Hawke's Bay Te Matau-a-Māui Poetry Slam 2025

It’s a war of words with only one winner. A selection of the bravest and best regional spoken word poets bare their souls, competing to win the hearts and minds of randomly selected, completely unqualified judges. Each competitor braves the stage, sharing their own original work. This is not the poetry you learned at school. Slam is raw, real and relevant.

Three knockout rounds will decide who will be crowned as Hawke’s Bay’s eighth Slam Poetry Champion, and go on to represent the region in the national contest. You can learn more about the growing world of slam poetry in Aotearoa over at motifpoetry.co.nz.

Think you’ve got what it takes to take the trophy? If you're based in Hawke's Bay and have three original poems to share of less than three minutes length each, contact Common Poets Society on Facebook, email us at aGJwb2V0cnlzbGFtIHwgZ21haWwgISBjb20= or express your interest to the good staff at Wardini Books.

Slam is a celebration of word play – the point is the poetry, not the points!

You may also like the following events from Common Poets Society:

• This Thursday, 31st July, 09:00 am, Common Poets - July Open Mic in Hastings

Also check out other Arts events in Hastings, Literary Art events in Hastings, Contests in Hastings.