All across the nation, young people are picking up the pen and stepping up to the microphone using spoken word poetry. Teens With a Purpose is pleased to enter its tenth year of collaboration with Youth Speaks Inc. and Brave New Voices, as seen on HBO, as we present to Southeastern Virginia the 2018 Hampton Roads Youth Poetry Competition Season and Festival.

Spoken Word Poetry helps to create a lifelong love of self-expression and literacy. Teens learn how to represent themselves, their experiences, and their ideas, powerfully. The Festival, now in its 10th year, has become a much anticipated experience, a festival of competitive performance poetry that blends written tradition with lyricism, positive music and stage acumen in a way that profoundly affects and entertains youth and audiences of all kinds.  Here young poets fearlessly tell their stories, in their own words to be shared with their generation and the community at-large. They meet teens from different cities and with different background who come together to share their mutual love for the art form – spoken word POETRY.

Youth who are engaged in literary arts are inspired learners.  Teens With a Purpose program helps unlock hidden talent as it lights the fire that ignites a life-long love for learning.

TWP is asking you to encourage those teens that you believe have the interest, a need and or the skills to participate in our 2018 Poetry Festival.  This year the festival will launch at I.C. Norcom High School on Saturday, March 31st, *includes writing and performing workshops.

Hampton Roads Poetry Festival TWP’s HRYP Poetry Competition  is now in its 10th year.  Each year teens come together in this Olympic style competition.  The six finalists qualify to represent all of Hampton Roads at Brave New Voices, the world’s largest youth poetry festival and event.  BNV brings together youth poets from 50 states and countries like South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland and England.  The competition take place this year in Chicago, July 18th – 22nd.  

2018 Hampton Roads Youth Poetry Competition Season and Festival Events:

  • Hear This! Regional Youth Poetry Festival with Workshop – Sat. March 31st 3pm to 7pm at I.C Norcom HS
  • Slover Library, Norfolk, –  Wed. April 3rd 6pm to 8pm  Youth Poet Laureate
  • Zeiders American Dream Theatre, Virginia Beach – Fri. April 13th  6pm to 9pm Middle School Event
  • Chrysler Museum, Norfolk – Sat. April, 21st 12pm to 4pm  Qualifying Slam
  • Downing-Gross Cultural Art Center, Newport News – Sat. April 28th, 4pm to 7pm  Finals

Please feel free to contact us with any other questions you may have.  Thank you in advance for your support of the 2018 Hampton Roads Youth Poetry Competition Season and Festival.  This is truly an exciting opportunity for the young people of Hampton Roads.

Poets Register Here

 

Eventbrite - 2018 Slam Fest