It’s like I’m walking half asleep eyes closed.
Meanwhile the streets lie choked
by fumes and pollution as we breathe 
tight tokes of the deep white smoke.
The lungs of my city are congested. 
It’s arteries are blocked. Gridlocked.

~ from 'City Boy' by Mantra

OutLoud is Australia's first team slam poetry competition for Victorian students in primary and secondary schools, run by Australian Poetry in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Red Room Poetry and national young writers’ organisation, Express Media.

Stemming from Red Room Poetry's New Shoots project, OutLoud encourages primary and secondary students to create poems inspired by the new theme of environmental sustainability, and then battle it out in a state-wide school poetry slam competition! 

2018 event

Congratulations to 2018's winner – St Albans Secondary College!

The 2018 OutLoud Eco!Slam Final took place on Tuesday 28 August at 1.45pm – 2.45pm, Deakin Edge @ Federation Square. Victoria's finest and fiercest spoken-wordsters battled it out in the grand final of OutLoud Eco!Slam, Australia’s best teen-team slam competition.

Akegma Arok and Shalom Tiatia, a team of two in Year 10 from St Albans Secondary College, brought their fiercest and best performance to take out the title of OutLoud Eco!Slam winners for 2018, speaking their truths on equality to deliver a message to society.

2018 winner performance

St Albans Secondary College

Watch all performance heats and finals.
Read more on our blog.