Perth Voice Interactive

THE winter chill is doing Perth’s poetry scene a favour.

Icy winds whistle through windows—a cosy nook inside a warm cafe, a likely saviour.

Perth Poetry Club member Elio Novello says about a dozen more people turn up to its events in the cooler months.

“People aren’t doing outdoor activities,” the local poet says. “Instead, they want to be warm indoors, and poetry lends itself to being a winter event.”

The seven-year-old club is hosting its quarterly “mega” open-mic night at The Moon cafe this weekend.

Novello expects the usual winter audience of almost 50 poetry lovers. Summer events attract no more than 35.

“The poems can be very funny,” he says. “Sometimes they’re very sad. We get the well-to-do people, the homeless, teenagers, the elderly, anarchists as well as conservatives. We get all sorts of people come for the poetry.”

The event, Mega Open-Mike Event, is from 2-4pm on Saturday (June 6). Each poet will speak for five minutes. No need to book, just consider leaving a donation.

by EMMIE DOWLING