158:, a sponsor of Speak Green—has spoken publicly about the Green Team's efforts, saying, "Artists like the Green Team poets have the power to remind us of the power of our own humanity. By taking something as broad as climate change, and running it through the prism of personal experience and artistic expression, well, what emerges are stories of undeniable honesty and power, stories that can inspire commitments to action, solutions, and change."
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winner of each semifinal bout then proceeds to final stage. Each slam is 4-5 rounds long and includes one speed round. Both group poems and individual poems are performed, and each slam is judged by 5 members from the community of the host city. These judges are often BNV partner affiliates, civic leaders, teachers, poets, celebrities, and other local volunteers.
89:, they tried it out in San Francisco, finding appreciative audiences and new talents there. Kass, Bamuthi and others pitched the idea of the Brave New Voices series to Hollywood, and Lathan agreed to make it happen. He brought it to HBO, where young poets could tell their stories without fear of censorship.
166:
Initially introduced in 2009, the MC Olympics is a rap competition inspired by the work of Young
Chicago Authors. BNV established a National MC Olympics competition "as a model to engage rappers in the poet community". The competition is open to all participants of Brave New Voices, and each phase of
125:
Semifinal bouts have previously been held in prestigious venues around the United States, including
Constitution Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the University of Chicago. The competition's final stage has had audiences of well over 2,000 people, and has been held in venues such
121:
The youth poetry slam hosts a number of preliminary events to reduce the number of competing teams to four. The process includes 2 quarterfinal rounds, where every registered competing team can participate. It is then followed by 4-5 semifinal rounds featuring the top 20 teams from quarterfinals. The
108:
The festival has happened annually since 1997, and first began as a 2-3 day experience for 5 teams. Since then it has grown to an annual competition featuring as many as 50 teams from the United States and around the world. BNV has been held in a number of different cities, including San
Francisco,
104:
Brave New Voices is a program of Youth Speaks in San
Francisco. The pedagogy of Brave New Voices was designed by Hodari Davis, who produced the festival alongside Joan Osato for over a decade. The festival is produced by alumni of the Brave New Voices community, referred to as Future Corps, every
179:
Initially introduced in 2008 and hosted at BNV until 2021, Live is Living was an annual service project aimed at making a lasting contribution to the cities that hosted the festival. The BNV Life is Living
Experience featured community activism, street parades, gardening, live performances, and
112:
During the Brave New Voices
Festival, smaller events have been held that are open to all festival participants. There are many different types of competitions and events including Speak Green, MC Olympics, the Individual Poetry Slam, Queeriosity, and Live is Living. The winners and stand-out
224:
poets inspired by the work of Youth Speaks in the San
Francisco Bay Area. The event is open to all festival participants, including youth poets, team coaches, and festival staff. In some festival years, the event has also been opened with a performance or workshop relevant to the city's
37:
BNV's main event is the
International Youth Poetry Slam, where as many as 50 teams, each composed of 4-6 youths, compete for title of best poetry slam team in the world. The final teams are judged by a jury composed of artistic personalities such as illusionist and TV host
134:
Initially introduced in 2007 and hosted until 2012, Speak Green was a competition where participants wrote and performed poems about the environment and environmental justice. The event was a collaboration between Youth Speaks and the Robert
Redford
34:
dedicated to youth in the world. In the years since, Brave New Voices has grown to represent young writers from the ages of 13 to 19, and it is the largest ongoing spoken word festival in the world.
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celebration at the urban centers of these cities. Each year, 600 to 800 people provided physical support for local communities. Life is Living also hosted performances from artists including
113:
performers from these events are often highlighted during the festival, featured in social media and on YouTube, and have been given other performance opportunities outside of the festival.
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was their first direct partnership with HBO and the
Simmons Lathan Media Group. HBO additionally provided corporate support for the 2008 and 2010 Brave New Voices Festivals.
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139:. The top poets from the competition subsequently formed the Green Team for their year. Past members of the Green Team were able to perform at the
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Youth Speaks in 1998. Its conception was inspired by the inaugural Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam in San Francisco, California, which was the first
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and written verses. Each year, the winner of the competition each year is awarded a trophy.
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Youth Speaks had collaborated with HBO's Def Poetry in previous years, but their 2008
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the competition focuses on a certain style or technique of rapping such as
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832:"Ohio.com - Anger dominates 'Brave New Voices,' but talent wins out"
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The Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival
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349:(2) ROOTS Poetry Slam (Trinidad and Tobago)
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529:(2) Leeds Young Authors (Leeds, England)
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912:"MC Olympics | Bravenewvoices.org"
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664:Issa Shomari Jackson (Sacramento, CA)
216:Introduced in 2010, Queeriosity is an
640:Malick Da Blackstract (Savannah, GA)
311:(3) Poetic Pathos (Fayetteville, NC)
856:Jollimore, Troy (October 23, 2010).
491:(3) Minor Disturbance (Denver, CO)
229:. In 2023, Queeriosity began with a
514:(4) Minor Disturbance (Denver, CO)
434:(4) Minor Disturbance (Denver, CO)
414:(4) Minor Disturbance (Denver, CO)
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406:Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement
271:(3) Southern Word (Nashville, TN)
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469:(2) Philly Youth Poetry Movement
374:(4) Philly Youth Poetry Movement
351:(3) Sacramento Area Youth Speaks
274:(4) Sacramento Area Youth Speaks
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719:Individual Poetry Slam Champions
672:Juwan Seaton (Philadelphia, PA)
366:Forward Arts (Baton Rouge, LA)
242:International Youth Poetry Slam
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431:(3) Get Lit (Los Angeles, CA)
389:(2) Hampton Roads Youth Poets
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680:Joey Davis (Kansas City, KS)
656:Amari Chatmon (Bay Area, CA)
334:(4) Just Say It (Newark, NJ)
294:(4) Urb Arts (St. Louis, MO)
69:HBO Presents Brave New Voices
16:National youth poetry contest
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615:San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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478:San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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354:(4) Mass LEAP (Boston, MA)
278:San Francisco Bay Area, CA
77:and others had worked with
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609:(2) Youth Speaks Bay Area
551:(3) Young Chicago Authors
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331:(3) Youth Speaks Seattle
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26:festival created by the
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704:Eli Lynch (Denver, CO)
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511:(3) Albuquerque, NM
449:(2) Washington, D.C.
237:Competition Finalists
1002:Spoken word contests
884:"Speak Green |"
767:. Bravenewvoices.org
648:Mailo (Atlanta, GA)
622:MC Olympic Champions
546:Youth Speaks Hawai'i
526:Youth Speaks Hawai'i
454:(4) Albuquerque, NM
863:The Washington Post
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589:(2) Urban Word NYC
571:(3) Urban Word NYC
569:(2) Providence, RI
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451:(3) Urban Word NYC
411:(3) Fort Worth, TX
269:(2) Urban Word NYC
75:Marc Bamuthi Joseph
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169:freestyling
162:MC Olympics
130:Speak Green
79:Stan Lathan
52:Talib Kweli
50:, musician
32:poetry slam
24:spoken word
22:is a youth
986:Categories
946:2024-04-22
922:2013-04-30
869:2022-07-02
842:2010-12-09
817:2010-12-09
792:2022-07-02
771:2022-07-02
751:References
732:Runner Up
258:Host City
255:Runners Up
233:workshop.
94:docuseries
318:Virtual
298:Virtual
231:Ballroom
218:open mic
154:—son of
147:and the
87:Broadway
48:Beau Sia
42:, poets
632:Winner
729:Winner
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