Podcast: Play in new window
A new series from All The Best and Word Travels, premiered right here.
Tegan Nicholls in on a quest across NSW, meeting young slam poets at the crossroads of race, access and recognition. From small country towns to beachside writer’s festivals, Tegan road trips across the state recording stories, rehearsals and conversations all leading up to one big moment: the National Slam Finals at the Sydney Opera House.
But this series isn’t about winners and losers, it’s about what it’s like to be a dream-big poet in small-town Australia.
Episode 1: ‘All performance poetry is doggerel’
In a guesthouse in Byron Bay, the crew overhear an interstate festival director declaring Slam poets aren’t real writers… and that their work is “shit”. It’s the first day of the Slam heats and questions around the legitimacy of their art hang heavy over the poets’ heads.
This episode was made by Tegan Nicholls, with additional editorial support from Miles Merrill and Selena Shannon. It features Slam champions Zohab Kahn and Arielle Cottingham, and the founder of the Australian Poetry Slam movement, Miles Merrill.
The remaining five episodes will be published online in November – keep an ear out!
Find out more about Word Travels on Facebook and Twitter, or at wordtravels.info/ and australianpoetryslam.com/
All The Best credits:
Executive Producer: Selena Shannon
Host: Samantha Groth
Episode Compiler: Tegan Nicholls
Vic State Coordinator: Bec Fary
SYN production manager: Beth Gibson
Community Coordinator: Chloe Gillespie
Social Media: Louisa Thurn
Image by Megan Carew
Songs: ABC – Jackson 5, Criminal – Fiona Apple, If only out of vanity – Staceyann Chin