From August 28–30, the Queensland Poetry Festival will take over the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, presenting a packed program of powerful poetry. The program boasts a range of free events and workshops for the public to attend, as well as captivating key note performances from some special names. On the bill for 2015 are names such as ARIA Award-winning musician Damian Cowell, bringing his Hara-Karaoke to audiences, leading Australian poet Les Murray reading from his new collection, Waiting for the Past, lead singer of Regurgitator Quan Yeomans, US spoken word poet Mayde De Valle and 2014’s Prime Minister’s Literary Award-winner Melinda Smith.

Workshops include a visual poetry workshop with Italian poet Elisa Biagini, a spoken word masterclass with Mayda Del Valle, a screen printing workshop with Quan Yeomans and a class on fashion and poetry led by Kate Durbin. The three day program also includes events such as the QPF’s first ever Youth Slam, the Queensland state final of the Australian Poetry Slam and Treaty, a showcase of Australia’s finest Aboriginal voices. Check out the program for a full list of events, times and costs.