Word Travels Fast

The 2017 Australian Poetry Slam National Final is here! The culmination of a number of nationwide heats has arrived, with some of Australia's best spoken word artists flocking to Sydney to perform on the Sydney Opera House stage. With passionate performances and tie-breaking slam-offs, this is an explosive final episode of Word Travels Fast. Credits: Episode Compiler: Tegan Nicholls Music: 'Wandering Eye' - Fat Freddy's Drop, 'Criminal' - Fiona Apple, DJ Leonardo De Casio's 2017 APS set Word Travels Fast is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

The competition is heating up at the 2017 Australian Poetry Slam's NSW State Final. Hosted at The State Library of NSW by the 2016 national champion, Arielle Cottingham, we hear the culmination of the NSW heats in the passionate performances from their winners. Credits: Episode Compiler: Tegan Nicholls Music: 'Boogs, bumps and thumps' - Alexander Michael French, John Maddox, 'Uptown' - Podington Bear, 'Closing' - Tegan Nicholls Word Travels Fast is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

The crew are in Albury this week and taking part in the creative hub that is the Write Around the Murray Festival. Here, they meet an author who has hand-sewn his own book, a band from over the border and a poet who is still completing year 11. Credits: Episode Compiler: Tegan Nicholls Music: Mayfair Lane Word Travels Fast is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

With performances of Bohemian Rhapsody and viral video star librarians, the Nowra library is not your usual library. This uniqueness is reflected in the artists at the Nowra heat. With the youngest aged 13 and the oldest 70 years their senior, Nowra showcases that passion for spoken word has no age. Credits: Episode Compiler: Tegan Nicholls Word Travels Fast is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

In Gosford, the crew holds a poetry slam at a hip, little cafe called The Loungeroom. During the heat a range of topics are raised by the performers, from racism to mental health to KFC. Credits: Episode Compiler: Tegan Nicholls Music: 'For Emma' - Bon Iver Word Travels Fast is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

The crew heads to regional Australia and encounter some of the restrictions that slam poetry faces in country towns. Controversy arises when a Byron competitor enters the Kempsey heat for another chance at the title and a seventh day adventist school imposes limits to what can be discussed during their workshop. Credits: Episode Compiler: Tegan Nicholls Music: 'On the road again' - Willie Nelson, Liam Moylan, Tegan Nicholls Word Travels Fast is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

In a guesthouse in Byron Bay, the crew overhear an interstate festival director declaring Slam poets aren’t real writers… and that their work is “shit”. It’s the first day of the Slam heats and questions around the legitimacy of their art hang heavy over the poets’ heads. Credits: Episode Compiler: Tegan Nicholls Songs: ABC – Jackson 5, Criminal – Fiona Apple, If only out of vanity – Staceyann Chin Word Travels Fast is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.