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Poetry: love it or loathe it, six daring voices debate its worth in a fierce, funny and unmissable night of literary sparring – during Poetry Month no less!
‘Many more people agree they hate poetry than can agree what poetry is,’ poet Ben Lerner posits in Hatred of Poetry, the title drawn from Marianne Moore’s ‘Poetry’, which begins, ‘I too, dislike it…’
But what does it really mean to hate poetry? Why do so many of us feel alienated by it – even as we reach for it in moments of joy, grief, crisis and change? Might poetry and the hatred of poetry in some ways be intertwined?
This rousing and theatrical debate brings together poets, provocateurs and public figures for an unforgettable night of wit, passion and fierce opinions. They will grapple with poetry’s contradictions: its shortcomings and its strengths, its marginalisation and its necessity, and its power to stir both awe and irritation.
On the side arguing that the hatred of poetry is justified: Evelyn Araluen, Sez, Suren Jayemanne. On the side arguing that the hatred of poetry isn’t justified: Eloise Grills, PiO, Vidya Rajan. These six electrifying and impassioned debaters will spar over poetry’s place in contemporary life – and answer once and for all the age-old question most of us ask when faced with stanzas: what does all this even mean?
Hosted by David Quirk, with an opening reading by Isabella Eichler-Onus and a closing musical performance by Leah Senior.
Presented in partnership with Red Room Poetry as part of Poetry Month 2025
Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Thursday 14 August
6.30 - 7.30pm
Tickets
$29.50
Full
$19.50
Concession
$19.50
Under 30
$0.00
First Nations
Tickets for First Nations audiences are free for this event.
Members can save 10% on tickets to this event. Find out more here.
Location
Accessibility
Accessible toilets available
Assistive Listening
Auslan interpreting available by-request
Companion tickets available
Registered Assistance Animals welcome
Wheelchair accessible
For information regarding accessibility at The Wheeler Centre, click here.
Please notify us of all access requirements when booking online so we can assist you with your visit. If you require further information, please contact ticketing@wheelercentre.com.
Featuring
Evelyn Araluen
Evelyn Araluen is a poet, researcher and co-editor of Overland Literary Journal. Her widely published criticism, fiction and poetry has been awarded the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers, the Judith Wright Poetry ...
Isabella Eichler-Onus
Isabella Eichler-Onus is a proud Gunditjmara writer living in Naarm. She is studying a Bachelor of Creative Writing at the University of Melbourne and has published poetry with Red Room Poetry and Voiceworks. Her work ...
Eloise Grills
Eloise Grills is an award-winning artist and writer living on unceded Wada Wurrung land. Her illustrated memoir-in-essays, big beautiful female theory was published by Affirm Press in 2022. The book has been shortlisted ...
Suren Jayemanne
Suren is a comedian, writer and actor, currently based in Melbourne. Suren has appeared on Question Everything, The Weekly, Celebrity Letters & Numbers, The Cook Up with Adam Liaw as well as several televised ...
PiO
π.O. Born: Greece 1951 Came to Australia 1954 Raised: Fitzroy (inner suburb of Melbourne). Occupation: draughtsman, now retired gentleman. BIG NUMBERS is his selected poems. His other books include 24 Hours ...
Vidya Rajan
Vidya Rajan is a writer and performer currently based in Australia working across screenwriting, theatre, comedy, and digital space. A former writer-in-residence at the Malthouse Theatre, graduate of the VCA, and a recipient ...
Leah Senior
Victorian-based folk singer Leah Senior silences audiences with vivid lyricism and a voice that soars with disarming clarity. Leah effortlessly weaves together spring-baroque pop with spiralling introspective folk. She has ...
Sez
Sez is a comedian, musician, writer, content creator and producer, offering the world a valuable Gen Z perspective. Five foot nothing and armed with a guitar, mic and a ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude, Sez invites her audience ...
David Quirk
Stand-up comedian and actor David Quirk has cemented his place on our TV screens and as an original voice on the international comedy circuit, with hit live shows in Australia and the UK. Recent TV credits include Rosehaven ...