Austria’s Spoken Word Scene, or My Home Sweet Home

1
Where are you from?
Vienna
Well yes, but where are you really from?
Vienna
Verlängte and "Oida, oida"
"Küss die Hand" and "In a Krautfassl ghörst damitsd' weißt was sauer ist",
the Gürtel the Ring and Häupl,
Vienna's last emperor
that's where I grew up
Bright and brighter -
A echta Wiener geht ned unter

2
A bar,
or maybe more of a pub
that was never quiet
where conversations never go too deep
the two of us
armed to the teeth with small-talk
"What's your name? What do you do?
You're into Hiphop? 'Sup?"
We don't know each other, but we're trying to change that
We complain about tuition and the over-use of euphemisms
We are both students
Beer-drinkers
Pub-revolutionaries
Ready for conversation on this evening of exchange of information
and maybe more
And then you ask "So where are you from?"
"Vienna"
And you stare at me in disbelieve
"Well yes, but where are you really from?"
I come from the womb of a woman
that traveled a lot
I come from a home
where we had international food
I come from Vienna
Though that might not mean much to you
I come from Vienna
Though I can't really afford to say that in my German accent
You think I haven't underst ood what you meant
You want something else
You want to draw borders, you want to end up in one country and give that country a name
I know that - but I can't answer that
So you ask "Alright, but where are your parents from?"
Right
That place is farther from Vienna but I still just want to tell you
"I've never learnt the dialect,
but I can carry three Melange and be unfriendly at the same time"
But that's not enough for you
So I say "Tunisia and Germany"
Like a mantra that I've said again and again
"Tunisia and Germany Tunisia and Germany"
but I've never lived there
And I kno w what would come next, because I've seen it so many times before
"Oh, well I've been to Germany too, and I was on holiday in Tunisia once"
And then, of course, you ask if I've ever lived there
No, I've never lived there.
But I have my own story about these countries, so that really doesn't connect us in any way!
But let me show you
esmi Yasmin, ana Tunisia, kelimni bil arab!
You were on holiday
and that's fine
But not with my family, not under Tunisian law
You know a different side of the country than I
But that's why you asked
That's what you wanted to know
You wanted to draw borders on your mind-map around a continent, a state
And Germany, that's not really impressive, we've all been there.
You only ask where we're from if there's a possibility of something exotic
I took the originality out of your questions
And you turn away, disappointed

3
Origins always need explaining
Make sure you explain everything, so that someone will come to you
Who is from where? Where do you[?] come from but do you know where you[?] are going?
I leave to arrive some place but never really get anywhere
because home is something that I can only define in movement
Please don't get me wrong
home is important
but so is a future
not just what was
If I go to you
I am coming from somewhere
But I can never stop moving
So where are you from?
And you forget where you're going
So I keep saying the mantra
"Tunisia and Germany
Tunisia and Germany
Tunisia and Ger-"
I am from Vienna
I've spent all my life here
I speak with a German accent because that's how my mother taught me
I know how to make Couscous properly and I never get a sunburn
I am from Vienna - straight outta Josefstadt
Accent or appearance cannot lead you to find out where someone's from
There is a difference between origins and inheritance
And all too often this difference leads to judgment
And all that follows is a neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever ending explanation
"Well you know, my mother was born in Germany and traveled a lot and then met my father in Tunisia ..."
"Well you know, my father grew up in Tunisia and met my mother in his mid-20s ..."

I have more than one home and I don't want to choose
I don't like to draw lines
Because someone will always be on the other side
And that hurts
I am from Vienna and like to travel a lot
From A to B all through the alphabet
I come from one place
And go to another
And whatever's between them will tell you that I am from Vienna

"Wo kommst du her?"

Translated from the German by Yasmin Hafedh

***

Austria's Spoken Word scene today is one of the most diverse, wholesome and beautiful places that I know of. For me, everything started in 2007; going to poetry slams first, then performing in literary settings or just generally going to readings. As a young girl, 16 years of age, I was performing at every poetry slam I could find, and there weren't that many at the time.

