Friendly Street Poets, Inc (FSP) is Australia’s longest running community open mic, uncensored poetry reading and publishing group.
FSP aspires to:
- A belief in the power and beauty of words;
- Responsible freedom of expression;
- Encouragement of creativity;
- Respect for different opinions;
- Celebration of diversity;
- Community engagement; and
- Co-operative participation.
Started on 11th November 1975 by Andrew Taylor, Richard Tipping and Ian Reid, FSP was Adelaide’s first regular, open-to-all poetry reading. It has since achieved local, national and international recognition for its dedication to the nurturing, support and promotion of poetry. Over the years, FSP has provided a platform for new and emerging poets as well as a venue for more established writers to nurture their artistic growth.
FSP is an Incorporated Association that promotes South Australian poetry through its regular monthly readings and its publications. Its first, and still most important, publication is the annual anthology (also known as ‘The Reader‘), incorporating the best poems from the previous year’s readings. Other publications include the New Poet and Single Poet series.
The secret of FSP’s longevity and success? Perhaps it is that FSP remains true to its original vision: a place where poets of all kinds can come together, and where poetry lives and breathes in its oldest form, the spoken word.
The Federal Box Factory in Regent Street South, Adelaide, was home to Friendly Street Poets from 1977 to 2003. We moved back there in 2017.