Italy VS The Rest of Europe – International Poetry Slam

An international poetry slam in the heart of Rome

Italy VS The Rest of Europe – International Poetry Slam is the major performance poetry challenge held at the Teatro Torlonia, in the Nomentano district of Rome, to celebrate World Poetry Day. Conceived and curated by the WOW - Incendi Spontanei collective, active in the capital since 2018 in promoting oral poetry, spoken word, and poetry slams, the event brings a verse competition to the stage where Italy measures itself against the rest of Europe.

How the challenge works

A poetry slam is a performance in the form of a competition: poets take the stage one by one and recite their own texts without sets or music, relying solely on the power of the word and stage presence. Unlike a traditional reading, it is not a jury of experts that decides, but the audience itself, which participates by voting on the performances and determining who advances and who claims the final victory. It is a participatory and direct formula that brings contemporary poetry closer to a broad and diverse audience.

Five nations, one language: poetry

Artists from five European nations take the stage at the Teatro Torlonia: Italy, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Each poet recites their verses in their national language, while translations are projected in Italian and English, ensuring that every nuance remains accessible to the entire audience in the hall. The result is a multilingual evening where different sounds, rhythms, and imagery intertwine, showing how performance poetry is a common language capable of transcending borders.

World Poetry Week

The challenge is the heart of World Poetry Week, a week of events dedicated to contemporary poetry that WOW - Incendi Spontanei organizes in Rome with the support of Municipality II of Rome Capital and the collaboration of the Teatro di Roma Foundation, local entities, and foreign cultural institutes and embassies. The week's program weaves together poetry shows, poetry slams, concerts, performances, and meetings with city schools, making Rome an international crossroads for the poetic word.

The Teatro Torlonia and the Nomentano district

The festival takes place at the Teatro Torlonia, an intimate stage space within the Villa Torlonia complex in the Nomentano district, just a short distance from the center of Rome. The intimate size of the hall amplifies the direct relationship between poets and spectators, an element that makes every edition of the slam an engaging experience. The event is firmly established in the rich cultural calendar of the city of Rome, in the Lazio region, and confirms the vitality of the Italian spoken-word scene.