If you love poetry, storytelling or just the beauty of the spoken word, The Establishment Bar is the place to be on the last Wednesday night of the month when the Speakeasy Poetry Collective gather for their “open mic” poetry night.

Local creatives have been meeting regularly in Dubbo to share their poetry since the first poetry night took place in late 2024, group founder and spokesperson Sadiya Shiraj said.

“We started to see this organic collective [of creatives] develop, just regular people who liked writing poetry,” Sadiya, who is 24, explained.

“We thought about giving it a name and instead of ‘Poetry Night at The Establishment Bar’, it’s now the ‘Speakeasy Poetry Night’,” she added.

The group then formally adopted the moniker “Speakeasy Poetry Collective” to describe themselves.

The Establishment Bar, Dubbo’s own retro-style replica of the old “speakeasy” venues that used to run sly grog during times of alcohol prohibition – a stone’s throw from the Old Dubbo Gaol on Macquarie St – supported the project by providing a safe, comfortable platform for creatives to perform.

“I was inspired by walking into The Establishment Bar for the first time and seeing how beautiful a space it was,” Sadiya added.

“I was like, oh, here is a space that you know poetry deserves to be.”

Booths, comfy chairs and soft lighting provide the perfect vibe for creatives to share their work with others while enjoying a drink or cocktail.

The monthly open mic night allows people to nominate to recite their poetry on the bar’s small stage to an appreciative audience that is growing as word of the event spreads.

There’s no right or wrong way to present your work on stage, Sadiya said; some have memorised their poems while others read from pages or devices.

“Most read their poems from their phones, or if they have it written down,” Sadiya explained.

“One of our regulars, Sabrina, does it from memory. As people get more practiced in their in their craft of writing, they may focus more on the performance element, like another regular, Scotty Mac.”

“Scotty Mac” is Scott McDonald, who recently wrote and performed a poem at the Dubbo DreamCon festival last month, inspired by an artwork on display there.

“I'm really proud of what we’ve built for poetry here now,” Sadiya added.

“Artists, creatives – especially these days with lack of funding, cost of living, etc – we lack the spaces to test our ideas, to have an audience,” she added.

“The creative process takes time to develop, and every artist, every creative needs feedback, needs supporters, needs an audience to develop.

“We're this middle ground for artists right here in Dubbo,” Sadiya concluded.

For further details about the monthly poetry nights, see the Speakeasy Poetry Collective entry under WEDNESDAY in the Dubbo Photo News Community Diary. You can also follow them on Instagram at @speakeasypoets.