17th Annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Comes To Philadelphia


Five hundred young poets and spoken word artists are set to convene in Philadelphia from Wednesday, July 16th to Saturday, July 19th.

The 17th Annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam makes its way to our city, with young poets and artists—ages 13-19—from across the globe bringing their creativity and passion to a multi-round poetry slam competition. Brave New Voices (BNV), a project of Youth Speaks and the subject of a hit HBO series, encourages artistic empowerment and free speech through the voices of our youth.

Fifty-four events will take place during the four-day festival, on the campus of University of Pennsylvania and various public spaces around Philadelphia, including community-based theaters and major performance venues.

BNV will commence on Wednesday, July 16th, with opening ceremonies at UPenn from 6-8 p.m., including an invocation and performances from many of Philadelphia’s inspiring young artists.

There will be many notable events happening throughout the festival, including the safe-space open dialogue event, Queeriosity: A Queer/Questioning Open Mic, on Thursday, July 17th, and Life is Living Presents: HOOD STOCK ft. Brave New Voices, a service-learning event promoting community activism with live performances, food, urban gardening, and more.

The BNV Grand Slam Finals will be held on Saturday, July 19th.

A full schedule of events, and more information on how to get involved, is available here.

Brave New Voices, Wednesday, July 16th-Saturday, July 19th, various locations.