Twelve-year-old wins Australian Poetry Slam with AI-themed poem

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 26 Oct, 09:31 · Archive

Blake Mackenzie, aged 12 from Newcastle, won the top youth prize at the Australian Poetry Slam for a poem about artificial intelligence.

Blake Mackenzie, a 12-year-old from Newcastle, won the top youth prize at the Australian Poetry Slam after performing a poem about artificial intelligence at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday night. His winning piece reflected on doomscrolling, loneliness and intellectual atrophy. The Newcastle Herald notes this was his first time performing in such a competition.

The Australian Poetry Slam is in its 22nd year of operation. The competition ran 65 heats across 60 towns and cities throughout the country to select 16 finalists. Mackenzie shares a prize package worth $20,000 with Bivor, an Alice Springs poet who won the adult category for a poem titled 'Politics Is Doing You'.

How it is being reported

• 'Didn't feel real': young Newcastle poet takes out national titleAt just 12-years-old Blake Mackenzie used the stage to tackle some big issues.Newcastle Herald · 26 Oct, 09:00
• 'Dear ChatGPT': 12-year-old wins top youth prize at Australian Poetry Slam – videoBlake Mackenzie, a 12-year-old from Newcastle, has won the top youth prize at the Australian Poetry Slam for his reflections on artificial intelligence. The winning piece, performed at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday night, covered doomscrolling, loneliness and intellectual atrophy. The Australian Poetry Slam competition is now in its 22nd year. It ran 65 heats in 60 towns and cities across the country to find 16 finalists. As the youth winner, Blake shares a prize package worth $20,000 with Alice Springs poet Bivor, who won the adult category for his poem Politics Is Doing You Continue…Guardian Australia · 26 Oct, 04:43

In this story: Blake Mackenzie · Bivor · Newcastle · Alice Springs · Sydney Opera House · Australian Poetry Slam

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