Washington, DC – The nation’s capital is home to both the youth and adult reigning national poetry slam champion teams from 2014. The Beltway Poetry Slam Team won the National Poetry Slam and the DC Youth Slam Team won the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival. With the two highest ranking poetry slam teams in the nation working in local after-school programs through nonprofits Split This Rock and poetryN.O.W., the national capital area is about to explode with poetry in the 4th annual Louder Than a Bomb DMV Teen Poetry Slam Festival (LTAB) April 18 – May 2, 2015.
A special delegation of South African poets that the DC Youth Slam Team met in 2013 in the City of Tshwane are making their first trip to the United States to teach classes, facilitate workshops, host slams, and perform at LTAB. Their visit to DC is through a Sister Cities International Arts Grant from the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities. LTAB kicks off with “Crossing The Street†on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at the historic Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, 101 N St, NW at noon. The Festival brings together over 25 high school poetry slam teams for two weeks of poetry workshops, open mics, MC competitions, film screenings, discussions, and a slam tournament, culminating with the Grand Slam Finals Saturday, May 2, 2015 at the University of the District of Columbia Theatre of the Arts, 4200 Connecticut Ave, NW featuring award-winning poet Danez Smith.Over 200 student poets participated in the regional festival and competition last year, with Cesar Chavez Public Charter School winning the 2014 championship. Woodrow Wilson Senior High School in Washington, DC won the competition in both 2012 and 2013. Each school club brings a team of 4-6 students to perform their own original individual and group poems in multiple rounds of poetry slam. Registration for local high school teams is open now until April 1, 2015.Teams may register online at this link: http://poetrynowva.com/ltab-dmv-2015-1
The goal of LTAB-DMV is not solely to promote a culture of literacy, critical thought, self-confidence, and powerful public speaking, but also to purposefully bring students together across dividing lines like region, race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, and politics, to listen to, learn from, and bond with one another. There is vast inequality in the DC area. These students are speaking up about that, sharing their experiences, and speaking out on many other important issues. They deserve to be heard.
