Welcome to Australia's largest regular poetry slam!
In an absolute treat this month we have TWO FEATURE ARTISTS. Two of our most favourite humans/poets/angels in the whole world: BEA & Asha Tukuitonga!

BEA is a multidisciplinary artist of subversion, survival, and sass living on unceded Darug land. In 2024, they published their poetry collection ‘i love you in the most platonic way possible’ with Illographo Press. They've won silver medals at Bankstown Poetry Slam’s Grand Slam (2023 & 2025), as well as the National Youth Poetry Slam (2024). BEA is currently working on their next collection.

Asha Tukuitonga is a 21-year-old Niuean/Nepalese multidisciplinary artist based on Darug Land. She’s placed at the Grand Slam for three years running, taking first with her team in 2023! Asha is a published author, poet, and performer who loves exploring different creative mediums to share stories from the past and present. Her work often speaks about love and loss, interweaving her relationship with God, and she hopes to share that with you all one day. She’s just a gyal from Western Sydney who’s passionate about encouraging other Pacific Islanders, both young and old to keep our stories alive <3

Anyone can also sign up to perform on the night, this is your chance to win a spot in our 2026 Grand Slam!

Sign up time is at 6:15 pm!

Your free ticket gets you access to the slam, fresh watermelon, world class poetry and some Bankstown class dad-jokes, courtesy of our MC Bilal Hafda.

For rules on participating in the slam, please see below.

🍉 If you are intending to sign up to perform at the slam, please book a ticket and arrive at 6:15 pm to sign up at the door. There's no guarantee that you will get a spot to perform on the night, if we have more sign-ups than there is time to get through, but we will do our best to make sure we have as many people as possible.

🍉 Regular slam rules apply: No age restrictions/ STRICT 3 minute time limit (try to limit poem introductions)/ no props or music/ if you want to sing in your poem (first of all how dare you be so talented) it should be part of your poem not the whole piece/ poetry must be your original work.

🍉 The top 4 scoring artists will be granted a spot at the Grand Slam.

🍉 Please note that signing up does not guarantee a performance spot. We have a lottery system in place whereby we randomly draw names so that it is fair for everyone, given the high sign up numbers!

Poetry aficionados, appreciators of HipHop and literature that beats with a thunderous heart — you absolutely do not want to miss this!

Please note that BPS is a not-for-profit charitable organisation so any extra donations go a long way in helping us support our artists! Thank you for your generosity ❤️‍🔥

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask away or email info@bankstownpoetryslam.com