NYC Votes! presents the 2013 New York City Youth Poet Laureate Voter Poet Slam Finals on Saturday, November 10. The 2013 Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) will be selected at the Final Slam. Join us for this free and fun event!
Event: 2013 New York City Youth Poet Laureate Voter Poet Slam Finals
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the Langston Hughes Auditorium, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037
Time: 7 PM to 9 PM
The Voter Slam will also celebrate the 2012 Youth Poet Laureate, Ishmael "Ish" Islam and the publication of his first collection of poetry, Meet at Greene.
The YPL Program is a voting-themed teen competition designed to energize youth voters through spoken word poetry. The program sponsors workshops for participants, ages 16-19, to hone their writing skills and learn about voting and community leadership.
The Youth Poet Laureate will appear throughout the five boroughs to perform, speak about the importance of voter participation, and conduct voter drives. The winner's poetry will also be published. The remaining finalists will serve as Youth Poet Ambassadors and work with the winner to represent the NYC Votes! in their outreach to potential youth voters throughout the city.
“The 2013 Youth Poet Laureate will have the important and exciting task of mobilizing New Yorkers to be engaged in the 2013 citywide elections. We can't wait to work with these talented youths to help promote the importance of voting in next year's election,” said Onida Coward Mayers, Director of Voter Assistance at the Campaign Finance Board.
Michael Cirelli, Executive Director of Urban Word NYC said, “In such an historic election year, the diverse voices of our city’s young leaders are even more important than ever, as we mobilize to get the good work done. This being the fourth year of the program, our poets are not only incredible writers and performers, but they also have dialed in their powerful commitments to their communities as active, civically engaged citizens. We’re excited to watch these poet ambassadors continue to be role models for change across the city.”
The YPL Program is a partnership between Urban Word NYC and the NYC Votes. Urban Word NYC presents literary arts education and youth development programs in the areas of creative writing, journalism, college prep, literature, and hip-hop. It provides writing workshops to teens year-round and hosts the Annual Teen Poetry Slam.
NYC Votes! is the non-partisan voter engagement campaign of the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) and its Voter Assistance Advisory Committee (VAAC). In addition to promoting voter registration, participation, and civic engagement in New York City through its many programs and partnerships, NYC Votes! sponsors the city’s official Debate Program and produces the citywide Voter Guide.