Greetings,

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 ninth year of collaboration with Youth Speaks Inc. and Brave New Voices, as seen on HBO, as we present to Southeastern Virginia the 2017 Hampton Roads Youth Poetry Slam Season and Festival.  Spoken Word Poetry and creates a lifelong love of self-expression and literacy. Students learn how to represent themselves, their experiences, and their ideas, powerfully.

The Festival has become a modern tradition, 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.

As an educator, you know that youth 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 students that you believe have the interest, a need and or the skills to participate in our 2017 Slam festival.  This year the festival’s launch at Chrysler Museum of Art on Saturday, April 8th, *includes writing and performing workshops.

Hampton Roads Poetry Festival TWP’s HRYP Slam Fest is now in its 9th year.  Each year teens come together in this Olympic style completion.  The six finalist will represent all of Hampton Roads at Brave New Voices, the world’s largest youth poetry festival and event.  BNV bring together youth poets from 50 states and countries like South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland and England.  The competitions take place this year at:

2017 Hampton Roads Youth Poetry Festival –

  • Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk – Sat. April 8th 1pm – 5pm  Preliminaries*
  • Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center. Newport News, Sat. April 15th 4pm – 7pm Semi-Finals
  • Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach – Friday, April, 21st 3:30pm – 5pm Middle School Event
  • Zeiders American Dream Theatre, Virginia Beach, Sun. April 23rd, 4pm – 7pm Finals

Attached are the entry forms for competing poets.   Please feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have.  Thank you in advance for your support of the 2017 Hampton Roads Youth Poetry Slam Season and Festival.  This is truly an exciting opportunity for the young people of Hampton Roads.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL APRIL 4TH

Hear This 2017 Registration Packet