Smith's Poetry Jam is an open format poetry writing and performance gig.

Featuring founder of the Watsonian Poets and the Poetry In Motion’s Poetry Train, Fiona McIlroy boards the Smith’s engine cabin to be interviewed about the up and coming Poet’s Train bringing poets from Canberra to Sydney.

Fiona has published a poetry collection Taste of a Poem 2009 GInninderra Press, and been published in many anthologies. Fiona  convened Watson Poets in 2009, still meeting every Wednesday 3-5 at Cherryripe. She also convened and has organized biennially Poetry in Motion Poets Train since 2010.

Book your seat (email fionamcilroy@bigpond.com) on the Poets Train 2016, now running Friday 2 September Canberra to Sydney 11.53am. This event includes a dinner and reading in Sydney on Saturday 3 September, and a competition for poems composed on the train, with prizes of free travel from NSWTrainlink.

The Poetry Jam starts with an open mic, poets and readers can charge their creative batteries before the three rounds of 'Immediate Writing' where guests are given ten minutes, pens, paper and a spark word before being invited on stage to share their poetry.

The second round is the Smiths Fortnightly 100 Character Micropoem round, where the loudest cheer elects the new poem to reign as the Smith's Fortnightly 100 Character Micropoem. 

The democratically elected poem is placed on the till receipt at Smith's, so that during the fortnight any purchase is accompanied with the winning purchase.