Her very first performance brought the house down and now Melanie Mununggurr-Williams has been crowned Australian Poetry Slam Champion. Dropping an absolutely stunning slam about aboriginal identity, Melanie won crowds over with her complex piece about breaking free of inner demons, and “being caught between a western white mans world, and ancient aboriginal antiquity”. Her first piece, a fierce attack on the social unjustices towards Aboriginal Australians and privilge, was the spectacular wake up call that brought the entire house down.
A proud indigenous women who hails from northern Arnhem land, it’s no surprise that her fantastic pieces were met with standing ovations. After having said that she watches a lot of slam poetry on youtube, she is lost for words at having been named champion. Miles Merrill, Creative Director of World Travels said:
“The crowd absolutely loved Melanie’s slams tonight, for their crucial insight into Aboriginal identity delivered with such passion and poise. We can’t wait to bring her to some of the most prestigious writer’s festivals in the world, to present her incredible poetry to thousands of new audiences.”
Thanks to her fantastic win, Melanie will now join the International Writer’s Festival tour where she will travel to the Canadian Banff Arts Centre, Edmonton Poetry Festival, Montreal Blue Metropolis Festival, Ubud Writers & Readers festival, Singapore Writer’s Festival and Hong Kong International Literary Festival in 2019.
Coming in second place for the esteemed competition was Anna Stewert from Hobart, Tasmania who presented an uplifting poem on human identity. She was followed very closely by Fable Goldsmith from Perth, WA who presented a stunning piece on persona flaws.
The national final finished up on Sunday the 21st and the competition ran for three packed days full of poetry slams, forums and events for each and every literary lover across Sydney.
Want to know more about this competition or hear some of the amazing speakers? Head on over to the Word Travels website HERE for more info!
