Words can’t express how incredibly proud we are that SA slam poet Arantza Garcia won the 2025 Australian Poetry Slam!
Both Arantza and Tori (TJ) represented SA with heartfelt and beautifully intimate poems that left us with goosebumps and a tear in our eyes. It was truly an honour to share this experience with them and to showcase the amazing talent that we have here in SA.
This is the first time an SA poet has taken the win since the Australian Poetry Slam competition began 20 years ago! We know the entire SA poetry community shares a great sense of pride in Arantza’s success and we can’t wait to see where this fantastic opportunity takes you, Ari.
Hailing from Norwood, SA, Arantza won the South Australia State Final, and her poem that won her the National Final, ‘An Ode to Her’, was about the strength and versatility of her femininity, reclaiming and re-defining it through the strong examples of her friends, family and ties. A well-deserved win, Peruvian poet Arantza will receive a prize pack worth $20k that includes international touring of her spoken word, publications and mentoring opportunities. Congratulations to the runners up and well done to all the poets who made it to the National Final and entered the competition around the country this year.
Click here to see Arantza’s winning performance at the final of the 2025 SA Poetry Slam.