The 2024 Detroit Youth Poetry Slam is a competitive Spoken Word event where 10 - 15 teens will participate in 2 rounds of performance poetry scored by 3 hand-chosen judges.
On-stage rules can be found below. Registration is open from March 18th - April 30th 2024.
Registration is first come first serve. When slots are full, registration will close.
The top 5 scoring poets will each win $50 Amazon gift cards AND Audition for a position on the 2024 Detroit Youth Performance Troupe - a program focused on developing writer's performance skills and gaining paid public-performance opportunities.
The Poetry Slam will take place on
May 2nd at 5:30pm at the Museum of Contemporary Arts Detroit (4454 Woodward). Competing students MUST arrive no later than 4:45pm. The event will conclude at 7:30pm. You MUST be a registered and active Citywide Poet to participate (
register at bit.ly/cwpregistration). You must be in grades 8 - 11 to participate.
High School Seniors cannot compete.
This registration form requires you to write 5 - 7 lines of poetry in response to the provided prompt (found in question #8). Your writing will be judged by program mentor LaShaun Phoenix Moore based on creativity, poetic tools, and relevance to the prompt. The lowest score is a 1, and the highest score is a 3. The score given to your writing will be added to your second round slam score. If you do not make it to the second round, your writing score will NOT be added.
On Stage Rules:
- This is a 2 round slam. You should have 2 different poems prepared. 15 students will all perform in Round 1. Only the top 8 scoring poets from Round 1 will advance to Round 2. The top 5 scoring poets after Round 2 AND the addition of the writing scores will be the winners.
- Reading from a phone, notebook, or paper IS ALLOWED. Memorization is encouraged but not mandatory.
- All poetry performed on stage must be original work
- All poems must be 3mins & 30 seconds OR LESS in length. There is no minimum time.
- Props (for example, holding a cup on stage during a poem about cups or drinking) are NOT allowed.
Reach out to Justin at justin@insideoutdetroit.org for questions
