More than just a poetry slam, Louder Than A Bomb is about sharing, listening, and connecting with other young people from a different part of town, or country, or cultural heritage. It’s about using our words to build the world we envision, starting with ourselves, our schools, and our slams.The goal of Louder Than a Bomb (LTAB)-DMV is not solely to promote a culture of literacy, critical thought, self-confidence, and powerful public speaking. It is also to bring together teenage poets from throughout the DC area to connect across lines of region, race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and politics and to listen to, learn from, and bond with one another. Spoken word poetry is the bridge these students use to promote tolerance, understanding, and non-violent conflict resolution. They are making changes in themselves and in their communities.
Between April 22nd and May 13th, teenage poets from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia will come together to participate in friendly slam competition and several city wide workshops. The Grand Slam Finals on Saturday, May 13th will culminate the two-week festival, where one team will be crowned the 2017 LTAB - DMV Champion. To register your youth slam team and learn more, check the Split This Rock Youth Programs website.
The Louder Than a Bomb-DMV Teen Poetry Slam Festival is a program of Split This Rock, with generous support from Busboys and Poets, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities. Part of the global Louder Than a Bomb network, LTAB-DMV is one of many regional LTAB's across the world working with Young Chicago Authors to bring their successful after-school team poetry slam program to teenagers everywhere.
