Story Week 2026 AMPLIFIES
your WHAT'S ON FOR spoken word, poetry slams and storytelling across Australia this October
THE FIRST EVER HOBART POETRY CUP
WHERE: 132 Elizabeth St, Hobart TAS 7000
COST: $15
Start: 7 pm (local time)
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Sixty seconds. One poem. What will you say?
For more than four decades, the Launceston Poetry Cup has been one of Tasmania’s great poetry traditions, a gloriously unpredictable annual contest where poets have just 60 seconds to win over a live audience.
Now, after 42 years in Launceston, the Poetry Cup is heading south for the very first Hobart Poetry Cup.
And be warned: this is not just another poetry slam.
The Poetry Cup has always been a little more irreverent, a little more ridiculous and a lot less concerned with being cool. You don't need to deliver the most profound poem in the room. You don't need to be terribly serious. You don't even necessarily need to be a "poet".
Funny is good. Cheeky is good. Clever, strange, heartfelt, outrageous, absurd or completely unexpected. Go for the laugh. Go for the gasp. Go for glory.
How do you win? The crowd decides. The biggest audience response wins the Cup.
Come to perform, cheer, or heckle* and make some noise, or grab a drink and watch a roomful of people attempt to win eternal poetic glory in sixty seconds.
Content Warning: Most Poetry Slams and literary events are all ages and some content may not be suitable for children. Performances may include strong language and / or adult themes.
Event times local time.
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Story Week is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
Event image: event organiser’s own imagery.
