By Marcus Uhe
Dandenong poet Aloma Davis’ first foray into competitive poetry has won her a place at the Victorian State Final of the Australian Slam Poetry Championships on Wednesday 12 October.
The English and English Literature teacher first developed a love for the style at primary school and has kept at in the background of her other pursuits ever since.
She now teaches the style as part of the school curriculum and decided this year to enter into a competition.
“I’ve been teaching Slam poetry for year nine students and I thought this year, why not? What am I waiting for?” Ms Davis said.
The state final will see her and the other finalists from across the state compete in two rounds, where they will be required to perform an original poem in under two minutes to a live audience, who score them out of 10.
Rather than simply read the poem word-for-word, competitors are required to perform the written piece.
However, the audience aren’t given specific criteria to score them on, making planning and preparing that extra bit difficult.
“Some base their scores on writing quality, some base it on quality of performance,” Ms Davis said.
“They have to hold up their scorecard at the end.
“It’s nerve-wracking because you’ve got no idea.”
She takes inspiration from poets like Charles Bukowski and Ada Limon, appreciating their conversational style that doesn’t rely on rhyme or rhythm but mastering the ability to generate vivid, evocative imagery.
Her poems follow a similar style, beginning with humour early in the text before taking a dark, serious twist later in the piece.
Residents of Dandenong may be familiar with Ms Davis’ prior publications, having had work displayed publicly in the municipality before.
In 2019, fascinated by Dandenong landmarks such as the big golf ball at Drummond Golf and the big bike above One Big Bike, she wrote a series of Haiku’s and displayed them at the Dandenong Theatre, before they were moved to an exhibit at the Walker Street Gallery.
Success in Wednesday’s State Championships would see her qualify for the national finals at the Sydney Opera House later in the month, which would cap an incredible year.
“It would be amazing a dream come true,” Ms Davis said, of the thought of performing at the Opera House.
“I’ve always wanted to write and loved perfuming, and I didn’t know you could combine it until this year.”
