Welcome to the one and only...
Perth Slam!
WA's most popular and only regular Poetry Slam!
are. you. ready...
Your next WA SLAM HEAT is in...
Day(s)
:
Hour(s)
:
Minute(s)
:
Second(s)
Perth Slam presents the WA Heats 2025 Australian Poetry Slam at the Rosemount Hotel in North Perth during August.
Sign up 430PM at the event. Top two scorers from each heat go to the WA Final.
$1000 cash for the WA Winner – $500 for the Runner-Up. Both get flown to Sydney for the National Final.
We have a limit of Fourteen spots available at each WA Heat – so get down early to sign up.
Unleash your inner Rock Star Poet! Be one! Be a Judge. Be a fan! All people. All ages. Always welcome.
Doors open and Sign Ups from 4:30PM…
How many WA Heats?
In 2025, there are four WA Heats of the Australian Poetry Slam.
We held a hot one under the big top back in January, as part of the amazing Bunbury Fringe Festival. Kym D and Shae Phillips are our 2025 Bunbury champs. See them at the Final!
Then there’s your usual three Perth heats and Final in August at the Rosemount Hotel, North Perth.
Three Perth Heats
- Heat 1 – WA Perth Heats Australian Poetry Slam 2025
- Heat 2 – WA Perth Heat Australian Poetry Slam 2025
- Heat 3 – WA Perth Heats Australian Poetry Slam 2025 – LAST CHANCE!
Only fourteen spots available at each heat. First in, best dressed. No Pre-registration. Sign up only at the venue on the day. $10/5 Entry. Proceeds will go to the winners.
How does this actually work?
Five randomly-chosen judges score each poet out of 10. The two highest scoring poets from each heat go to the WA FINAL – AUSTRALIAN POETRY SLAM 2025 on 23rd August in the Rosemount Main Room on the big stage!
Each heat is standalone. So if you miss out in the first or second heat, you may sign up to compete in the third heat. However, if there’s high demand and to be fair, we’ll preference those who’ve not yet competed.
What happens at the WA FINAL?
We have Two Rounds! Eight finalists compete in a knockout first round. New judges are chosen for the second round. Results are announced. Then the four highest-scoring poets compete in the final round. Judges judge, then bang! Two highest win the biscuits. There are no busicuits. Winner gets $1000. Runner-up $500. Both will be flown to Sydney to compete in the APS Finals in October.
How many new poems in total will I need to win the APS?
YOU’LL NEED 5 POEMS. One for each level. One to win your heat. Another for the WA Final first round. And another ready for the second. Then, if you get to Sydney, you’ll need two more, one for each round.
Please read the official Australian Poetry Slam 2025 rules here. Basically, there’s a strict TWO MINUTE LIMIT and you can’t use props, costumes or accompaniments – and poems must be the original work of the performer. And 2025 works can not have been performed in an Australian Poetry Slam event in a previous year. We want your fresh new stuff!
If you have any questions phone or message Allan Boyd – APS WA Coordinator on 0402573580 or email info@perthslam.com or message us via Instagram or Facebook.
Good luck. Enjoy.
How to prepare
“After decades of organising hundreds of poetry slams, witnessing literally thousands of slam poets do their thing, my main advice is to rehearse your poem like a professional athlete or muso gets ready for a big event… You must know your poem inside out. Get confident in every word. Every syllable. Each utterance. The rhythm. Tone. Your facial expressions. Pay attention to your gestures. Your breathing. Be confident.
The idea is to impress the audience. Like, its a Poetry Slam, dude. Know your piece. Do you like it? Remember that people are expecting you to be awesome. Rehearse. Time it. Rehearse… Whatever you do, don’t go over your two minutes. If its over – then EDIT IT! Rehearse. Tighten. Edit. Enhance. Enjoy! Be critical… Test it out on friends and family if you can. Perform for your cat! Rehearse. Go to Perth Poetry Club on Saturday arvos and sign up to the open mic… Most of all – have fun, impress the audience and enjoy the buzz!” — Allan Boyd, Perth Slam host/performance poet since 1995
Noongar Boodja!
Kaya!
Perth Slam is held in Boorloo (Perth), on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja. The mighty Noongar people have lived in the south-west corner of Western Australia for at least 45,000 years. Where sovereignty was never ceded. We celebrate the continuing traditions, living culture, and spiritual connections to Boorloo and the Derbal Yerrigan (Swan River).
Always Was. Always Will Be.
What is Perth Slam?
Perth Slam is Perth's most popular and only regular Poetry Slam!
Perth Slam happens every last Saturday monthly (between February and November) at the coolest venue in North Perth – The Rosemount Hotel!
