Youth voices to be heard at Poets Out Loud Youth Slam!

28 July 2023

Who said good poetry was just for adults? Young people aged 12 – 18 will be standing up and speaking their truth at a youth poetry competition on Friday August 11 at the Regent Cinema in Murwillumbah.

Preselected entrants from the Poets Out Loud Youth Program will be battling it out for a superb night of spoken-word. The night will also feature 2022 Australian Poetry Slam champion Jo Yang.

There are big prizes up for grabs with $400 cash to the winning poet along with a spot at Byron Writers Festival’s feature event, ‘Voices in the Wild’.

Poets Out Loud’s Sarah Temporal said the young poets involved this year have had an incredible experience honing their craft and connecting with likeminded creatives, including their professional mentors.

“It’s about building confidence in young people so that they have a voice on things that matter to them – things like mental health issues and the state of the environment come to the surface in these wonderfully creative ways” she said.

“To see students' confidence grow to the point they feel empowered to stand up and speak their truth through the incredible medium of poetry. It’s such a powerful thing”.

Now in its fourth year, the Poets Out Loud Youth Program, has connected with schools across the Northern Rivers and hundreds of young people from Casino to Kingscliff.

The program offers young people creative writing and slam poetry opportunities run by professional writers and poets themselves.

Sarah Temporal will host the Poets Out Loud Youth Slam at the Regent Cinema in Murwillumbah on 11 August, as part of the Byron Writers Festival. Bookings are essential.

Event details:

Fri 11 Aug 2023 6pm for a 6:30 pm start

The Regent Cinema - 5 Brisbane St, Murwillumbah

Cost: $5.00 each, family ticket $18.00

Book your tickets at Byron Writers Festival.