Prelim is Wednesday 3rd September, 7pm
Grand Slam Wednesday 10th September, 7pm
Door Entry: $15 both nights (participants free!)
The top 10 entrants from the Preliminary Heat will progress through to the Grand Slam and the chance to be crowned Slam Champ of Ōtautahi 2025. The Champ and runner-up will have entry into the NZ Poetry Slam in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, dates TBC (November).
IMPORTANT: check out the rules of the Poetry Slam here.
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| detail from cover artwork: 'Frida Catrina' by Alex Diaz. |
Fire meets water. Volume 3 features poems from Ashley-Rakahuri River Estuary Young Writers competition, haiku from KidsFest's Haiku Hikes and literary works from New Zealand's leading and emerging writers. There are two feature sections highlighting poetry from Mexico and China as well as the usual melting pot of work from around the globe.
Fuego vol. 3 was launched with a special event at Rangiora Library on National Poetry Day including readings from several featured poets and local children.
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| Image credit: Man on fire by: @andref.photo (Unsplash) |
Fuego - The World Congress of Poets Literary Journal
A reminder that the annual deadline for Fuego (volume 3) is 1st July 2025
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Please read carefully - submissions that do not follow the guidelines below will not be considered.
We are now accepting submissions for vol. 22 of Catalyst.
Catalyst
predominantly publishes poetry and experimental forms of fiction/prose as
well as visual art and design. We are also interested in fusions of the
above.
Please carefully review the submissions guidelines as we may not read or consider submissions that don't adhere to them.
The deadline for submissions is Tuesday 1st April 2025.
For further details and the email address for submitting, please visit the submission guidelines page at the link above. Looking forward to reading your work!
Come visit Hotel Theresa, the latest collection of poetry by Doc Drumheller, published by Cold Hub Press, with support from Christchurch City Creative Communities funding.
The Hotel Theresa is a landmark in Harlem, New York City, where legendary figures like Josephine Baker, Duke Ellington, Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ali made their New York stay-overs. After visiting this iconic hotel, poet Doc Drumheller was inspired to write and collect poems based on his travels, exploring the world as a dual citizen of New Zealand and the USA. The poems in this collection were composed on his journeys in New Zealand, and throughout the USA, Asia, Europe, and Central America.
For those unfamiliar with Republic of Oma Rāpeti Press publisher and editor-in-chief, Doc Drumheller is an award-winning poet, musician, dramatist, who has published 11 collections of poetry. His poems have been translated into more than 20 languages. He is the editor and publisher of the New Zealand literary journal Catalyst.
He was elected to represent New Zealand on the Executive Board of the World Congress of Poets, and is the editor in chief of the World Congress of Poets literary journal Fuego. He has appeared at international poetry festivals all over the world, and has performed in Cuba, Lithuania, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Japan, India, China, Nicaragua, USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, and widely throughout NZ.
His previous collection, Drinking With Li Bai, 100 Haiku from China and India, was published, with a memorable launch at Scorpio Books, by Cold Hub Press in 2022.
Our awkward little Xmas Xine returns! Submissions are open for Christmas-themed poetry contributions.
The limited edition zine will be released just in time for Christmas in an openly cynical act of tinsel-tinged capitalism. The perfect gift for friends and enemies alike! Get amongst.
Who will be the 2024 Ōtautahi Poetry Slam Champion?
With a line-up that includes former Slam Champs, runners-up and Slam veterans it's surely going to be a poetically fierce feast - what a treat! Join us for the spectacle and your door sales contribute to travel for our Champ to contest the NZ Poetry Slam in Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland this November.
Here are the official rules of the Christchurch Poetry Slam as per the NZ Poetry Slam.
The Republic of Oma Rāpeti Press is proud to announce the release of volume 21 of Catalyst, international literary arts journal.
Featuring stunning artwork from New Zealand artist Helen Taylor and feature sections from Poland and Bulgaria, this issue is dedicated to the 'bleeding hearts and the artists'.
The book was launched in the traditional Catalyst rowdy manner with guest writers and read-alongs, at the home of Catalyst's monthly open mic - Space Academy, on Wednesday 7th August. Available to purchase now via our Subscriptions tab above.
ngā pukapuka pekapeka is open for submissions. Aotearoa New Zealand resident writers only.
We are looking for work:
We
are interested in short stories, poetry collections and novellas. We
have a particular interest in writers from Te Waipounamu, tangata
whenua, and emerging writers, though we are open to all writers living
in New Zealand.
We
are open to submissions of approximately 40 document pages
(conventional submission formatting- double spaced, 12pt font). If yours
is more or less than this, tell us why. We’re flexible if the length
fits the form. If you are sending us a collection, give it a title.
Submissions will be considered by our editorial collective as a whole.
Part
of publication will involve readings and live events in Te Waipounamu,
and our authors will need to be in, or able to travel to, Ōtautahi for
these.
