Fusing poetry with hip hop, Darkwing Dubs (aka Scott Sneddon) is no stranger to experimentation. After expanding his repertoire, the slam poet will perform at this year's Queensland Poetry Festival.

While the Brisbane-based wordsmith is a veteran in the world of slam poetry, Sneddon will combine elements of theatre alongside his no-holds-barred rhymes at this year's festival. “My growth has come from doing a bit of physical theatre and my hip hop background,” explains Sneddon. “With that slam aesthetic, I think its made it dynamic and interesting — especially with performance in terms of movement and the way you use voice.”

However Sneddon's onstage theatrics do not end with a handful of movements and visuals thrown into the mix. The slam poet's performances are unique in the way he interacts with his audience.

“That's really important for me to get straight away; to break that fourth wall and get into the audiences lap so to speak,” says Sneddon. “I think that's one thing that's great about slam, that it's about watching someone on stage, but it's mainly about a big group of people being together all in one room and appreciating what you can do with words.”

Sneddon has performed at the Queensland Poetry Festival four the last four years, so what is it that attracts the slam poet to event? “I like it because it is a poetry festival for one, so the audience that is coming is coming to see poetry. You don't have to worry about introducing people to what you're doing. “It's a little bit like the Nimbin Poetry World Cup in that it's just a big melting pot of poets from everywhere,” says Sneddon. “You get to see stuff you normally wouldn't see or hear anywhere else.”

Darkwing Dubs performs 'Evening Draws Back The Sun' and hosts 'Step Into The Air And Speak' at the Queensland Poetry Festival on August 26.