The 13th annual Poets with Passion Poetry Slam, sponsored by J.A. Fair High School, hits the stage Dec. 7, from 6-9 p.m. Five students from each Little Rock School District high school will be performing for two rounds. The last round will be the top two students from each school.
As each student performs, a score will be added to the cumulative score for that school. There will be an overall school winner as well. Three monetary prizes ranging from $100-$350, as well as trophies, will be awarded.
Judges for the slam will be members of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Pulaski Technical College faculty as well as members of the literacy department with the Little Rock School District.
For the competition, students have to write three original poems, memorize them and perform their pieces in three separate elimination rounds before a live audience. Competing students will have made it to the district rounds through smaller competitions at their respective schools.
Evan Yi, last year’s winner and a senior this year at Central High School, will return and open as the sacrificial poet.
Proceeds will benefit the LaPara Nicole Washington Memorial Fund for Literacy, created in honor of LaPara Washington, co-founder of the Poets with Passion Poetry Slam and literacy coach at J.A. Fair until her death in 2011.
The Poets with Passion Poetry Slam’s monetary awards are funded entirely through donations from the community. Donations can be made by calling Christina Cereghini at 501-447-1735 or emailing her at christina.cereghini@lrsd.org.
