With the South Australian heats of the 2026 Australian Poetry Slam starting up soon, you might be wondering what it takes to do well in a poetry slam. If so, have a listen to Arantza Garcia, winner of the 2025 Australian Poetry Slam.
Arantza Garcia is an emerging Peruvian writer and member of the Latin American Community on Kaurna Country. She has performed at events such as Jaurna/Feast festivals, and First Fridays at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Having been a finalist in the South Australian legs of the Australian Poetry Slam in 2023 and 2024, she won in 2025. From there, she went on to win the 2025 Australian Poetry Slam National Title after performing at the Sydney Opera House.
In July 2026, Arantza was interviewed by Clarissa Fischer, also a SA poetry slam finalist, and member of the SWSA team. Together they discussed what it takes to participate in slam poetry: how to prepare, perform, and engage with the audience. Along the way we hear about Arantza’s personal inspirations and her ways of dealing with performing her work on stage.
The following audios are selections from the whole interview, which you can hear here.
Click here for details of the SA Heat 1 of the 2026 Australian Poetry Slam.
Click here to watch Arantza’s winning performance at the 2025 SA Final.
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