Slama acknowledges that our slam takes place in Naarm, on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded, no treaty was signed and it always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
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*This venue is wheelchair accessible
*This venue has gender neutral toilets
Since 2011, Slama has been a space where spoken word Poets celebrate intersectional community and encourage each other to bring their absolute best work to the stage.
In line with Slamalamadingdong tradition - our next event on June 17th is a SPECIAL off-season NEW SHIT Poetry Slam featuring the current TEAM SLAMA (Antonio Montaine, Steph Gotze, Hayley Ricketson and Jason Voss)
This team has been working together for the last 15 months, writing team pieces, to originally, compete with at an International Team Poetry Slam upcoming in Boston, US - however with the current state of Turtle Island - traveling there and even putting our money there - is not something we can do with integrity.
Therefore Team Slama has collectively decided to instead pour into our own community.
With the intention to revive the poetry scene in Melbourne and uplift the medium of Spoken Word Poetry in Australia to restore what has been lost through the Covid years - we are embarking upon a new, never done before, cross regional, trans tasman event/project culminating in November 2025 on the Slama stage - which we cannot wait to announce officially live on June 17th.
But wait, what is the NEW SHIT SLAM all about!?
Last run by Slama in 2018, this slam format seeks to nurture Melbourne’s slam scene by encouraging first time slammers by giving them the chance to put their name in the hat twice, hence having more chances to have their names drawn.
Similarly, we want to challenge any returning Poet’s to bring a new piece to the first round!
How to Register?
This is the first time we will be returning to our random draw for 12 spots in our riveting, fast paced 3 round poetry slam.
We invite as many Poets as possible to register at our trybooking link and indicate whether they are a first timer (qualifying for a double entry) or returning slammer.
The draw will occur LIVE on our Instagram and Facebook pages on JUNE 9 2025 at 7:30 PM with TEAM SLAMA announcing the twelve Poets!!
Any Poet who does not get drawn on 9 June will automatically be offered a place in our returning Slam in September 2025!
Plus our Winner from last month, Michael Bromberg, will be doing a mini opener set at the top of the show.
WHO IS TEAM SLAMA?
Antonio Montaine is a rhythm poet, stylistically influenced by jazz and hip hop culture; his writing focuses on social and political issues. Antonio is the first Australian-born child of immigrant parents and was raised in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Naarm. During his twenties, he served in the Royal Australian Navy at the height of Tony Abbott’s Sovereign Borders campaign. Antonio draws from these experiences for inspiration in his writing.
Hayley Ricketson is a playwright, poet, procrastinator and public servant. Pretty political. Sometimes funny. Sometimes angry. Always up for a chat.
Big fan of creative expression, cats and the dip taramasalata. Highly skilled at overthinking and dancing while seated and trying to write and/or work. Writes with the intention of being honest and thoughtful. Was a Slam finalist in London and Melbourne and sometimes makes people laugh. Has staged some theatre stuff in London and Melbourne and would love to do it again because theatre is great. Not very good at writing bios.
Jason Voss writes poems from time to time, performing said poetry with varying degrees of success. He can be found traversing the interdimensional machinations of his own mentality and causing himself more stress over his alphabetical aberrations more than he needs to.
Unsure what should go into an artist's bio, it would be remiss of him not to mention he is the MC of Chaotic Musings, a poetry night here in Melbourne run by a local creative organisation, Vibe Union, in which he makes up fifty percent of the personnel. He also likes flags.
Steph Gotze is a spoken word poet, passionate about performance and its ability to create community. Her work is bold, vulnerable, and shamelessly personal. She is passionate about storytelling and finding words to put to everything she comes across. Steph writes about mental health, love, femininity, worldview and identity, pursuing poetic authenticity with an open heart and hands.
RULES OF THE 3-ROUND POETRY SLAM
- No props, music or costume.
- Poems must be 3 minutes.
- Must be original work.
- ONE PIECE ONLY (per round)
POET REGISTRATION: (Mark Your Calendars!)
Want a coveted slam spot? Ready to share your work and compete in the poetry slam?
$10 for poets to register. Poets must have 3 pieces ready.
SIGN UP HERE:
https://www.trybooking.com/DBPJN
12 spots only.
Online registration OPENS at 12 noon, Sunday May 11 2025 and CLOSES at midnight on Sunday June 8 2025.
Out of the pool of Poets who have registered, 12 Poets will be drawn on Instagram Live on June 9 2025 at 7:30 PM.
Poets, please make sure to follow the registration process closely:
1. Go to the trybooking link and pay your $10 fee at the trybooking link.
2. Review the rules.
3. Practice. Memorize (if you want to, it’s not mandatory) Embody.
STRICTLY 12 SLOTS ONLY.
See our IG page: @slamalamaslam for more info about accessibility, how we run our events and competitions fairly, aiming for equity and restorative justice at the core of our ethos.
TUESDAY JUNE 17, 2025
THE BRUNSWICK BALLROOM
UPSTAIRS
314 SYDNEY ROAD, BRUNSWICK
TICKETS:
$24 waged
$20 unwaged
Free entry for First Nations folk
Free entry for Palestinians
Tickets available at brunswickballroom.com.au
Limited tickets available on the door.
 DOORS: 6 PM
 POET’S PRE-SHOW GATHERING IN THE GREENROOM: 6:15 PM
 SHOW STARTS: 7 PM
 SHOW FINISH: 9:45 PM (for all you 9-5 folk)
SLAMALAMA WHAT!!!?????
SLAMALAMADINGDONG!!!!!!
 OPEN DOOR POLICY:
We will never turn anyone away. Selling tickets allows us to pay our producers, venue and artists appropriately. It also helps us make a small profit margin so we can continue to thrive and grow as a small, grassroots arts organization. We donate 2% of our income to Pay the Rent.
This being said, if you are struggling financially and feel the need to participate, please advocate for yourself and send us a message so we can find a way to make sure you can participate in all the Slama goodness.
Also check out other Arts events in Brunswick, Literary Art events in Brunswick, Entertainment events in Brunswick.
