From 28 February to 5 March – the week left vacant by this year’s cancelled Adelaide Writers’ Week – the local writing community, including authors, booksellers and publishers, will come together with a range of events for readers and writers under a one-off umbrella festival.
Steadfast is an intimate poetry gathering bringing together six Indigenous poets from across local and international contexts for an evening of shared language, strength, and cultural exchange. Presented at The Little Machine Gallery in Rundle Mall, this inaugural event marks the beginning of a growing platform dedicated to Indigenous poetic voices.
Structured through cyclical thematic readings, Steadfast invites poets to move between resonant ideas, strength, survival, memory, land, and futurity, revealing both the shared foundations and distinct differences that shape Indigenous experience across the world. The event emerges from a strength-based position: a celebration of cultural pride, continuity, and the enduring power of story.
With an intentionally limited audience of 30 people, this iteration of Steadfast prioritises intimacy, presence, and deep listening. This scale creates space for meaningful exchange between poets and audience, foregrounding poetry as a living, relational practice.