Ayşe İrem, Turkish-German Poet, Wins German Poetry Slam Championship

WISE NEWS PRESS / CHEMNITZ, GERMANY — Nov. 11, 2025

Ayşe İrem, a young poet of Turkish descent, won first place at the German-language Poetry Slam championship held in Chemnitz, Germany, for her powerful performance addressing racism and identity.

Ayşe İrem, who participated in the competition from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, received loud applause from the audience for her performance on stage, which tackled racism and discrimination. In the finals, watched by approximately 1,800 people, İrem surpassed 80 competitors to win this year’s "German Poetry Slam Champion" title.

İrem competed representing "I,Slam," a poetry collective composed of Muslim poets in Germany. Speaking to the German Press Agency (dpa) after the competition, İrem stated, "It is very important for me to talk about these serious issues. If no one is talking, I will speak."

İrem, who is of Turkish descent and Muslim, expressed particular joy in winning the championship in Chemnitz, one of the cities known for high levels of far-right violence. "I met wonderful people here and enjoyed it very much. There are bad people and good people everywhere. The important thing is for society to stand together," she said.

The architecture student spoke on stage about the courage of her grandparents who immigrated to Germany, the periods when children of immigrants were forbidden to speak Turkish during recess, and immigrants who struggled to find jobs or rented homes due to their names. İrem also recalled the racist attacks in Mölln, Solingen, and Hanau, and the refugee Oury Jalloh, who died in custody in Dessau, and criticized law enforcement agencies.

What is Poetry Slam?

Chemnitz, the designated European Capital of Culture 2025, became the meeting point for poets and writers from German-speaking countries for four days. The competition was held in individual and team categories. In the team final, the Berlin duo "Wortwin & Slamson" won the team championship for the third time, thanks to their linguistic creativity, rhythmic synchronization, and stage energy.

First held in Chicago, USA, in 1986, the poetry slam is a competition format where amateur poets perform their poems live on stage. The event quickly gained popularity across the US, usually taking place in small cafes or nightclubs. The poetry slam culture spread to Germany in the mid-1990s and, with over 2,000 performers today, constitutes the world's second-largest community of young poets after the USA.

In poetry slam competitions, poets recite their poems in front of a live audience. The texts can contain political, humorous, emotional, or personal themes. Contestants are given a maximum of six minutes; while props like costumes or set decorations are prohibited, gestures, facial expressions, and rap-style narration are allowed.

This year's 29th competition featured contestants who write German poetry from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg. Julius Althoetmar from Bavaria took second place in the individual category, and Lia Hartl from Austria took third.

The German Poetry Slam championship will be held in Hanover next year in September.

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