Poetry Month 2024 (1-31 August) invites the nation and the world to revel in Australian poetry on a scale never seen before thanks to a program of epic proportions, including a partnership with the BBC's much-loved UK poetry and spoken word festival, Contains Strong Language.
This year's program features state and territory showcases with local poets, workshops with special guest poets including UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and author of Chinese Fish Grace Yee, and daily commissioned poems and writing prompts from artists as varied as Nam Le, Felicity Plunkett, Kirli Saunders, AWGIE-winning Dylan Van Den Berg, and Australian Poetry Slam Champion Rob Waters. Poetry Month 2024 ambassadors Heather Mitchell, James Colley, Stan Grant and Chika Ikogwe will also share poems for the first time.
The National Poetry Month Gala on 29 August at the State Library of NSW will be hosted by actor Chika Ikogwe (Heartbreak High), featuring beloved Australian performer Paul Kelly in one of his only public performances this year, plus Hasib Hourani, Julia Baird, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Princess Arinola Adegbite, and more.
