Rapping counts as poetry and some singing is allowed, but not for the majority or all of the poem.

Random people from the audience become the judges, and the highest-scoring poet wins! 1st, 2nd & 3rd place prizes to be awarded!

But remember: The points are not the point, the point is poetry!

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VENUE

Side Door Theatre is on Crown St in Wollongong. It has a small door that can be found directly across the road from the Atchison St entry to Spotlight. It's a four-minute walk from Wollongong Train Station and a two-minute walk from the nearest free bus stop. Free parking can be found on surrounding streets, starting with Atchison St, or there is paid parking nearby in the mall.

Side Door Theatre is a licensed venue, there will be drinks and snacks available for sale, please do not bring in outside alcohol. There are a number of toilets inside the venue. 

Entry to the venue is down four steps from the front door and is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible. Please reach out to us if you have access needs and you'd like to discuss entry into the venue.

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MEET THE FEATURES

Hani Abdile is a Somali-born spoken-word artist and cultural activist whose words resonate with raw emotion and social consciousness. Abdile uses her art to advocate for social justice and empowerment, particularly within migrant and refugee communities. Based in the country of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, in Sydney.

Hani’s first book of 43 poems, I Will Rise, was published by Writing Through Fences in 2016 and explores how the power of our collective voices can help shape the world to be a better place for the next generation. Hani has performed her work around Sydney and throughout Australia. She continues to write for freedom and human rights.

Hani is an honorary member of PEN International, a lead member of Writing Through Fences, and an Ambassador for the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS). Hani’s work has appeared in ABC, The Sydney Morning Herald, Shark Island Productions, and she has received many awards for her community work and creative art.

Ash Radford uses traditional rhyming stanzas to entertain and amuse. His poetry has been described as a fusion of Dr Seuss and bush poetry. He has won two Australian Poetry Slam heats, was a 2024 Bread & Butter Slampionship finalist, and placed 3rd in the 2025 Ebb & Flow Slam.

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We acknowledge our events take place on the land of the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation and pay our respects.

Enough Said Poetry Slam is supported by the South Coast Writers Centre.