Submissions are due on 31 May.
Send your work to ngapukapukapekapeka@gmail.com.
A Catalyst showcase!
Featuring: Melanie McKerchar, Ray Shipley, Andy Coyle, Doc Drumheller and Ciaran Fox.
The forthcoming NZ launch of Catalyst volume 20 marks twenty years of independent publishing for the literary arts journal based in Waitaha - Canterbury.
Founded in the extinct volcano of Lyttelton Harbour, Whakaraupo by editor Doc Drumheller with collaborator Ciaran Fox, the then new kid on the block of NZ literary journals started a poetry open mic and print journal in 2003. The project developed out of creative writing workshops facilitated by Doc Drumheller at underground arts venue, gallery and workspace, Creation. Participants dreamed up the name Catalyst as a signal that the new journal was aimed at shaking up the poetry publishing scene and opening space for young and emerging poets unable to access more established, literary or academic creative writing journals and publications and present them alongside renowned poets from Aotearoa and beyond.
The visual elements of Catalyst have also reflected an interest in design and art from the fringe. With a strong focus on Aotearoa artists both locally based and international, the journal always features a strong visual aesthetic and has occasionally included pageworks of poetic/design fusion on the front and back covers as well as internally.
In keeping with this experimental aesthetic, Catalyst also began publishing recordings of spoken word in collaboration with composers, sound artists and songwriters, produced by Jody Lloyd aka Trillion. Three volumes of spoken word/sonic collabs were released on CD.
The interest in spoken word and performance was baked into the DNA of Catalyst as the open mic grew up alongside the journal. The first poetry slams in Christchurch were organised by the Catalyst crew at the Wunderbar in Lyttelton, eventually morphing into a slam show known as Poetry Idol. With the advent of the NZ Poetry Slam national competition, Catalyst continues to host the Ōtautahi Poetry Slam. Not content with introducing Christchurch to the entertainment potential of slam, Catalyst developed a new show for the Christchurch Writers Festival based on a mash-up of slam, improv and reality TV, known as Survivor: Poetry. 'Survivor' was staged in three successive WORD Christchurch festivals. Rumour has it, it may be down, but not out.
The first ten years saw Catalyst published under the imprint of Neoismist Press. With volume 10, Neoismist was retired and The Republic of Oma Rāpeti Press was born. The Press has its own flag and continues to establish a sovereign nation for poets and poetry. In 2014, it launched the first volume of an emerging poets series called Republic of Poets. The format presents longer selections from three feature poets. Volume 2 is a twinkle in the eye.
Scroll forward and Catalyst volume 20: Oma, oma, oma! was officially welcomed in the Mediterranean at the World Congress of Poets 2023. Doc Drumheller is now a member of the executive board of WCP and founding editor of official WCP international journal Fuego.
Having already released a swag of exciting new voices this year, Dead Bird Books are set to launch the new collection by founder, best-selling author and legendary performance poet Dominic Hoey in collaboration with designer Trudi Hewitt. What better way to celebrate than a road trip around the motu, bringing the new books to the people.
Accompanied by poets published by DBB in 2023, Isla Huia and Liam Jacobson, Dominic Hoey will be releasing his latest collection The Dead Are Always Laughing At Us in November 2023. Writes Hoey:
“Accessibility has shaped the way I write and perform. I’ve always resisted the idea that poetry should be a puzzle you need a 50k education to unlock. Early on I knew I wanted this to be the kind of poetry collection anyone could pick up and be drawn into immediately. With that in mind it was really important to add a visual element to the text.”
The poems were mostly written during lock-down as a way to try and stay sane while the world lost its collective mind. The collaboration with a graphic designer means the book has a strongly visual, as well as verbal, aspect. Hewitt writes:
“I saw this project as an opportunity to experiment. To rethink the rules we set for consistency and to challenge typesetting conventions of literature and poetry. Ultimately I wanted to give each of Dominic’s poems their own sense of identity by playing with pace, space, size and tension. An awesome collaboration with a very talented friend.”
The book is available for pre-sale now on Dead Bird Books website. Kicking off at the end of November, Dominic is bringing a road show of exciting talent to select venues in both North and South Islands.
Isla Huia (Te Āti Haunui a-Pāpārangi, Uenuku) is a te reo Māori teacher, writer and musician. Her first book,Talia, was released by Dead Bird in May 2023.
Dominic Hoey is a poet and bestselling author. Through his 'Learn To Write Good' writing course, Dominic has taught thousands of students how to think dyslexic. He also works with rangatahi with the Atawhai program, helping them with their mental health and self-esteem.
Tickets can be purchased via the Dead Bird Books website: www.deadbirdbooks.com/tickets
If you’d like a copy of the book or want to interview any of the poets email- hello@deadbirdbooks.com
