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View all upcoming events › Next event Spoken Word at Bar Oussou

The online portal to all of the upcoming events in the live spoken word and poetry scene, as well as videos, interviews, reviews and opinions. For weekly updates on all the gigs happening straight to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter. To support the work of this not-for-profit organisation, please consider becoming a Patreon Patron.

Featured Event

The 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word Prize

When

Friday, December 6 @ 7:00pm

Where

Collingwood Town Hall
140 Hoddle Street
Abbotsford

Price

$15/12/0

Has an Open Mic?

No

Registration Information

Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/BGJIK

The 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word Prize is its fifth annual prize night presented by Melbourne Spoken Word. This year supported by Yarra Libraries at Collingwood Town Hall.

The prize is a celebration of the spoken word scene in Melbourne as a whole, the vast array of spoken word and poetry events around our city and the poets that breathe life into our scene.

Twenty-five poets, nominated by event conveners around Melbourne and Victoria, will showcase a poem on the night, and a panel of 7 judges, leaders in our spoken word community, will award one poet The Melbourne Spoken Word Prize, worth $1,000. The audience will also vote for The People’s Choice worth $200 and the most nominated poet will be awarded The Convener’s Choice worth $200.

This is the Oscar’s of Melbourne poetry so feel free to dress up, and book your tickets quickly as this event does sell out. Yarra Libraries has also generously funded a portion of free or pay as you feel tickets for the community (for those with health care cards, concession, senior or student cards).

This year’s judges are Michael Reynolds, Tariro Mavondo, Hamish Danks Brown, Amanda Anastasi, Eleanor Jackson, Quinn Eades and Fleassy Malay.

The final list of finalists for The 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word Prize are:

1. Jasmine Cenci
2. Yoram Symons
3. Maja Puseljic
4. Christine Burrows
5. John McKelvie
6. Ren Alessandra
7. Christopher James White
8. Megan J. Riedl
9. Yvette Stubbs
10. Loran Steinberg
11. Nikki Viveca
12. Josh Cake
13. Daymon Greulich
14. Ania Walwicz
15. Sean Whelan
16. James AO
17. Argyrios Dikeos
18. Panda Wong
19. Declan McDonald
20. Morgaine Van Wingerden
21. Thabani Tshuma
22. Linh Tran
23. Wahibe Moussa
24. Jeltje Fanoy
25. Andrew Rogerson

And the 5 reserve poets are:
1. Debra Ralph
2. Amy Bodossian
3. Hal Simons
4. Koraly Dimitriadis
5. Nolan Tyrrell

Accessibility: Collingwood Town Hall is a fully wheelchair accessible venue. AUSLAN interpreters can be provided on request. If you have accessibility questions or requirements, please contact us at [email protected] or on 1300 695 427.

For further information on the rules and process for The 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word Prize please see https://melbournespokenword.com/mswprize/

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Event — Monday, December 16 @ 7:30pm

Spoken Word at Bar Oussou

Bar Oussou

A night for the poetic sweepings of the inner north to degenerate into vitriol and confusion. And rise into revelation, liberating confession and poetic wisps of the sublime. A feast of clashing waters. All in a cozy artsy pup. No features, no list, no limits. Just put your hand up and come on up. Is your piece not really ready? It is for this gig. None of us know what will happen on the night, yet 100% of people performing spoken word here for the first time in their lives have survived so far, and often return for more.

News — December 12

The 2019 XYZ Prize for Innovation in Spoken Word winner: Fable Goldsmith and Rae White

By Benjamin Solah

In its 5th year, the Arts Queensland XYZ Prize for Innovation in Spoken Word is Australia’s only national arts award that recognises the growing field of spoken word and is named after the former 2010 Arts Queensland Poet in Residence, Emily XYZ, who left a deep impression on many of today’s Queensland spoken word artists. It is open to applicants Australia-wide.

This year, the winner of The 2019 XYZ Prize is Fable Goldsmith and the highest placed QLD entry is Rae White.

Home – Fable Goldsmith

I kiss her first.I wait I hold my breath, in this moment reciprocation means everythingI do not know if I can take another breath without it.I draw breath as she kisses me back I take her in, Holding on to each breathAs If I have only ever breathedunderwater,

How light she feels,How she fills the empty spaceinside my chest,How she navigates her way into my veins,turns question to meaning, meaning to answer.I surrender.my body to hersnaked and honest, tremblingThis is the first time I am not afraid. The first time another body has become a safe space.

We find each other in the dark,as our hands reachwe find ourselves in each othernavigating new worlds under bed sheets.

She tells memy body is a poemshe will never get tired of readinga trailshe will never tire of taking She tells me homeis where we both stand.

Years pass, Every time I touch her feels like the first time, I still catch my breath from her kissesHer skin is always new

Years pass, I kiss her firstShe stallsHolds her breath,hands trembling as if holding a trigger she just can’t bring herself to pull

She fires.

BangHer honesty becomes a rain of bulletsand I the only target

Bang

She tells me her heart is needy,never full

Bang

she tells meher hands are travellers,that have wandered from my touch.

Bang

She tells me her mouth is hungr

Interviews — July 24

Fragility Disguised: Interview With Rania Ahmed

By Amanda Anastasi

Rania, I remember seeing you and your fellow artists in the very first performance of Bukjeh at the Immigration Museum. I understand that the show has been developed since and performed at various venues and festivals. A ‘bukjeh’ is a bag or sack that a refugee carries throughout their journey, containing all of their belongings that can be carried. What was in your bukjeh?

My memories mostly. I was an 11-year-old at the time that I arrived in Australia. I couldn’t bring my cabbage patch doll, but I would have loved to. I brought as many of the objects and treasured possessions that inhabited my 11-year-old world as I could.

What was it like for you at that age, arriving in a new place?

It was a shock! I was astonished at how quiet it was here. Back then, all the stores closed at 5pm and on weekends. In Egypt, everything was open until midnight, so you would hear cars beeping late into the night and constant human activity. Most people lived in flats and you could hear the sounds and conversations of your neighbours. If you opened the window, you could hear a couple’s argument. I would open the window the next day to hear the sequel to the argument from the day before.

Like watching a soap opera or a radio play?

I used to call it Streets FM – you learn a lot!

What did you see and hear and learn?

I often heard women manipulating their men, actually! Egyptian women are very smart about getting what they want. I used to say that I was never going to get married.

What were your first impression of the new language and the landscape you found yourself in?

It was greener. The shapes of the leaves were different. Here the leaves were long, not wide. In Egypt we had a lot of palm trees, mulberry and fruit trees. It really was desert and the trees were largely not native. Many of the tree trunks in Australia were smooth and grey, not brown with thick bark. I had never see

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