‘It’s just love in there, it’s nuts’: freedom and verse at the Bankstown poetry slam

Feature poet Mel Ree recites her work to a captive audience at the Bankstown poetry slam. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

As the rain batters the Bankstown Arts Centre in western Sydney on a humid Tuesday evening, a first-time poet at the Bankstown poetry slam struggles to remember his lines.

Shifting nervously in front of a sea of masks and eyes, Paul stammers and pauses, scrolling at light speed through his phone, searching for the right words.