Enough Said Poetry Slam ft. Anne-Marie Te Whiu

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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FEATURE POET: Anne-Marie Te Whiu
SUPPORT FEATURE: Oormila V. Prahlad

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. 

Three-minute time limit, no props 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 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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FEATURED POET

Anne-Marie Te Whiu is an Australian-born Māori (belonging to the Rarawa tribe in Northland) currently living and working on unceded Wangal lands. She is a freelance weaver, poet, editor and cultural producer. In 2024 she edited Woven published by Magabala Books and previously she edited More Than These Bones by Bebe Backhouse, Whisper Songs by Tony Birch and in 2019 she co-edited Solid Air: Australia & New Zealand Spoken Word.

She has been awarded several fellowships and awards for her writing including the Australia Council Individual Projects Fellowship, Neilma Sidney Travel Fund, The Next Chapter Fellowship and The Next Chapter Alumni Fellowship. She has been awarded writers residencies by Bundanon, Varuna Writers House and The Church residency in Hokianga New Zealand. She was awarded an artist studio residency by Carriageworks in 2023 at The Clothing Stores. She is currently studying a Master of Social Change Leadership degree at the Atlantic Fellows for Social Change at Melbourne University and aims to commence a doctorate in 2026.

Anne-Marie’s debut poetry collection, Mettle, is published by University of Queensland Press, 2025.  She is currently working on her second collection titled Paper Thin.

SUPPORT FEATURE

Oormila V. Prahlad is an internationally published and awarded poet and artist. Her work appears in Cordite Poetry Review, Black Bough Poetry anthologies, Poetry Sydney collaborations, and more. She is the author of Patchwork Fugue (Atomic Bohemian Press, UK) and several chapbooks (UK and US). She lives on traditional Gammeragal land. 

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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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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.