To The Ends Of The 'Verse!

To the Ends of the ‘Verse is all open mic, all the time, hosted at the warm and cozy Open Studio in the inner-northern suburb of Northcote. Hosted by poets Justine Walsh and Emma Belle, it began as a spoken word poetry event for Belgrave’s inaugural End Of The Line festival in November 2012 and has been hosting events ever since. This event has two open mic poetry sets and a band that improvise two sets of hip hop jazz fusion. Audience members are welcome to freestyle with the band.

The venue is not wheelchair accessible.

Passionate Tongues featuring Kelly Soderstrom

Hosted by ‘the patron-saint of Melbourne poetry,’ poet and photographer Michael Reynolds, what began as a one-off gig on Valentine’s Day in 1999, has turned into one of the longest running gigs in Melbourne, now hosted every second Tuesday at The Brothers Public House, with a diverse range of features from Melbourne and sometimes from beyond, and a substantial space for open mic, it is great for first time readers or performers.

Poetesis Open Mic Poetry

On Wednesdays, behind the bookshelf in Sooki Lounge’s secret downstairs ‘nook’, you will find a collection of Belgrave’s local creatives opening their chests and sharing their heart with one another.

An incredibly supportive environment where each poet is greeted with genuine applause.

The venue is not wheelchair accessible.

Queerspace and MSW present A place at the table: new stories of the familiar

Storytelling, in its many forms, is an age-old way of sharing experiences. A Place at the Table will share tellings of queer meanderings from many perspectives and explore journeys of identity, belonging, truth, emotion, and life. This evening gives voice to the stories that often go untold, unacknowledged, or distorted – through powerful spoken word performances.

Hear members of our community speak of Coming Out stories; the ones they have, and the ones they wanted. Share experiences of being queered, staying in and finding a voice.

This event is produced by members of LGBTIQA+ communities, for members of LGBTIQA+ communities. All families and their LGBTIQA+ loved ones are invited to come along and bare witness, connect, recognise, and share their journey so far.

A place at the table is presented by queerspace in collaboration with Melbourne Spoken Word. queerspace is an LGBTIQA+ health and wellbeing service, established by LGBTIQA+ communities for LGBTIQA+ communities. queerspace has a focus on relationships, families, parenting and young people and offers services across the north-west region of Melbourne.

The venue is fully wheelchair accessible. AUSLAN interpreted. All Ages.

Presented as part of Midsumma.

Dan Poets featuring Nitida Atkinson

The Dan is Melbourne’s longest running weekly poetry venue is now in its 25th year. Every Saturday between 2pm-5pm, The Dan O’Connell Hotel becomes, The Home of Poets. The Dan is a community of poets, who support each other’s work, and endeavour to improve their poetry. Some of the poets that perform at The Dan have been writing poetry for decades, but many, are just starting their poetry journey.

The Dan is also, for people that love to see poets performing their poems. Our poetry audience can listen, and watch the open mic, with a drink and a meal in front of them, you will hear words from around the corner, and around the world. It’s free entry, and everyone is welcome on the open mic.

Give yourself the gift of a living performance, come and experience Poetry @ The Dan O’Connell. Put your name on the blackboard and be part of the open mic. Co-ordinated and MC’d by the Dan Poet’s Collective, Libby, Steve, Anne, Norman and Tim.

This venue is not wheelchair accessible.

GriffinSpeak presents Manifestations

GriffinSpeak brings you their annual start of the year spoken word open mic in the park. With special guests to be announced, bring your poems and wishes for the beginning of the year to raise money for bushfire relief this year.

This event is alcohol free and all ages. Wheelchair Accessible. There are two wheelchair accessible toilets in the gardens.