From pen to paper to stage, the 14th annual Southeastern Regional NC Poetry Slam is back. On Saturday, Sept. 26, thirteen poets will battle it out in 3 rounds for a $1500 cash prize at The Capitol Encore Academy, located at 126 Hay St. Doors open at 7:15 p.m., and the slam gets underway at 8 p.m.
Poetry slams are a fun and exciting experience. Unlike the traditional open mics and poetry showcases, slams are the ultimate test for poets and their work. Going round for round, word for word, each poet performs their best for the judges to see who can call themselves the champion. SRNC Poetry Slam has three rounds; each poet performs a piece, and judges score on a scale of 0.0-10.0. At the end of the rounds, the scores are added together, and the poet with the highest score is crowned the winner. While the judges score stand, if the crowd is unhappy with the score, they are encouraged to verbally show their disappointment in the judge (a nice booo). As always, the identities of the judges are kept secret from the participating poets until event night, not only building the excitement of the night but keeping the slam fair from any hometown biases.
Battling it out this year for the top prize are linguistically talented individuals from North and South Carolina, Michigan, Florida, and Virginia.
Law Bullock, Fayetteville, NC
Bryan Beechaum, Richmond, VA
Marley Quinn, Greensboro, NC
Ul Obasaki, Detroit, MI
Maze, Orlando, FL
Devon Taylor, Charlotte, NC
Shay Black, Greenville, SC
Azar King, Greenville, SC
Daniel Garwood, Detroit, MI
Laraya, Williamsburg, VA
RJMC, Detroit, MI
Sara Fox, Charlotte, NC
Sahn, Greenville, SC
Hosting this year’s slam is Jacksonville, Florida-based multi-talented poet and artist, Moses West.
“Known for blending poetry, hip-hop, and storytelling, Moses has been a longtime voice in Jacksonville’s open-mic and performance scene and is a poetry slam champion. His work reflects Jacksonville’s culture, community, and the power of creative expression.”
At the heart of the SRNC Poetry Slam is the equally talented LeJuane Bowens. Bowens founded the slam 14 years ago and has grown it into the experience it is today, with more to come.
“Fourteen years of bringing poets together, creating space for writers to be heard, building community, and giving people a reason to believe that poetry belongs here. What started in 2012 has grown into something much bigger than a slam. It’s a piece of Fayetteville’s creative history, and I’m proud to still be building it,” Bowens stated with humble pride.
Everything Bowens does is intentional, even down to the location of this year’s event, choosing the only Arts Integration Charter School in Cumberland County, The Capitol Encore Academy.
“I think it’s been a really meaningful collaboration because TCEA understands something that I’ve always believed: the arts aren’t an extra. They’re part of how we learn, how we communicate, and how we understand the world around us. For SERNC to be hosted in a space that actually centers arts integration is important to me. I’ve spent years building this slam because I wanted poets to have a place to grow, and TCEA gives us an opportunity to connect that creative energy with young people and education. That’s bigger than just hosting an event. That’s community building, and that’s the kind of work I want to continue doing.”
This is a vision that his sponsors clearly see. Sponsoring this year's slam is Poetry-N-Motion, Inspired Ink Creative Consulting and TCEA.
Tickets are still on sale online at https://bit.ly/4xR8ugI. Tickets will also be available at the door, but there will be a price increase on the day of the event. Grab tickets, because this is going to be an epic showdown.
(Photo: The Southeastern Regional NC Poetry Slam is a premier event for spoken word in the area. This year, the Slam will be hosted by Moses West. Photo courtesy of SERNC)