Nimbin performance poetry world cup organiser Gail Clarke has 40 keen wordsmiths polishing up their poems for the grand final prize of $2000 this weekend. 

“It’s going to be a massive one this year and we’ve drawn a lot of attention from new poets from near and far,” Gail said.

This Saturday and Sunday, September 7 and 8, Nimbin Town Hall will host the 17th annual Nimbin performance poetry world cup heats and semi-finals from 11am, with the grand final on Sunday night at 7.30pm.

“It’s amazing the diversity of poets who come,” Gail said. “People from 17 years old to 80 get up and perform.”

“It’s a hugely popular Nimbin event not to be missed and people can come along and enjoy poetry at its best during an entire weekend of brilliant performance.”

Gail said each poet gets eight minutes to say their piece, and the clock starts as soon as they start speaking. 

“I’m not a fan of the Chicago style two minute slam,” she said. “It goes too fast.

“Some of the word smiths, like David Hallett, can memorise an eight minute poem and it’s amazing how they keep their composure and are brave enough to do it.

“I often watch the audience reacting to a poet and see when they’ve lost it, but when a poet has good delivery, emotional expression and can hold an audience for eight minutes, it gives me goose bumps.”

Gail said it’s interesting to see what the common themes and topics for the poetry each year are. 

“Often it’s what’s going on in our environment and the world,” she said. “There’s always a comedy theme and some of the young ones go back to love poems.”

As a poet herself, Gail said her best writing comes when “it kicks me”.

“My best pieces just come and I work on them a little bit, but they are basically there,” she said. “My poems are heart felt stuff about word craziness and about waking up and remembering how lucky we are to be here and free.

“In Nimbin we also have a once a month poetry night and I like to go to the one in Lismore too. These nights give poets a chance to practice their poems in front of an audience. 

Gail said she started the Nimbin poetry world cup 17 years ago after going along to the Byron Writer’s Festival and seeing that “poetry was treated appallingly”.

“I was one of the people the Lismore Writer’s Centre and our centre started the Byron Writer’s Festival," she said.

“I was with my friend Archie and we wanted to see poetry treated better, so Archie gave me $5000 and said ‘go for it – start a poetry festival’.

“It was mainly local people at first, then the word spread and people started coming from Sydney and all over.

As the Nimbin poetry world cup grows bigger every year, Gail said so many poets apply that she has a reserve waiting list for poets in case one of those registered doesn’t turn up.

“A wild card won the people’s choice one year – Rebecca from Lismore came along but didn’t register and she got one of the empty spots - and she won.”

Throughout Saturday and Sunday, eight poets compete in each heat, with winners of heats going on to semi-finals, until the last eight poets standing take the stage for the finals.

“Every heat has new judges – and on Sunday at the final, one of the judges is last year’s winner Sarah Temporal, who’s off to Sydney for the NSW poetry slam,” Gail said.

“She’ll also get to perform a piece. 

Nimbin poetry world cup details:

Saturday, September 7: Heats from 11am

Sunday, September 8: Semi Finals from 12pm, Grand Final at 7.30pm

Cost: Gold coin donation for the heats. 15 or $10 concession for the grand final

Where: Nimbin Town Hall, 45 Cullen St, Nimbin

More information: www.facebook.com/NimbinPoetry/