Please join us for a special edition of the 9th Hour Poetry SLAM! We will be doing a send-off to our DC Representative for WOWPS Maya Wright!

The Womxn of the World Poetry Slam (WOWPS) is a slam for poets who identify as women. The WOWPS community was uniquely designed to honor and celebrate the stories of women in a world that readily attempts to silence and oppress them. It is a space where we are centered, safe, and encouraged.

WOWPS was introduced to the national slam poetry community in 2008 by Kimberly Simms and Deborah Marsh. The first WOWPS was held in Detroit, Michigan and since that time, the slam has been traveling all across the United States.

WOWPS 2023 is hosted by the

Black Arts District in Baltimore, Maryland

March 27th - April 1st.

Enjoy two rounds of high-intensity poetry, with the audience choosing a winner.

A poetry slam is a competitive event in which poets perform their work and are judged by members of the audience. Typically, the host or another organizer selects the judges, who are instructed to give numerical scores (on a zero to 10 or one to 10 scale) based on the poets' content and performance.

1st Place Winner Takes ALL - $100

The Rules:

• Slammers must arrive 30 minutes prior to the show. We will randomly select the order of the slam through a draw.
• Each poem must be of the poet’s own construction.
• Each poet gets 3 minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem; if the poet goes over, points will be deducted from the total score.
• A poet’s time begins as soon as they say anything on stage or engage the audience in any way.
• The poet may NOT use props, costumes, or musical instruments. This includes the removal of clothing.
• The poem can only be performed by one person.
• Poets ARE allowed to read from paper and electronic devices such as laptops or cell phones. There will be no point penalty assessed unless it’s used as a PROP (as outlined above).
• 6 Competitors will be eliminated after the 1st round

**Partial funds raised for this event will support Busboys and Poets DC Representative for the Women of the World Poetry Slam!**

well-renowned

HOSTED BY: the D.O.P.E - CHARITY BLACKWELL

Charity Blackwell (She/Hers) is a spoken word artist, host, emcee, and poetry specialist who has spent several years contributing to the arts scene in DC and across national platforms. She is a Trinity University graduate, where she received her B.A and M.A, for Communications. She is the Director of Creative Arts and Education at the arts and sports nonprofit DC SCORES and the D.O.P.E (Director of Poetry Events) at the well-renowned DC arts cultural hub, Busboys and Poets. Since her early college days, Charity’s natural stage presence and charm have led her to many hosting opportunities, including events such as the Poetry SLAMS Poetry OUT LOUD National competition, Busboys and Poets, and many more. She has performed her original work on international networks such as BBC News, DC United Audi Field for the game opener, the Woman’s Sports Foundation, Major League Soccer Network, The Lincoln Theater, The Kennedy Center, The Hirshhorn Museum, Dock 5, and numerous stages across Washington D.C. and the east coast.

FEATURING: MAYA WRIGHT

Maya is a poet out of Pittsburgh who has recently relocated to Baltimore to expand her professional and artistic career. She has over 123,000 subscribers on YouTube and continues to grow her fanbase on other social media platforms. Maya began slamming in the summer of 2020, and in April 2021 became one of the top five womxn poets in the world. In January 2022 Maya earned a spot on the most-awarded slam team in the world (Slammageddon). Maya ranked fourth at the Black Art Matters Slam in March 2022. She along with teammates currently hold the title of 2022 Southern Fried Slam Champions. Maya also took second at the Food 4 Thought Slam hosted in Richmond. When she isn’t slamming she has had the pleasure of leading poetry workshops for colleges on “the art of a good flip”. Maya recently released her first poetry book The Street Lights Are On: Poems for my friends called home and is preparing for her second book release in May for her full-length poetry book titled Let’s Just Make it Through the Month.