The Austrian poetry slam scene has been active for about 25 to 30 years and has developed into a vibrant and diverse community. Two key figures in this evolution are Mieze Medusa and Markus Köhle, who played a major role in building and shaping the scene. Markus Köhle founded the country's oldest poetry slam in Innsbruck, while Mieze Medusa did the same in Vienna.

In the early years, they were the sole organizers in the Austrian scene, hosting slams across the entire country. Over time, their efforts helped establish a nationwide network of poetry slams, many of which were later taken over by local organizers.

Mieze and Markus have always emphasized respectful treatment of poets, diverse lineups, and inclusivity, which has led to a strongly feminist and respectful culture within the Austrian slam community. Linguistically, Austrian slams are rich and varied—ranging from sound poetry to rap to short stories—anything goes as long as there's a microphone. Today, poetry slams are held all over Austria, featuring people of all ages and backgrounds. The scene has become a welcoming, creative home for many — a true cultural space where everyone has a voice.

The Austrian poetry slam scene was founded with a broad and inclusive spirit, and it remains so today. This openness allowed me to succeed in poetry slam. Spoken word and slam poetry have, in many ways, changed my life. I come from a working-class family with a migration background, and from a classist perspective, it would not have been expected that I would become a successful poet able to make a living from my art.

Within the Austrian slam scene, there are several success stories of children of immigrants—as is the case of Elif Duygu, who became the Austrian slam champion and gained recognition throughout the German-speaking world. One long-standing event series in the Austrian slam scene is the Textstrom Poetry Slam, founded by Mieze Medusa. Today, it is hosted at the Brunnenpassage, a cultural venue that focuses on people with migration backgrounds and offers various workshops, performances, and artistic opportunities. For several years now, I have been a part of the organizing team. To underscore the spirit of inclusivity, at our slam in the Brunnenpassage, there's an extra point awarded for texts that include multilingual elements. The Austrian slam scene has long embraced linguistic diversity—dialects, accents, and different languages are welcomed and seen as enriching creative expression rather than limiting it. The boundaries are fluid, and while racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination still exist in society, the Austrian spoken word scene stands as a strong example of how things can be done differently through the power of the spoken word. Multilingualism is generally a major topic in Austria. For example, in the south, the region of Carinthia has strong Slovenian influences, while in the east, Burgenland shows Croatian elements in its language. Across the country, with its federal states, towns, and regional identities, there are countless dialects and varieties of speech. In the far west, Vorarlberg has retained its affinity to Swiss German. In Tyrol, there are distinctive pronunciations of letters such as R or K.

Austria is rich in linguistic influences and dialects, a diversity that can likely be traced back to the Habsburg Monarchy, a multi-ethnic empire with various languages of communication. These influences are still audible today, making the Austrian spoken word scene particularly fascinating, as it allows artists to engage with linguistic diversity creatively. Dialects and vernaculars, being forms of oral expression, help to situate and connect performances to specific places and identities in Austria. There are even exclusive poetry slams that focus entirely on performing in dialect. Moreover, performing the same text in different regions—for instance, in Vienna, Salzburg, Carinthia, or Vorarlberg—leads to different receptions. This change occurs not only due to differences in language or pronunciation, but also because humor, emotion, and audience reactions vary regionally. For spoken word artists, this diversity of responses is particularly exciting, since spoken word, unlike a printed book, is not read silently; it lives from direct interaction with a live audience that provides immediate feedback.

A significant advantage of engaging in spoken word in Austria is the ease of travel around the country, which enables poets to perform in different places, and attend various events. Austria isn't particularly large; the longest distance, from Vienna to Vorarlberg, takes about eight hours by train. Everything else can be reached much faster, even when traveling from north to south.

As mentioned before, there is also a great deal of solidarity and networking within the Austrian slam scene because the slam community has always understood itself as a subculture—and in some ways is still treated as such, even though it has already established itself within major cultural institutions. For example, the final of the German-language Poetry Slam Championships in 2022 took place at the Vienna Burgtheater, which is one of the largest and most prestigious theater institutions in the German-speaking world. Since the members of the scene are so well connected and in community with one another, practitioners help each other out with gigs and performance opportunities. In practice, this means that when someone knows there's a tour being planned, we coordinate and say, "Hey, you could take these four dates, and I'd like to invite you." Or, if someone in Austria is asked to perform but can't make it, they'll politely decline and immediately recommend two to five fellow spoken word poets who might be available. This spirit of mutual support partly arises out of Austria being, as has been mentioned, a small country, implying that the scene is manageable, and after one or two years of involvement, most people already know each other. Additionally, it is aided by the understanding that if we want to survive and grow as a scene, we can only do so through solidarity.

