To access the program for Poetic City 2023, now the festival has finished:
Go to the Calendar page, and use the arrows to visit June and July 2023.
You can see the events on each day by hovering over the date, and then scrolling through the popup that opens.
You can then click on an event heading to visit the program page with the full details.
Poetic City - Winter Edition - Closing Night
Come and celebrate the close of Poetic City - Winter Edition with That Poetry Thing that is on at Smith’s Every Monday Night, one of the vital organs of Canberra’s live poetry scene.
There will be a signature That Poetry Thing open mic, plus treasures, highlights and encore performances from across the festival.
Free event. Booking recommended to secure your seat.
Poetry as Innovation Machine Symposium
This mini-symposium, hosted by the University of Canberra’s Centre for Creative and Cultural Research and presented in collaboration with the Uncharted Territory Innovation Festival, will explore innovation in poetry, cross-disciplinary approaches, and how poetry can offer new ways of seeing and thinking, whatever your discipline.
Free event - registration required.
Queer Voyages - journeys in Poetry
Start with a recitation of Cavafy's 'Ithaca' at the stone etched with that poem, among olive trees, tucked away in a corner of New Acton.
Then, in the cosy interior of Parlour, we will voyage with poets whose writing documents journeys and adventures in queerness Sandra Renew, Zhi Yi Cham, Joo-Inn Chew and Tamati Kentwell.. There will also be a short open mic for queer poets and readers.
Tickets: $10 Full / $5 Concession / $0 Access.
Us Mob Writing - For Our Elders
Us Mob Writing members will share poetry to celebrate NAIDOC week. This year’s theme is ‘For our Elders’.
Us Mob Writing (UMW) group is made up of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander poets, writers and storytellers based in Canberra and the surrounding areas.
Free event. Registration recommended.
Secret Histories of City West - Walking Tour
How much do you remember about the Canberra of yesterday? Seven poets and one musical duo have been invited to write about a real or imagined history of city west.
Come and explore the city with them, to hear their poems in-situ. Expect a multitude of windows into the past, fables about what was and what might have been. You can also buy a copy of the zine where this poetic history is collected. This will be City West as you’ve never seen or heard it before.
Free event, registration required. The meeting point will be provided after registration.
SlamCity Showcase
Come for a night of poetic partying! The stars of Canberra Slam will be out tonight and shining with full force, alongside special feature Waffle IronGirl.
And you can shine too! Sign up on the night for one of the highly desirable slam spots and be part of the action.
The founder and host of Canberra Slam, Andrew Cox will host some of the most exciting poets to appear in Canberra Slam’s 18 month life so far, plus pre-and post-event drinks and music in the Street Foyer.
Tickets: $20 - Full/ $10 - Concession/ $0 - Access.
Prosaic City - Prose Poetry and Microlit
When does a poem not look like a poem? When it is a prose poem. Is there a line between microlit and prose poetry? Is it hard, or blurry?
Come and hear some of Canberra’s creators of prose poetry and microlit talk about their approach and share their work. You might be inspired to try a new form! And if you already write prose poetry or flash fiction, there will be a short open mic where you can share a piece of your own work.
Free event, registration required.
Fresh Voices Showcase
Come and see the freshest poets in town share their brand new work!
Poets aged 13-18 who have participated in the Canberra Slam SlamShop will give their debut performances - come to cheer, click and stomp them on!
Fresh Voices will be hosted by Andrew Cox of Canberra Slam, and feature a performance by Yleia Mariano.
Free event - registration required.
Poetry Not Luxury Women's Open Mic
Women and non-binary people are invited to come and share their poetry at this event hosted by Gabriela Falzon of Poetry Not Luxury.
Alongside the open mic, this event will feature readings by Steffi Linton, Merlinda Bobis, Melinda Smith, and GWEN, Canberra’s very own poetry band!
GWEN are a 5-piece band working with the poems of Gwen Harwood. Through their delicately arranged and emotionally-charged folk songs to Harwood's poetry, GWEN aims to bring Harwood's poetry to a wider and more diverse audience.
Tickets: $10 Full / $5 Concession/ $0 Access
Secret Histories of City West - Performance and Zine Launch
How much do you remember about the Canberra of yesterday?
Seven poets and one musical duo (The Cashews!) have been invited to write about a real or imagined history of City West.
They’ll be performing their poems at this showcase, and launching the zine where they are collected. Expect a multitude of windows into the past, fables about what was and what might have been. This will be City West as you’ve never seen or heard it before.
Free event. Registration recommended.
Mother Tongue Multilingual Mic
Come and appreciate poetry in many languages! Share a poem in your mother tongue, heritage language or learned language and enjoy listening to the poetry of a variety of languages and cultures.
This event will feature multilingual poet and songstress Karina Palomita, readings by participants in the Multilingual Poetry Workshop and a multilingual poetry open mic.
Tickets: $10 Full price/ $5 Concession/ $0 Access. Entry is free for open mic readers
Recent Work Reading
Come and enjoy readings by a selection of local poets published by Recent Work Press, and browse a stall of their beautiful paperback editions. All in the Street Theatre foyer. The book stall will be open from 1.30pm until 7pm.
Recent Work Press is Canberra’s very own poetry publisher. Founded in 2015 and based in the ACT, this small press imprint has published a diverse range of authors from Australia and internationally, mainly poetry and other short-form textual work.
Free event - drop in.
Potluck Story Share
Bring a story or poem that celebrates your history, your ancestry, your culture. Share your own and taste the stories of others.
Potluck Story Share will be facilitated as a safe space by Canberra Slam, COAR (Collective on Anti- Racism) and Poetic City.
Bring your ears, your authentic voice and (if you wish) a poem or story that can be told in about 5 minutes or less.
Tickets: Free - registration required.
Recent Work Book Stall
Come and browse a stall of beautiful paperback editions published by Recent Work Press, Canberra’s very own poetry publisher. The book stall will be open in the Street Theatre foyer from 1.30pm until 7pm.
And between 3.30- 4.30pm there will be a reading by Recent Work poets.
Recent Work Press was founded in 2015 and based in the ACT, this small press imprint has published a diverse range of authors from Australia and internationally, mainly poetry and other short-form textual work.
Free event - drop in.
Poetic City 2023 - Winter Edition - Program Launch
Join us in City Walk, Canberra City, near the carousel for the launch of the Poetic City - Winter Edition program!
You will get a taste of what Poetic City has to offer, with poetry readings and performances, and get a program hot off the press so you can start planning your Poetic City - Winter Edition
Readers will include Zoe Anderson, Andrew Moss, Sarah St Vincent Welch, Owen Bullock, Yleia Mariano, Angus Verzeilberg and Audrey McCormick.