Saturday, 11 October 2025
2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Arthur Art Bar
66 Currie St, Adelaide, SA 5000
It’s time to let your words FLOW!
Now in its sixth year, the ‘Be Natural’ Poetry Slam is an all ages event as part of the 2025 Nature Festival, with the broad theme of nature and what it means to you, giving participants the opportunity to stretch their creative ‘limbs’ and 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. See below for the full rules but really it’s all about having a go and having some fun!
Poets sign up from 2.00pm and slam commences at 2.30pm.
Prizes for 1st and 2nd placed poets, including books from Paroxysm Press.
Our guest performer is Shaine Melrose.
Shaine Melrose is a queer writer and poet living on Kaurna Yerta in the Adelaide hills. Their poems have been published by Red Room, Overland, Australian Poetry Journal, Cordite, Saltbush Review and many anthologies. Shaine’s full length poetry collection, The Natural World Somersaults was recently published by Walleah Press 2024.
NATURE SLAM rules
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.
Click here for the Nature Festival event.
