BE NATURAL Poetry Slam at 2026 Nature Festival

Saturday 10 October 2026
Sign-up from 2:00pm for 2:30 start

Arthur Art Bar
66 Currie St, Adelaide SA 5000

Tickets $15
Click here to book.

Now in its seventh year the Be Natural Poetry Slam is open to either compete or to simply watch and enjoy. Participants have the opportunity to stretch their creative limbs to think about what nature and the natural world means to them. The rules are simple – one poem, two minutes maximum, no props, no costumes, no music, just you and the power of your words.

Prizes for 1st and 2nd place poets.

Plus guest performer MIKE LADD.

These are the basic rules but really it’s all about having a go and having some fun!

1. Maximum of 20 contestants. The first 15 are guaranteed. If we exceed 20 the last five are drawn randomly.
2. Enter at the venue on the night of the heat 30 minutes before the heat commences.
3. ONE POEM ONLY. ABSOLUTE two minute limit. Time starts at your first word or when the timekeeper feels your performance has begun (no additional time for introductions). Points will be deducted from the final score for exceeding the time limit.
4. Five judges chosen by the host at random from the audience.
5. Poems must be the original work of the performer. No plagiarism folks. One or two recognisable pop culture references are okay.
6. No musical accompaniment. No props. No costumes (ie: clothing related to the poem). Personal poem transcripts permitted.
7. In the case of a tie, the MC will conduct a “slam off” tie-breaker performance. Contestants must be prepared with a second poem to allow for this eventuality.

*Venue is wheelchair accessible but bathrooms are not. Closest facilities are public bathrooms on Light Square / Morphett St.

Click here for the Facebook event.

The Be Natural Poetry Slam is part of the Nature Festival, running from 25th September to 11 October.

Guest Poet: Mike Ladd

One of Mike Ladd’s first jobs was working on the production line at Woodroofe’s Lemonade factory in Adelaide. He read Ulysses in the lunch shed during his breaks. For two years he was a singer in a punk new wave band called The Lounge. Once he and his partner were held hostage in a hotel in the Southern Sahara.  He lived in a squat in London during the Falklands War. He’s published a dozen books, but probably the most useful thing he’s done was run a national poetry program on ABC Radio.