Proof of Maturity - Nowa Huta Poetic Slam and Poetic and Musical Performances

What does it really mean to be an adult? Where does growing up end and responsibility for one's own choices begins? And what happens along the way — between what others expect of us and who we want to become?

During the 16th edition of Poetry Night, we look at adulthood not as a ready-made state, but as an experience full of tensions, decisions, fears, relationships and attempts to find one's place in the world. Poetry and literature become a way of talking about what is personal but at the same time common: about maturation, identity, responsibility, rebellion, alienation and the boundaries we try to cross.

In the evening we will move into the space of spoken and performative poetry. The Novohuta poetry slam will be an opportunity to face the darker sides of adulthood: guilt, responsibility, fear, mystery, alienation and difficult choices. Personal experiences can meet here with fiction, black humor and literary creation. The result of the slam will be decided by the audience.

After the slam part, we will see two different but equally expressive looks at contemporary poetry.

Opal Ćwikła, poet, slamer and multidisciplinary artist, will present her “poetic drag”, combining word, performance and stage creation. It is a story of identity, otherness and the experience of growing up, escaping one form and one definition.

Then Zofia Konicka, Poland's runner-up in the Poetry Slam 2025, will perform with a poetic-musical performance “8—18", prepared jointly with Oliver Górecki and Kacpres Cempa. Her socially engaged lyrics will meet live music, creating a story of modernity, rebellion and the search for one's own place.

“City for adults” is the meeting of literature with the city, personal experience with fiction, the written word with a living voice and a scene. It is also a question of whether adulthood really means maturity?

We recall the general rules of the slam performance:

3 minutes per performance (1st and 2nd round), 5 minutes in the final round
Own text (min. 3 lines)
No background music, props, costumes
Reading from a card or electronic devices is allowed
Freedom of speech
Prize: 1000 zł gross. The traditionally assembled audience will vote for their favorite.

IMPORTANT! The condition for participation in the Slam is to submit an application containing: name, surname, telephone number and (optionally) artistic pseudonym. The application must be sent to the e-mail address: u.tlomak@okn.edu.pl by October 10, 2026 by 15.00.

Slam leader and performers:

Rudka Zydel — poet and performer, first Polish champion and two-time runner-up in the Poetic Slam, finalist of the European Poetic Slam Championships in Brussels. She has been performing in Poland and abroad for years and runs slam poetry workshops for young people and adults.

Opal Ćwikła — poet, slamer and multidisciplinary artist, winner of the Wrocław Silesius Poetry Prize. Lublin's champion in poetry slam and propagator of poetic drag. It combines performance poetry with queer culture, pop aesthetics and the experience of growing up.

Zofia Konicka — poet, slamer and performer, Polish vice-champion in poetry slam (2025). Her work focuses on social themes and experiences of the younger generation — adolescence, mobility and interpersonal relationships. It combines spoken poetry and performance with elements of circus art.

Meeting designed for adults.
Events as part of the 16th Poetry Night are free.
Applications for participation in the Slam and participation in the workshops require registration to the e-mail address: nhlab@okn.edu.pl.
Registration for the slam lasts until: 10 X 2026, until 15.00
Admission to the event is free.
The rules of participation in the slam are below.

If you have additional needs that we should know about so that you can comfortably, safely and fully participate in the event, please let us know about them when you register by email.

During the event, content may appear that contains profanity, references to violence, corporeality, etc.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

REGULATIONS slam City For Adults 16 night of poetry docx11 kB