12th Annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival
Youth Speaks Inc., the nation’s leading spoken word organization, is proud to present, in partnership with Columbia College of Chicago & Young Chicago Authors, the 12th annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival.
Convening the top young poets and spoken word artists, aged 13-19, from across the United States and beyond, Brave New Voices is a one-of-a-kind festival that truly engages everyone involved; from the participants, to the adult mentors and the audience members. Each year, Brave New Voices is held in a different city, highlighting the changing demographics of the country and a new poetic and politic for the 21st Century. For the second time, the six-day festival will be held in Chicago.
Brave New Voices 2009 features over 500 Teen Poetry Slam Champions from 45 parts of the country and 5 additional cities from across the globe, representing over 50,000 young poets in their local communities. These young writers are a diverse, creative, intelligent group of trendsetting community and cultural leaders. They come to Brave New Voices each year not only to compete, but to attend world-class workshops led by renowned poets and writers, participate in youth development programs, and highlight the voices of a new generation of leadership.
Following the April airing of the HBO special Brave New Voices – which filmed youth from across the country as they prepared for, and participated in, Brave New Voices 2008 in Washington DC – the festival in Chicago will be the largest, most high-visible Brave New Voices yet.
The 5-day festival features 25 events across Chicago, from July 14-19, in community-based theaters, major performance venues, public spaces and college campuses. Brave New Voices 2008 Washington DC took place in venues that included the Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institute, and The Lincoln Theater, the Capitol Building, George Washington University, and Lafayette Park.
Thank You
The 2009 Brave New Voices Festival is made possible through the generous support of the Ford Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, The Doris Duke Charitable Fund, the Common Ground Foundation, US Green Building Council, The Redford Center, The National Endowment for the Arts, an Anonymous Fund, and by individuals who believe in the power of the word when its in the hands of young people.
About Youth Speaks
Founded in 1996, Youth Speaks is the leading nonprofit presenter of Spoken Word performance, education, and youth development programs in the country.
Presenters of local and national youth poetry slams, festivals, reading series, and more, Youth Speaks also offers a comprehensive slate of literary arts education programs during the school day and after school, and provides numerous publication and youth development programs. All told, Youth Speaks works with 45,000 teens per year in the Bay Area alone, and has created partner programs in 47 cities across the United States. Youth Speaks Inc. is a multi-faceted organization that understands and believes that the power, insight, creativity, and passion of young people can change the world.
For further information about Youth Speaks, visit www.youthspeaks.org.