Perth Slam is a monthly competitive poetry event where poets take turns to perform their work in front of a live audience.
There is a strict two-minute time limit for each contestant.
A selection of 5 random judges score each slam poem out of 10 – and the winner gets the door takings!
Often the winner takes home over $200.
FOR A TWO MINUTE POEM! WTF!
How do I sign up?
Sign up at the venue. On the day! No Pre-Registration. NO Online Tickets.
To join the lineup you just need to sign up at the event on the day.
Doors open at 4:30pm. $10/5 Entry. Be early as we often fill our 14 spots fast.
Slam starts at 4:45pm. First in first served. Poets are chosen in random order. The event finishes at 6pm.
All ages and all people of every persuasion are most welcome to sign up to be part of the slam comp. Or just be part of the slam audience. We might choose you as a judge!
The Rosemount Hotel is a licensed venue so if you’re under 18 please remember to bring your responsible adult!
2024 Australian Poetry Slam Winner!
In 2024, Perth's own Jo Giles took out the APS National Slam Final
They’ve been winning Perth Slams for years!
Jo Giles is the 2024 Australian Poetry Slam Champion. On 13 October 2024, Jo won the National Final with a deeply personal story about the painful and humorous sides of undergoing a lung transplant. They shared their journey living with cystic fibrosis and other illnesses on the Sydney Opera House stage, captivating the audience with a powerful performance that showcased their dry wit and a no-holds-barred approach to storytelling.
Jo lives on Beeliar Boodjar country in the Perth suburb of Hamilton Hill. They write short stories and slam poems. It was a serious health crisis that motivated them to first perform their poetry on stage: ‘I have pushed myself to try things I wouldn’t have before I became sick.’
When they aren’t writing, sometimes they teach tai chi. Sometimes they sit on the verandah of their railway carriage and look at birds.
Doors open at 430PM. We say get there early. 4PM at the latest!
Only 14 slam spots available each month - so get down early and form a queue! Thats right: "Line Up to Sign Up!"
Perth Slam Dates 2025
Perth Slam 2025 Dates
Perth Slam events are held in the Four5Nine Bar, Rosemount Hotel in North Perth
All dates: SATURDAY 4:30-6PM
- 22 FEBRUARY – PERTH SLAM
- 29 MARCH – PERTH SLAM
- 26 APRIL – PERTH SLAM
- 31 MAY – PERTH SLAM
- 28 JUNE – PERTH SLAM
- 26 JULY – PERTH SLAM
- 27 SEPTEMBER – PERTH SLAM
- 25 OCTOBER – PERTH SLAM
- 29 NOVEMBER – GRAND SLAM 2025
Australian Poetry Slam - WA Heats
Perth WA APS 2025 HEATS held in the Four5Nine Bar, Rosemount Hotel in North Perth.
All dates: SATURDAY 430-6PM
Perth Slam. WA’s only monthly poetry slam!
We do it every last Saturday of the month in the cozy Four5Nine bar at the Rosemount Hotel in North Perth. This is out tenth year of Perth Slam.
Aspiring Slam Poets get two minutes to impress the audience with a two-minute poem. Randomly chosen judges score each poet and the highest score wins the door takings!
Whats Happening?
Best way to find out whats happening each month is to get over to our Perth Slam FACEBOOK page and follow us for all the latest info.
We also have an Instagram. But best is our Facebook.
We also coordinate the WA Heats of the Australian Poetry Slam.
All people of all ages are very welcome to enter the slam comp or just consume the poetry (under-18s do need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian – we’re in a licensed bar).
Be part of the Perth Slam Slamily!
Join us in building our own poetry slam culture here in Perth, Western Australia. We welcome you to be part of our growing Slam Family – our “Slamily”.
Whether you wanna slam a poem or simply enjoy some short bursts of entertaining poetry from Perth poets as they slam their original stuff for you – we want you!
Our Perth Slam crew have coordinated the WA Heats and Final of the Australian Poetry Slam since its inception in 2007. And we’ve been doing this kinda stuff (hosting performance poetry events) since 1995!
In 2015 we introduced our monthly slam event: Perth Slam – at the Rosemount Hotel in North Perth, where the winner takes the door.
Our basic aim is to build a Perth poetry slam community, to give aspiring slam poets a regular opportunity to share their new works – with a view for a local WA poet to win the national final of the Australian Poetry Slam.
In 2017 WA Poet Jesse Oliver was crowned the APS 2017 Adult Champ! And each year here in WA, the poetry just gets better and better! In 2024 – Perth’s Jo Giles took out the APS National.
Come on down and be part of the linguistic fitness.
Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/perthslam and get involved!