Retiree scores national slam title with sex(y) narrative slingshot! – 4/12/09

Sarah Taylor threw her inhibitions to the wind and covered all the taboo subjects to win this year’s Australian Poetry Slam 09 at the Sydney Opera House last night.

The 59-year-old retiree from Newcastle shocked the crowd with frank insights about sex and how the female body lets you down as you get older, to top score on the night.

Presented by the State Library of NSW and Word Travels, the third national poetry slam final attracted a diverse mix of contenders, including a ‘house dad’, a circus performer, a pharmacy student and a tofu-hating bush poet.

Sarah only started writing poetry in the last year, and entered her first slam competition in October. That event in Newcastle helped launch her onto the national stage where she walked away with the Australian Poetry Slam 09 title, $5,000 and a gig at the 2010 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in Bali.

“Now the monster has been released….This form of poetry is a lot of fun; I am loving it,” said Sarah, who has just finished writing a crime novel.

The national finalists had just two minutes to impress the judges (selected at random from the audience) with their original spoken word, poetry, hip-hop, monologues and stories.

The Australian Poetry Slam 09 saw more than 600 emerging poets and spoken word artists compete via 39 heats held in regional areas and city centres in every state and territory.

The competition was coordinated by state and public libraries, with state-based professional spoken-word artists hosting the heats and running workshops in schools, libraries, pubs and theatre spaces.

“The Australian Poetry Slam brings you the most valuable stories and poems,” said Slam co-creator Miles Merrill. “Ideas shared with you by their creators.”

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For those who missed the national slam, 702 ABC Radio will broadcast all the performances tonight [4 December] at 8.20pm EST.
Miles Merrill and winner Sarah Taylor are available for interviews.

Media inquiries:

Vanessa Bond, Media & Communications Manager, State Library
02 9273 1566, 0411 259 898 vbond@sl.nsw.gov.au