Kia ora, Mālō e lelei, Talofa, Ni hao and Welcome
New Zealand Poetry Slam was founded in 2011 by Michael Rudd and Michelle Bolton. The first National Poetry Slam was held in October 2011 with poets representing Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. Since then, Nationals has expanded to a festival weekend of events celebrating poets and their craft.
Dedicated to furthering awareness and appreciation of poetry and live performance, we organise the annual National Poetry Slam to crown New Zealand's top performance poet. We are a collective run by poets, for poets, independently from regional slams, which local organisers execute to decide the Regional Champions that win a chance to compete at Nationals every year. After thirteen consecutive years, we have representatives currently from eight different regions around the country and we are always looking for new communities to be represented.
The National Poetry Slam is hosted once a year in November. Fixtures of Nationals weekend include our Opening Night Open Mic, the previous Champion’s feature set at the Slam, and the hotly-anticipated AfterSlam. The two titles awarded on the night of the slam are the Spirit of the Slam Award and the National Poetry Slam Champion. Previous National Slam Champions have gone on to represent Aotearoa at the Trans Tasman Poetry Slam, as well as World Poetry Slams in Togo, Brazil, Belgium, and the US.
This website it a spoken word hub and bulletin board. We can help you start your own slam or find your nearest event. If you have any questions, or would like us to list your spoken word event, feel free to drop us a line.
Dedicated to furthering awareness and appreciation of poetry and live performance, we organise the annual National Poetry Slam to crown New Zealand's top performance poet. We are a collective run by poets, for poets, independently from regional slams, which local organisers execute to decide the Regional Champions that win a chance to compete at Nationals every year. After thirteen consecutive years, we have representatives currently from eight different regions around the country and we are always looking for new communities to be represented.
The National Poetry Slam is hosted once a year in November. Fixtures of Nationals weekend include our Opening Night Open Mic, the previous Champion’s feature set at the Slam, and the hotly-anticipated AfterSlam. The two titles awarded on the night of the slam are the Spirit of the Slam Award and the National Poetry Slam Champion. Previous National Slam Champions have gone on to represent Aotearoa at the Trans Tasman Poetry Slam, as well as World Poetry Slams in Togo, Brazil, Belgium, and the US.
This website it a spoken word hub and bulletin board. We can help you start your own slam or find your nearest event. If you have any questions, or would like us to list your spoken word event, feel free to drop us a line.
Regional Slams
Auckland |
Hawke's Bay / Tauranga / Wellington /Hamilton / Dunedin |
Wellington |
Nelson & Golden Bay |