Gilbert Blechschmid (1986), Klagenfurt It wasn’t until the end of 2017 that he got the taste for entertaining people on stage with humorous, but also critical texts about everyday situations. In 2019 he won the Styrian-Carinthian state championships and was able to establish himself in the scene. Due to his love for comedy, he organized (and moderated) the first comedy slam at the Klagenfurt University in 2020, which is now to take place twice a year. Felix Erlach (2000), Velden The “youngster” in out slam team is studying psychology in Klagenfurt and has “licked blood” with regard to the poetry slam. In 2020 he was named U20 Austrian Slam Vice-Champion, which is certainly due to his ingenious texts. His professionalism will soon make him shine at the Austrian championships, because he has outgrown the U20 Austrian slam anyway. Donia Ibrahim (1999), Villach In 2019, Donia appeared for the first time at a poetry slam and soon won the hearts of the scene and the audience. Donia means “colorful” – and that’s how she is: colorful like the world and small but beautiful. Her penchant for sarcasm is very well taken care of in her law studies. And the poetry slam suits her urge to always add her thoughts. Klaus Lederwasch (1975), Graz is an author, songwriter and two-time Austrian master in poetry slam (2012 single, 2017 team) and Styrian / Carinthian runner-up in 2019. He publishes his texts in numerous literary magazines and anthologies. Performances and projects take him through the entire German-speaking area. He is a curator, workshop leader and moderator of various slams; also chairman of the “1. Grazer Lesebühne ”. His current solo program “Egotrip for two” is performed with Mario Tomic. Tara Meister (1997), St.Veit/Wien The medical student began writing at an early age and published three novels for young people between the ages of 13 and 15, all of which were presented at the Leipzig Book Fair. Since then she has tried out different literary forms and has since written her first play “Höhlenbrüter”, which was premiered in March 2020 by “Wiener Spielwut”. Precious Nnebedum (1999), Graz Born in Nigeria, she has been an integral part of the slam scene Graz for several years. She was Austrian U20 vice-champion twice. Precious writes and slams in English, German and Denglish. In summer 2020 she initiated the # BlacklivesMatter protests in Graz and since then has been the chairwoman of “TANAKA GRAZ”, an association and safe space for young people of African origin and with a history of migration in general. Exile Literature Prize 2020. Trisha Radda (1989), Graz Lives in Graz, where she is currently finishing her studies. She has been publishing short stories, poems and novellas since she was 15. In 2017 she represented Carinthia for the first time at the Austrian Poetry Slam Championships. Trisha writes a lot and likes to write – and is therefore at the start of almost every slam with a new text! Estha Sackl (1991), Steindorf/Graz Estha is a slam poet, performance artist and educator. Since 2010 she has lived in Graz, where she studied two teaching subjects and is currently working in social education. Born in Carinthia, the highlights of her artistic work include the production of her first own play and the participation in two German-language poetry slam championships. Elif Sahan (1999), Wien was born in Istanbul and grew up in Vienna. Since June 2018 she can be seen on Austria’s poetry slam stages. In April 2019 she became U20 champion in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland. Elif has already performed numerous times across the country and also performed at the Donauinselfest and TEDxVienna, among others. She writes her texts in German and English. Some of them have already been published in various anthologies and literary journals. Mario Tomic (1983), Graz Is responsible for the Graz slam scene and organizes both the U20 work and the large lecture hall slams with around 500 visitors there. So he is organizer, moderator and slammer at the same time. The native Bosnian came to Graz via Germany in 2004 and has stayed here. When he is not working on slam texts, his attention is devoted to painting and drawing. Moderation: Lukas Hofbauer (1996), Klagenfurt/Graz After graduating from high school, Lukas moved to Graz, where he is now part of the core team of the slam scene. In addition to his own successful appearances, he has also taken on numerous organizational tasks and is diligently active in scene and youth work. In Carinthia, he mainly took on the role of moderator, which he does more than great.