It is very common in the Austrian slam scene to begin as a poet performing at slams and soon get involved in organizing itself: running events, hosting shows, or contributing in other ways. A hobby photographer might start taking press photos for slams, a community member with graphic design skills might create logos or posters for events. It is all very grassroots. People quickly get involved and start offering their skills, services, labor. Some discover they prefer hosting to writing poetry, so they become MCs. Others find that after a while in the poetry slam scene, they want to move towards print literature—and they do so. The Austrian slam and spoken word scene has produced many of the significant names active in the cultural sector today. Almost everyone who now plays an important role in Austria's cultural landscape—whether in theater, music, or literature—started with poetry slams. Even in the cabaret scenes, many now-well-known figures once performed at slams. Of course, there are a few who explore slam for a while and realize it is not their cup of tea, which is indeed perfectly fine. But if you look at the number of successful artists in Austria who began their careers with poetry slams, you can say that the success rate is quite high.

The potential within the Austrian spoken word scene is promising since it allows poets to experiment with their craft. You can with sound poetry, practice rapping, or simply test new ideas. The stage is open and accessible to everyone—and this inclusivity is essential , especially because the wider cultural industry tends to gatekeep. Once you enter that professional sphere, agencies may tell you where you can and cannot perform. If you're a musician, a label might dictate your venues. You might be tangled with a management that says, "No, we won't publish that," or a literary agent who tells you how to position your next book. These professional strategies are important if you want to engage with the broader cultural sector and increase your reach, but to get there, you first need a playground: an open stage where you can experiment and find your artistic voice. On stage, you also get to know yourself better. Through direct exchange with the audience and the immediacy of the spoken word, you learn a lot about yourself and your abilities. There's really nothing more direct than spoken word, and every spoken word artist who takes the stage knows that.

I am now a musician, theater director, and author. I would consider myself a recognized poet in the country I live in. And yet, I still love going on stage as a spoken word poet—it keeps me fresh and connected. Additionally, I am always curious to hear what the fresh, new voices have to say. Every few years, someone truly reinvents the wheel, and you see performances by young poets that make you think: "Wow, how incredible is that?" You find young people reinventing rhythm and poetry, bringing in fresh ideas by integrating new pop cultural references as pop culture reinvents itself all the time. They find new ways of interpreting the musicality of spoken word as well as new ways to communicate within the ever-changing landscape of digital culture.

In my experience of working in other cultural fields in Austria—whether it be music or theater—I have not encountered a scene as supportive and genuinely interested in building every practitioner up as the spoken word community. That's why the spoken word and poetry slam scene in Austria will always be my home: a space without competition, where everyone uplifts one another, where the scene itself is bigger than any one person. It's a place where we all know that in our diversity—in our differences, in our languages—we can create something powerful together on stage, in an environment which treats every individual with respect, which does not allow homophobia, racism, sexism, or xenophobia, and where everyone works together—if not for a better world, then at least for a better scene.

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Yasmin Hafedh a.k.a. Yasmo, born in Vienna in 1990, is an Austrian stage poet, author and rapper. She studied theatre, film and media studies at the University of Vienna.
Yasmin Hafedh has been writing since probably forever. She has been a columnist for the literary magazine "& Radieschen" since 2007 and also worked as a columnist for the feminist magazine "an.schläge" with "Bonustrack" in 2013. She also publishes in literary anthologies and magazines.
Hafedh is a successful slam poet, spoken word artist and rapper and as such has performed on numerous international stages, taken part in poetry slams, led writing workshops at universities and German institutes and played solo shows.
In 2009, she was the first Austrian woman to win the championship title in the U20 category at the German-language Poetry Slam Championship in Düsseldorf, and in 2013 she became the first woman to win the title of Austrian champion.